Las Vegas Mama

 "God and Coffee" are the two words that sum up my first week of the school year. I was pretty nervous about handling things, what with the four children and all. But I did at least two things right each day this week. #1 - I prayed. A lot. #2 - I drank. A lot. Coffee , silly! I am the sort of person that messes up a lot, but all the same I am able to realize how much I depend on God to help me muddle through. So that was my strategy this week. We started each day off with a "Pleeeeaaaase, God, HELP ME!!!!!", as well as taking time to express our gratitude for the blessings we have already been bestowed with. We read about the saint of the day, and then we did the Mass readings. While we prayed I was guzzling copious amounts of black gold, natch. And by the time we were done, I actually felt a little bit normal. I could almost see us getting through the day and being ok! So then, feeling ready to face the day, I put on some music and we all danced toget...

It's that time of year again when we get ready for the kids to go back to school! While other parents are heaving a sigh of relief, homeschool parents are heaving their kids' school books out of its packaging. While other parents are making sure their kids have new backpacks, homeschool parents are making sure their kids have new art supplies. While other parents are organizing the details of the carpool or bus schedule, homeschool parents are organizing the details of a subject schedule that juggles a range of children's grades and ages (example: kids from 3 months to 7 years old!) My husband asked me if I thought we were depriving our kids of the "school experience" by keeping them home. My response is that our kids will be having their own school experiences that just happen to be different than the ones we grew up with. Whereas we may think our experiences were good and they should be experienced by our kids in the same way, the truth is that ultima...

Let me preface this by saying that I have ZERO interest in football and/or video games. That said, I watched possibly the funniest football video game trailer I have ever s....zzzzzz... whoa sorry I just fell asleep for a second there. The combination of the words "football" and "video game" knocked me out for a sec....zzzz-zzz-z-zz.... ahem! Sorry again. The point is that you absolutely must watch this trailer, it is EPIC!!!! ***immodesty alert*** If you are a gentleman trying to keep custody of the eyes, there are some dancers who are not modestly dressed. Just FYI, you've been warned! ***

I just came across an old picture of a cultural Catalonian dance group I used to be in! I'm second from the right, to my left is my mom. And fourth from left is my sister. The year was 1995 and the group was the Grup Dansaire Catalunya. We danced the traditional dances of Catalonia, Spain and dressed in traditional clothing. I look upon this photo with great fondness for the people in the group. I miss them. Some have gone back to Catalonia. Some are still in L.A. hanging out with the other Catalonians in town. But they all have a special place in my heart. This was our fearless leader, Joan Comellas Manubens. He was a hard taskmaster, but he whipped us into shape! We were a bunch of ragamuffins but he turned us into respectable dancers. He is back in Catalonia now. After he left it just wasn't the same anymore. Catalonia is where one branch of my family tree is from, and although part of that branch of the family split up and went to Argentina and then eventua...

I really think that children are cute to help them survive and to make their parents want to keep them around. After the bad day that I posted about last month, which was just one day in a long string of bad days, I realized that what I needed was a fresh start. I went to confession. It was a huge relief, and helped me to turn a new leaf in my parenting. The priest gave me a wonderful reading - Colossians 3: 1-17. Look it up if you are a mom struggling to keep patience with your kids, it will totally help you get a grip. After going to confession I felt I could see my kids more clearly for the wonderful people that they are. They sure are adorable. Maybe having my soul cleansed removed all the gunk preventing me from seeing the beauty of God's creation. How could I ever be angry at such cute children, even if they don't let me sleep? These kids were saying the most adorable things and looking all sweet and tender. They were shooting Cutie Pie Missiles at my heart and I wa...

There is a neat little clothing swap event coming up in August at the Henderson library! This is a great way to save on back to school clothing. Here are the details: Swap, Don’t Shop! Drop off a bag (or bags)! of children’s clothing at the Henderson District Pubic Libraries Paseo Verde Branch Reference Desk between Tuesday 8/5 and Friday 8/8 . Receive a ticket for every bag you drop off. Return on Saturday 8/9 between 10am-noon and pick out a bag of “new to you” back-to-school clothes!    Paseo Verde Library 280 South Green Valley Parkway Henderson, NV 89012 Guidelines:   Children’s clothing from newborn through youth size 20 (no teen or adult sizes)   All seasons welcome   Only gently worn and clean clothing, free of rips and stains. No undergarments or socks, toys or baby equipment.   You get to take a bag for every bag you bring in prior to the event (there is no limit)   All swaps are final!  ...

Have you ever noticed that kids can be a complete jerk to you and then expect you to be nice to them? Of course, they do not realize they are being a jerk, and as their mother you are expected to be nice to them no matter what. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation talking, or maybe I am just an awful human being. But when they are mean to me, I do not want to be nice to them. I want them to suffer as they have made me suffer. The other day my husband had to go on a trip out of town for work. Since the girls are all daddy's girls and they fall apart emotionally if he is gone for longer than the usual 8 hours (and they don't even like him leaving for that long), we planned some fun activities to take their mind off daddy not being home. We planned swimming, and ice cream, and painting toenails, and even going to our favorite local confectionery store, Sweet Ruby Jane's to pick up a box of chocolates for the King of the House. The morning had gone fine, and then it was na...

Any mother knows that she needs a magic bullet in her mommy toolbox for when the kids are driving her crazy and she is dying of sleepiness. Sometimes, just sometimes, that magic bullet is in the form of TV. Since we are one of "those" people who do not own a TV, we turn to DVDs for our television entertainment. Recently, we received a magic bullet in the mail from a very kind Disney PR rep for us to review. Since I am 3 months into the trenches of rearing a newborn, I jumped at the opportunity for a new magic bullet to add to my magic bullet squirt gun. In this analogy my magic bullets get shot from a squirt gun because real guns are scary. Plus, I have kids in the house, what kind of irresponsible parent would I be if I had real guns around the children?? You can picture my magic bullets popping out of the squirt gun in the shape of soap bubbles. Because that is what they look like. All mothers'  magic bullets look different. They are like patronuses . The DVD, a.k....

Today I was invited to attend a free children's gardening event that is happening this Saturday, July 19th from 10am to 2pm at Plant World Nursery at 5311 W. Charleston Blvd. Its an event for kids ages 3-12, and apparently there is also going to be free ice cream. I should tell you that there is an animal sanctuary with exotic birds, tortoises, birds and turtles, which my kids will be totally fascinated with. So I am pretty sure we are going. In fact, I think the laws of the universe absolutely demand that we attend. You see, the PR person for Plant World Nursery is a person by the name of Daffodil Flores. I am not sure if you are aware, but the name Flores means "flowers" in Spanish. She is the PR person for a plant nursery. I think that is so ironic that I cannot even wrap my brain around it. And hello! My children's names are Ivy, Violet and Rose. How could we not go??? I secretly hope to get a picture of Daffodil with Ivy, Violet and Rose. It would just tickl...

We went to Cedar City, Utah this weekend to attend You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at the Neil Simon Festival . It was a lot of fun, and the production was excellent. Lots of talented actors. We laughed a lot, and the girls loved it. One of the other things we did was to go to the Frontier Heritage Museum, which was about life on the frontier, natch. A couple of things there made me laugh. But first, a picture of the girls in a Wells Fargo coach. Fun! And now the funny stuff - from a display that taught about loading a wagon with supplies for the trip out West, was this little quiz.  Depending on how you answered you got to see what consequences the decision you made would have. See that, children? Lose your leg to a snake bite. And the other answers weren't much cheerier. Did you bring a tent on the trail? If you didn't and your wife had a baby, the baby would die from the cold. If you didn't bring a chest of linens to trade with the Indians for w...

A friend of mine recently sent me an article about how to breastfeed appropriately. It was so dang funny that I had to read it aloud to my husband. And in fact, I am still quoting lines from it. My favorite so far is, "Has your cheap baby paid you? No? Then wrap it up!" It's long, but soooo worth the read!! Enjoy! How to Breastfeed Appropriately

It's getting all zombie apocalypse-ish around these parts. This is Las Vegas, and therefore it is probably one of the most likely places to suffer the first round of brain-eating in a zombie invasion. After all, lots of gamblers and pleasure seekers walk around the casino floors half dead to begin with. So they are natural candidates for zombie-hood. But let's be more specific here. I am the mother of 4 children, and the youngest is just 8 weeks old. Can you see where this is going? I'm saying that motherhood is like having your brains eaten and being turned into a monster from the grave. Personally, I think my own transformation has already begun. I walk around in a daze most of the time. I give those Las Vegas gamblers and pleasure seekers a run for their money when it comes to zombie-like behavior. Except my staggering around aimlessly is not by choice. The fact that they willingly choose to do other things at night besides sleep tells me their brains have clearly al...

The other day as I was putting on makeup, or what I like to call my "face", I found a white eyebrow hair. WHITE. It was the weirdest thing I had experienced in a while, and that is surely saying something considering I just gave birth not too long ago. Pregnancy, labor and birth is pretty darn weird. I realize that having kids ages you from the inside out. Lack of sleep, extreme exercise of the patience muscle, and being on your feet all day tending to the house and kids will make you feel a hundred years old, even though when you see a picture of yourself you are surprised at how young you actually look.  But I was not expecting a white hair. I was especially not expecting a white eyebrow hair. I don't know about you, but my eyebrows are the window to my soul. No, not my eyes. My eyes are just sort of there. But my eyebrows express the full spectrum of emotion and feeling. They snap down in anger. Jump up in surprise. Lift up to smile. Sometimes they go rogue and onl...

Potty training has officially commenced for Rose, who is now two and a half. Like all proper two and a half year olds, she has chosen to use potty training as a way to assert her dominance. In fact, she has asserted her dominance over the household by strategically wetting herself at all the appropriate times and in all the appropriate places. For example, on the bathroom floor just inches away from the potty, right as the baby starts crying to be nursed. And by the dining room table just as I sit down to have lunch. Or, my personal favorite, on the kitchen floor right when I am cooking dinner and have several pans going on the stove that require constant stirring and attention. This one is particularly heinous because of my history of setting myself on fire. That's a really good story, which you missed during the last year of my not blogging. Some time I'll tell you all about it. Rose's stubbornness and refusal to go in the potty has been frustrating, and I'll admi...

It has been just over a year since I last blogged. I am pretty sure not a soul reads this blog anymore, because the number one killer of blogs is the lack of consistent posts. But I happened to look back on some of my old posts and realized this is almost like a diary, and so maybe I should start it up again. In the last year a lot has happened. Actually, one really big thing happened. My first boy has been successfully birthed, for example. See here. How cute is he?? His blanket also matches this blog, so that's neat. He is a Phillip, Jr. and we call him PJ for short. Its odd that when the pediatrician's office calls, they say, "Is this Phillip's mom?" What! Phillip is my husband! You're weirding me out right now, pediatrician. Oh, wait... that is my son's name, too. Now that I have a fourth baby the first thing strangers ask me is "So are you done now?" What they are really asking is, "What is the future state of your uterus, ma...

Back in November of last year (seems like 5 seconds ago), I posted about the French television show Echappes Belles following us around for a day. Well, it came out shortly after, around December, but here we are months later and I still haven't posted it! Sorry about that. Anyway, the part that we were in is around minute 56. Here you go: Echappes Belles Unless you speak French you will have to just try and listen in to our voices in the background under the French dubbing. It was good times, very interesting to participate in. And now, that done, I would like to inform the world at large that my blog is on hiatus. Rose is 19 months and getting more and more demanding every day. Between her and my middle child, and homeschooling my eldest, my hands are full. Its too hard to try and blog regularly so for now I will just say: peace out!

I just got a summons for jury duty. "Uncle Sam Wants You!" is what they are saying. It makes me want to don a Rosie the Riveter kerchief on my head and do a salute. And listen to the Andrew Sisters Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. I love that song. My mom always said that as a citizen it is not just a duty, but a privilege to serve on a jury. She is a naturalized citizen, and has an appreciation for these sorts of things. She said every citizen should serve at least once. And I agree. However, I didn't always agree. I spent my 20's dodging jury duty in California. I say "dodging" because I am picturing the State of California throwing a red dodge ball at me. And of course when you are playing dodge ball the whole point of it is to not get hit. So being a rule follower, I played a spirited game of dodge ball with the State. Being a gracious winner, I am not rubbing it in their face that they lost. I can't remember now what type of excuses they used to acc...

Time for Fine Linen and Purple's weekly link up! This week I decided to get a little edgy by doing something I usually wouldn't dream of: wearing a non-matching cardigan. I have seen bright pink with navy before, though I do not remember where. For all I know it was on a celebrity Worst Dressed List. So this might totally backfire. All I ask is that you please be gentle with me. This is way out of my comfort zone. And I am still pre-makeup, don't judge. The dress was found on consignment on the cheap. It is a brand called Joanna Hope, pink cardigan is Gap, and shoes are Kenneth Cole.  And let's see what the fam bam wore... Here is the Banana Republic poster boy. Cardigan: Target Dress, leggings, shoes: Gymboree Dress: Rare Editions Shoes: Target Jacket: Gymboree This jacket is favorite of mine because not only is it adorbs, it was very expensive but I chanced to find it off-season on a steep discount and I paid beans for it. Li...

Since our family has been growing larger I have been getting increasing pressure from family and friends to shop at Costco. Everyone wants me to go there. And they aren't shy about getting their Coscto-lovin' feelings across to me. I literally cannot get through an entire visit with my mom without the topic of Costco coming up. Usually, she tries to get me to take a trip there with her by insisting there is something there that she really, really needs. Even though she is only in town for 48 hours. And I always find an excuse of why I cannot possibly go, or why my pantry and toilet paper is completely stocked to capacity. Because the truth is.... I. Hate. Costco. There, I said it.  Before you delete my blog out of your favorites (my blog is in your favorites, isn't it??) let me tell you why I despise it so. It is for many justifiable reasons. Such as the enormity of the place, the crowds, the hugeness of the bulk items, the crowds, the massive scale of the stor...

I must be crazy. This is the only conclusion I am able to come to after last night's sleepless extravaganza. It was the  "puttin' on the ritz" musical dance number of sleeplessness. It was like the "Mandie" dance scene in White Christmas. Or like the "Gotta Dance" number in Singin' in the Rain. I may as well have worn a long sequined gown with white elbow-length gloves to bed. Rose woke up about twice an hour, all night long, culminating in a tantrum at 5am. The main source of the conflict was her wanting to nurse back to sleep and me drawing the line in the sand because I was completely fed up. But the truth is that this was just one night in a very long line of sleepless nights stretching back 6 years to when Ivy was born. That whole first year of Ivy's life was a real hoot. Being a mom has been the hardest job of my entire life. And yet.... I want to have more babies. Like this many: I realize these babies come with dirty ...