A Special Event...Invite Only...The Wii U Experience Denver!

What an amazing day and an amazing event! Big Ro was invited to this event about 1 month ago. We figured what the heck and reserved a space for it. We are avid nintendo fans. Both of us have had the systems from the Original NES to the Current Wii. Some of our fondest memories are of our first nights together sitting in front of the Nintendo 64 playing Mario Party and laughing at the choices that could be made in the game. The event started at 11 am but we got there at 9:45. We were second in line until another person decided to check out a coffee shop next door. We whipped on our Mario gear and took our spots into the first of the line. The kids sat against the bare store front covered in curtains and played their 3ds'.

 The minutes counted down and we became anxious as the security guard opened the door and the staff said "Welcome to the Wii U experience." We checked in and got our lanyards and id cards. This event was by invite only and you had to RSVP. We walked into the waiting area and patiently waited for them to pull open the curtain. Finally at 11 they opened it up with a chant of Wii U...Wii U...welcome Denver.

 The kids, Ro and I ran to Super Mario U. We all three played and it was a very good game. You can have up to 5 players on one console and someone even helps you get through it. You can even play with other people online. The next game we went to experience was Luigis Mansion. This has to be one of my favorites. The person with the game pad actually plays as the ghost on the gamepad. You cannot see where he is at, you just feel the vibrations. I definitely want this game.

 Soon after Big Ro went to check out batman as I took the kids to play Sing. I honestly did not think I would care about it very much as it sounded like Karaoke at first. But when we stood up and started dancing as someone else jammed out it was a blast.

 We also played Just Dance 4. That one was really fun as one person could take the gamepad and become the puppetmaster picking every move you guys could make. I would recommend this one too. My favorite game of course was Wii Fit U. I broke a couple of records actually! You even get to use the same wii board so you do not have to buy another one. They had exclusive bottled waters and a trivia session at the end.

 Big Ro actually won the first question of the night to win a tin of star candy. I am dying to get this new system. I am hoping that Santa brings it to our family. Not very many people get to play a system before it even has an official launch date. I think however nintendo did a wonderful job getting the name and hype out there.

Wii U is definitely a different system that is going to bring a whole new level of gaming to people out there. The clarity of the system is absolutely beautiful. This was a wonderful Saturday event and well worth the cost of gas to get to it. I am eagerly announcing the release date and price so Santa can leave it under our tree!

What an Amazing Day! Just one of many I hope!

Today I got to relax with my best friend. I don't think this woman knows it yet but she is truly my best friend. Would it be ackward to tell her? I am not sure. Today I got to cuddle her adorable 11 month old son and listen to a land shark try to sell us a 2013 Ford Explorer for her expanding family. Noone knows yet about the expanding family except me and her husband and mom so I am in a very special class. Thinking of that I must be pretty important to her too. Truth be told I love hanging out with her. We went to lunch today too so it was pretty great. I ordered a plate of carne asada sopes and we ate chips with queso. Not exactly diet friendly but it was so stinking lovely.

 I woke up praying my son would have a good day. Yesterday he was a little bit chatty and the teacher told me about it. I told him we all get chatty so he gets this one free pass. Today when he went to class I rattled out our little rules. Then I told him "Remember son, when you don't listen to your teacher it makes me very sad. When you listen and behave for your teacher it makes me very happy." He looked up at me and said "You won't get mad at me mommy?" I told him no honey. It just makes me very sad. He hugged me and told me he would try his best. Imagine my surprise when i get his planner and it says "Great day :)" I hugged him tight and told him. You can do this every day! I am sure he will continue to make me proud. Roana well she is loving middle school. She is a good girl and I am pretty blessed she is my daughter. Actually I have two very good kids. Maybe having a third wouldn't be such a bad ideal. We will see what the future holds.

Sopes De Carne Asada

It's Proof the kid can do it!

Day 2 of School and I am kinda lonely

Today was day two. The only difference between today and yesterday is that I had nobody home with me. I used that to my advantage however as I cleaned the house from top to bottom and also organized a few things. I have plenty of time to think. We are on a tight budget right now. Even with my husband's promotion we are tight. Today we finally went grocery shopping. We are trying to eat as clean as possible meaning we eat a lot of fish and chicken. We bought 2 chickens, 2 big bags of tilapia, 5 lbs of chicken breast, a rack of ribs, 5 dozen eggs, 3 cantelope, jalapenos, plus a bit more for around $100. This will feed us for at least 2 weeks. It will only be tight for a little bit. Hopefully end of year we will get more coming in and less going out. Today I contacted Lil Ro's teacher. I asked how he is doing. She informed me that he is doing okay still and that we just need to work on him calling out in large group time. I reminded him this and set up a behavior chart at home for him. Good days he gets a smile face. Bad days a sad face. If he goes a week with no sad faces he gets a dollar tree toy. If he goes the whole semester I will buy him a new lego set. I figure why not give it a shot. I also think I like his new teacher. She has a lot of patience and seems to really care for the kids. I hope this year continues to be great. Roana and I finished her locker today. It was so cute seeing her hang her butterfly stickers. She has a nice unique locker now and it totally shows her side of things. All in all I am adjusting well. I am preparing for my grandmas upcoming trip here to visit at the end of the month. I can get it done. I am truly blessed no matter what I think. I will continue to love my family no matter what and know we are going to be okay.

First Day of School

So here we are again. Summer has flown by and I am sitting here trying to remember where in the heck these past 12 years of my life have gone. When did I become this woman? When did these kids grow up to become a sixth grader and a first grader? When will it be easier to say goodbye see you in a few hours. I guess growing up I looked forward to school. I guess the reason was because I was never home. My parents had me in every single summer camp they could find. I never really was wanted from my parents I think. But I digress. This blog post is not about me. It's about my beautiful children.

Today was their first day of school. Lil Ro will be returning back to his previous school. I am glad that it happened this way because he loves his classmates. He made me so proud. He listened quietly and did his work with no help and he was just the dream boy I always wanted. 

My poor daughter Roana. I truly worry for her. This is her first year in the big girl school. I just have 6 more years with her until she is grown and off to college! She asked me to shave her legs and I taught her. Where in the world did the time go? She has her own locker, a new group of friends and is even dressing more sassy. I love my baby girl and I pray the mean teens are kind to her. Only time will tell.

It was a great first day of school. We even ended up going to our favorite Chinese Buffet called The Ultimate Buffet and ate happily. I pray we have a wonderful year and that summer comes swiftly again so we can just enjoy being our little family.

Our First Monster Truck Show

So last saturday I heard there would be a free Monster Truck showing at a local pizzeria called Louie's Pizza. We went over there to see the trucks and I saw a raffle box for a chance for a pair of tickets to the event itself. I threw my name in and also my husbands. Imagine my surprise when they called Big Ro's name. My boy has been obsessed with Monster trucks since his last birthday part. We did a huge Monster truck bouncehouse plus decor for him. I gave him the good news that he would be going. Rogelio then went and bought tickets for Roana and I to attend too! It was pretty reasonable for the two of us but I would skip the pit pass next time! I thought what the heck is this going to be like. I was ready to be bored but by the time the trucks were revving I was up on my feet fist pumping like there was no tomorrow. Ro still teases me saying I am a redneck. I guess you can take the girl out of Ohio but you cannot take the Ohio out of the girl. I definitely recommend people try it one time. I think this will become a yearly event for us. Thank you Monster Truck X for you great show and good luck to all your drivers in Latin America!

What we have been up to these past 4 months

So summer vacation is almost over.  Lil Ro successfully completed Kindergarten and will be going into first grade starting Monday. It was a rough year but I did love his teacher and I am learning that he is the kid I am going to have to continue to push him and watch him carefully. He is truly a bright child and improving everyday. I just have to continue nourishing him and giving him independence.

Ro and Rowen are going to see Monster Trucks on Saturday. We won two tickets when we went and saw a real life one at a pizza place close by! They will be going to Penrose Norris Center and even got a pit pass! Big Ro will take lots of pictures and Roana and I will have a girls day in watching hunger games, eating nachos and theater candy. It should be a  good day.

Roana has now finished fifth grade. Where in the world does the time go? On Monday we had her Registration and Orientation for Sixth grade. My baby is now a middle schooler. It seems like she was born and I blinked and she turned into this young woman. She is very excited to start this new chapter in life. I am also trying to teach her more grown up things. But that is another post for another day.

Big Ro, what can I say about my Big Ro? Things have been going good for us lately. As of May he finally started his dream job. You all remember he went to school for Mechanical Drafting. Well he is now a designer. I am so proud of him. I don't see him as much as I thought I would as projects have deadlines but I know he is doing what he loves. We have some rough times honestly but in my heart of hearts I know we are going to be together for a long time.

Also we applied for to renew his Permanent Residency. I am so very happy to say Ro is a permanent resident again. We are going to inquire about getting his citizenship. I hate thinking that he could have been torn from us so we are going to go through and find out all the info.

As of me, well I am around. I am toying with having another child. I would love another baby but there are things that frighten me as the huge age gap between the three of them. I still have to lose 20 pounds per my doctor. I guess we will analyze that at the beginning of the year.

These next two years are going to be big turning points of my life. Make sure you watch my blog. I am really going to become a more active blogger again. I miss my writing. I miss just pouring it out here and I miss just having something that is exclusively mine. Here are a few pictures that have been taken in the last week.

Free Haircut from JC Penney

My big girls first locker 

Hermit Crabs our new babies

\

His new haircut and lost a top tooth finally!

He is going to see Monster trucks this Saturday...won tickets when he saw this one!

It's been a while since I have been on

So where do I begin? I guess I updated shortly after my grandpa passed away. That was one of the hardest moments in my life. I knew he would want me to rejoice his life and not mourn his death. He was a very strong man I miss him tons but I know deep down he is better off.

Now on to the kids. Roana had her first concert in December. Both Choir and Orchestra. Guess you could say she is following her mommies interests. Kinda strange how I never told her about choir or orchestra. Makes you wonder about her genes. She is doing very strong in school and even went and shadowed at the local middle school. My baby is growing up. She also completed her First Science Project. She did not place but she did it on her own. She is growing into such a strong little woman.

Rowen, my little fighter. Well we also had his first performance for Christmas. It was adorable. He is doing better in school. Learning to read and such but he is still disruptive in class. For this reason the school wants to retain him in kinder. I am fighting tooth and nail for this not to happen but what happens happens. On Sunday he will be 6 and we are actually going to be throwing a birthday party! Imagine Me antisocial Susan throwing a party. We rented a bouncy house and got some table and chairs. It will be interesting is an understatement indeed. No matter what happens I am proud of how far he has come.

We have joined the Y. It is very good for us as a family. It makes us more active and also encourages teamwork. We also have taken up hiking with our friends.

So we also have big news. No no no....not a baby. My heart could not handle another failing child. You all remember those days where I felt like a single parent while my husband worked and went to school. Well in March he had an interview for a position in design. That is exactly what he went to school for. We waited for three weeks biting our nails. I was terrified of him not getting this position as he was very fed up not doing anything with his degree. On Tuesday we got the news. He got a position doing the very thing he dreamed of. I am so proud of him. He inspires me to keep going.

How am I doing you may ask? Well I am here. I am trying to lose more weight. I am kinda stuck at 175ish right now. Right now I am all focused on the kids, the husband, the hamster and dog. I am thinking of starting a career journey and learning how to drive. I am just going one day at a time until our journey keeps moving on. I know life is crazy sometimes. But I really am going to start to blog more. I feel so relieved when I do. So for now, thanks for reading and hope everyone has a wonderful day.

My grandpa a great man

My grandpa was an incredible man. I loved him more then life myself. Probably why I married a man who is a lot like him. Today my grandpa was buried. My heart has been heavy all day and I finally found the way I wished to tribute him. I bought the biggest reddest heart and I sent it to him in the sky. I also found a church walked inside and said a prayer. My heart is calm now.

I was unable to make it to the funeral but my best friend Carrie went and said my Eulogy. This is what I wrote.

I am sorry I am unable to be in attendance with you all today and know my heart is here and my pain is just the same as yours however. I wanted to say a few things so I pray these words find you all comfort right now.

How does one begin to say Goodbye to somebody they have loved their whole life? How does one say see you later to the only consistent person in their life? How do I sit here and begin to bury a huge piece of my heart? The answer is simple. I don’t. God gives us quests and God blesses us with angels. When that angel’s time on earth is through, he calls them back home. On this Joyous Thanksgiving Day my father figure, my grandfather has been called home. He is now sitting aside our Lord and hugging his first daughter with all the strength in he has lost these past years. He is reunited with all his loved ones that have been lost in the past and have mourned. He no longer feels no pain, no sorrow and is watching us and protecting us from the heavens.

Eugene was an incredible man. He unconditionally loved and protected me for 31 years. He always put others before his own needs. He was an incredible husband, father and all around person. He was the kind of person we should all apsire to be.

As a toddler my first word was Grandpa. My mother Debbie used to tell me a story about when I just barely learned to walk that involved him. She told me I was a little over a year old and I would ask to go visit my grandpa and she would tell me not now. Instead as a stubborn toddler would be I would open the front door and go running while she turned her back. She would always end up finding me a couple houses down nestled in my grandpas arms. I was and still am very much a grandpa's girl. I still remember his incredible humor and his smiling blue eyes. I remember his passion and devotion to his family. I remember that incredible man who encourage me to marry a wonderful man who has become my wonderful husband. I thank him now and I am very blessed to have known him these 31 years as my everything.

If I ever had the chance to see him one time before he passed I would tell him thank you. Thank you for brightening this earth with your smile. Thank you for finding the humor in every situation. Thank you for this unconditional love. My heart will never be the same since you have left this earth grandpa. I know someday this pain will heal. Right now it feels like it never will but I know these years will dull it. I want to sit and cry and think of how I will never have these things but now I realize that is selfish of me. You want to me to remember you for your wonderful accomplishments and all the wonderful memories you created. All the holidays, all the parties and all the love.

My dear friends and family, do not sit here and cry. Rejoice because you knew him. He made us all that much better just because he has touched our lives in one way or another. Find comfort now as we all know he will never feel pain and sorrow again. Grandpa you are the reason I am who I am today and for that I am eternally grateful. You have placed your mark on this world in more way then one.

So how do you say Goodbye to someone who has most of your heart attached? You do not say goodbye my loved ones. You say I will see you soon. I anxiously await our reunion in heaven. Until then I will live your legacy and continue making you proud from the heavens. I will be courageous and go on living. I will be the person you dreamed I would become. I was always perfect in your eyes and believe me that perfection was from your love and encouragement. Thank you Grandpa. I will love you with every beat of my heart for always. Thank you my friends and family for your love and remember he is not gone, he continues in each and everyone of us through his memories and legacy. God bless every one of you.

It is going to be a battle every day now without him but I know he is in a better place. I will continue to prosper and I will continue to make him the proudest granpa he can be. I love you papa always and forever.

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time of thanks

This morning I woke up with dreams of fried turkey, mashed potatoes, candied yams, pumpkin pie and other goodies. My heart sunk as I got the news I have dreaded but knew would be coming. At 8:50 am this morning my heart was ripped out of my chest and stomped on. This beautiful 70 degree thanksgiving was ruined. My grandpa Eugene passed away today. My father figure. My best friend. My lifeline is gone. I miss him already so badly. I am not going to be able to make it back home to him unfortunately. I did write an Eulogy and after the funeral I will post it. Today is not a happy day for me right now. My heart aches. I feel so empty and this just totally sucks. Grandpa I love and miss you. Please watch over us from heaven.

A huge gift of love

I am sorry I have not been on here very often. I thought I would just be a volunteer a couple of days a week but I have turned into room mom. I love my kiddos though and cannot complain a bit. My daughter is doing incredible in school. I cannot complain one bit about her learning or teacher. Lil Ro too is doing an amazing job. He is improving every time I see him. He is my lil Miracle child all the way.

Recently I noticed a trend in his favorite books from the school library. He has been bringing home one series nonstop. It is Called Max Goes to the Moon. He brought home this book about 5 0r 6 times in the past 8 weeks. They are educational books that tell of adventures of a child and her best friend her rottweiler Max. I know my boy would love a book of his very own to cherish. I found the authors website, found his email and decided to write him. We have a very low budget for Christmas this year so I asked the author if I could get a book directly from him. I fully expected paying at least cost. Imagine my surprise when just an hour later he wrote me back. He is going to send my boy a copy of the most recent book. I am sure he is even going to autograph it. The best thing is, he is sending it to me at no charge. I really hope my few fans decide to support this author. He did not have to be so caring about my boy. His books are really interesting and made for all children. If you are looking for a good book for your child this year, I really recommend the Max Series. The author is whimsical but educational. You would not regret this purchase one bit. The best part is the author autographs the books himself.

Max Goes to the Moon
Max Goes To Mars
Max Goes to Jupiter

http://www.bigkidscience.com/shop_now.html