It was four days into our vacation. A Tuesday if I recall correctly. We had plans to go to a new beach with my husbands uncle but after driving there we found out the beach was closed. How that happens on a tropical island I have no idea but it makes sense since it was the week of thanksgiving and the "winter season". 

This is one of my favorite breakfast drinks from my childhood. I remember my mom or grandma making this for all the kids and serving it in a mug with a piece of bread in the mornings. Last time I had this was in 2014 when we traveled to DR for my moms wedding. I had asked her best friend/our aunt to make us Avena and in my mind I had an image something completely different. I was thinking of cream of wheat. So when she called me to the kitchen and handed me this mug with oatmeal and sticks of cinnamon in it I had the the only look of confusion yet out of respect I didn't say anything, grabbed my mug, thanked her and walked away. Then I tried it and it was the most amazing thing I've ever had! 

This was a much need staycation from my part. I was able to actually relax, do school work, do things around the house, bond with my mom, and spend time with my family. Having my SIL in town is always nice but it also feels like her agenda gets too full before she even arrives to town. Almost every trip she has made back home after moving out west has involved some kind of event. And due to the fact that this girl has so many friends, she has to pencil time in with each and every one of them which gets me upset because I get thrown to the back of the bus. Well not really but that's how I feel. We're so close and we speak often when she's far away but when she's in town is like I hardly see her.



Anyways. Enough venting, lets get to business. This was the highlight of my October Staycation :)

1. Being greeted with the most amazing sound coming from my 4 years old nephew/godson running out front toward my car from the back of MIL's house screaming "titi, titi, titi you're here". I seriously did not expect that. Yes we Facetime often and I know he loves me but having him come running to me like that and give me a hug made me feel so special. It was like "Wow! this kid loves me!". I kid you not, it felt like a movie scene :)



2. Seeing SIL again after what felt an eternity. I mean it had only been one year, two months, three days, four hours and five minutes. Ha! just kidding, but close! It was funny because seeing her felt no different than when we talk on the phone or facetime except we were actually hugging. It was like she was never gone. 

3. Having Prestyn (that's my nephew/godson) over our house for a "play date" with AJ. They played together, ate lunch together, fought over toys, took pictures, made messes, and so on but it was so nice and surreal having him at home playing with his cousin like normal cousins do. Usually when they facetime they ask each each other "whatchu doing? whatchu playing with? what's that? whatchu watching" over and over again hahaha.

 4. So I took Prestyn with me to pick AJ up from daycare. I wanted to see both of their reaction when they saw each other for the first time, in real life, and omg it was not what I expected at all  (link that to video). They just starred at each other like "what? you're here? your real? you're not inside an iPad?" hahaha, so funny. I had to tell them to hug before they actually leaned toward each other. I was expecting this loud "Prestyn! AJ!" but nope. Nothing. It was cool to get their reaction on camera though.


5. Bonding with both of my sisters-in-law. I love my Lola (hubby's sister) and the more I get to know Stephanie (BIL's girlfriend) the more I like her too. So we decided to plan a night out with just us three. We planned for appetizers and drinks at Brewworks but we ended up at Chilis. Just a little talking and a couple of drinks to make some bonding memories. It was low key and really nice. I can't speak for them but I did enjoy hanging out with them.





6. Being part of Lola's friend bridal shower, bachelorette party, and wedding. I was meant to be her "wing girl" but Lola don't don't need a wing girl, that girl has enough wing for herself and an entire team ;-P It was fun though and I've always enjoyed everything wedding related and seeing how other group of friends interact. 







7. When Lola and I took the boys to Dorney Park for Boo Blast. I take my boys every year and hubby and I have been going since we were kids ourselves so adding that to the memories of our kids was priceless for me. Plus seeing the boys play and enjoy themselves together was the greatest feeling ever! Although Steven didn't enjoy himself as much as I would have liked :( I guess the age difference thing had a bit to do with it but thankfully hubby was able o make it up to him by taking him for Haunt Night at Dorney later in October.





8. The Pumpkin Patch. On Columbus Day we gathered all the kids (foster kids included) and headed over to the pumpkin patch. There we got tickets for some rides, took a hayride to the pumpkin patch, and took lots of pictures. Again this was more for tradition and to have the kids enjoy themselves than for anything else but it sure was fun.



9. A night out with friends. I was very hesitant about this night. For weeks I tried finding a way to get out of it because I really didn't want to go to a "club" but as the day neared the dancer part of me got more excited for it. Especially because it had been so long since I went out. I justified that outing in so many ways I couldn't even begin to tell you. All I could think about how I was going to regret it afterward but thankfully it was a really nice time out with friends and family and honestly I'm glad it happened. I was able to scratch an itch while at the same time realize that that's just not me anymore. I'm on to great and better things now :)


 
10. Getting a picture of my nieces and nephew to print and display in our home. The Sunday before Lola left she came over for brunch and my brother stopped by to dropped off the girls. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to capture one of sweetest moments in my life. It made me sad to have the newest addition to the clan be missing though and now this picture won't be as current as I would have like. Worse part is that I don't know when I'll have all my nieces and nephew together again under one roof. It may be years before that happens again :(

I can't believe how fast the year has passed by, this is insane! Although the weather is still bearable and the leaves on trees are just beginning to change color and fall off the changing of time today will make it official for me. Colder mornings and darker evenings, sigh not my liking but I must deal with it. I hope the winter ahead is not too bad, who am I kidding, I'm sure it'll be deadly.

On another note, just 20 days till we head out for our vacation in Puerto Rico and 10 work days for me :) I love having things to look forward to at the start of each month/work schedule. We are spending Thanksgiving there and this will be the first time in 10 years that we celebrate Thanksgiving away from MIL. However, it will be the first Thanksgiving we spend with SIL since like forever ago. I can already imagine the chaos of cooking dinner in a place that is not our home where we have every single dish and spice we need. Will we get dress up? Will we eat in our pajamas? Will we have a turkey? What will be on the menu? So many questions so little time. I'm so excited! Our last far away vacation was back in July 2014 when we visited SIL in California for July 4th week so we are way over due for another one. Plus, my boys need a little more beach time for the year ends. OMG it's almost the end of 2015! Eeeekk.

I'm ready though, I've had an unexplainable feeling about 2016 for a very long time and I am super excited to greet and live through 2016. In the meantime I'm planning to make these last 61 days of the year count! Bring on the Holidays, the most wonderful time of the year! :)

This journey feels never ending. We started potty training back in May when AJ was only 28 months because I remembered being told that boys are a lot harder than girls to potty trained. When we potty trained Steven I don't remember it taking this long. I don't recall exactly how long it took or the details but I do remember him being potty trained by the age 3. So one day after getting AJ from daycare and seeing on his daily progress sheet that they started taking him to the potty with the other kids I thought "oh, this is interesting. Let me work with him at home too". And that's how the decision to potty train came about. One day we just woke up and AJ wore no diaper the rest of that day. We had about a handful of underwear that mom had bought for him months back so we used that. Of course that he would dirty them all in one day but for the most part he was getting the concept of "peeing".

Over the summer it was a constant battle trying to keep everyone on board on the potty training wagon. I was all in for it, the grandmothers would basically care less and not encourage him when he was with them, daddy was always forgetful about the situation and kept him on a diaper whenever he was with him, and daycare, well daycare was a whole other story. Although they were working with him as well and he would maintain dry during the day and pee on the potty for them they didn't think he was ready to stop wearing diapers because he wouldn't tell them when he had to go. Honestly I understood their concerns about the matter and quite frankly I'm sure it was going to be more work on them but I felt that he was ready, especially because he was doing so well at home. Yes he would have mistakes once in a while and wasn't telling us when he had to go but more often than not he would pee on the potty. I felt that what he needed was consistency in using the potty and for all of us to try at the same time, meaning no diapers! 

So then at the end of the summer after I had work so hard to train my child to use the potty it was like we were back to square one. For weeks AJ did not pee himself during the day or at night. I had a system going on. We peed first thing in the morning and before bed, an hour after his last drink for the day. As long as I reminded him to go pee he would go and all was well. He would even go himself to the bathroom and then afterward he would come to me for praise because he used the potty. I'm sure that my excitement about him peeing on his own was serving as strong encouragement for him to do it again and again. Problem was he would only do that with me. At daycare he wouldn't go on his own or tell them whether he was peed or pooped and that's why I feel he was going backward.

Toddlers are very smart, more than we give them credit for and I'm sure the problem we've come across with now and the reason why the daycare doesn't feel he's not ready to not wear diapers is that he now knows the difference. If he's wearing a diaper he knows he won't "wet his clothes" whereas if he pees himself when he's not wearing a diaper he knows the opposite will happen and his mickey mouse underwear will get wet. I'm telling you toddlers are smart. I'm convinced that this is the reason why he doesn't seem ready because he does it at home. If he's wearing a diaper he doesn't care about going on it but if he's wearing regular underwear he goes on the potty. Two week ago I feel was a major milestone for us and potty training because he now knows the feeling of the urge to pee. Just several weeks ago he would tell me he had to go pee but by the time he would get to the bathroom he wouldn't it in the potty. But since last week he's being doing great. He goes pees, flushes, washes and dry his hands, etc. Granted he's been doing all of this for months but now is like he has it all down pack. The issue is that he's not doing that when he's wearing a diaper, especially if he's entertained with toys, a game, or TV/iPad.

I know my child and I know he was ready for potty training months ago, he just needed consistency from the adults. Even the girls at the daycare the other day told me that they wished they would had started it when he was being consistent with peeing on the potty and having dry diapers because now it seems he doesn't care for the potty there. He's been having wet and dry diapers along with the occasional pee on potty but nothing like before. Until this past week that he has not had a wet diaper at daycare :) and still no talk of potty training him there!

It gets me so mad. This whole feeling like I'm the only trying here really bothers me, is like so what's next? Will he ever get it if he continues with this back and forth in diapers over the day? I mean I'm sure he will but it frustrates me to feel like no one else is  truly trying. And who knows, maybe they are trying, at least its seemed like it a couple months ago. Now however, I don't even know what to think. Either way that's the scoop on that which sounds more like I'm venting hahaha. Hopefully I'll have better news on his yearly post :)

So. I'm deleting my Instagram. I've had it on my mind for a very long time now and it was the first thing I jotted down when I was making my 30 before 30 list. I was planning on staying away from social media for at least a year. But then something happened. Again. I wrote about it here a while back too. Someone is sending me anonymous messages. It seems that whoever it is hates me and wishes me the worse in life. To make matters worse is someone who definitely knows me. Which makes it even scarier because who is it that I am trusting that is using my trust as key to harm me. Who could that person be? Only in the Hispanic community I tell you. It's sad, really sad.

A couple of months ago my mother came to me with an idea. She said, "so, I'm not renewing my lease at the apartment again. I was thinking that instead of paying rent I could finish your basement for you and turn your storage room in the basement into a bedroom. What do you think? Will Steven be ok with that?" 

She left me speechless. I didn't know if this was a joke or a blessing in disguise. As I thought about it on the days that followed I started to like the idea. This could be beneficial for everyone involved. The house will gain value with adding an extra bedroom, an extra bathroom (we currently have one), and a finish basement. Most of the money toward the reno will be come from her so our pockets will not be hurting. She offered to pay the TV/Internet bundle bill, and for the cherry on top she can cook dinner on the days that I work and she can help out with the kids. Ok ok so I know it sounds like she's getting the bad end of the stick but she's really not, I promise.

She will b me able to save some cash, get a new car, enjoy her grandkids, and still have an area of the house for herself with her own bathroom. On the other side of things I was worry because her moving in meant that the hubby and I would have less privacy, she can be OCD about somethings (cleaning in particular), and most importantly I don't want her to feel that we are having her do too much or as if we are talking advantage of her. I also haven't lived with her in over 10 years so I feel that we might clash from time to time, which is expected I guess since we are both different beings.
So far things have been going well. She has been doing a little too much cleaning which is starting to worry me because again I don't want her to feel that she's doing everything. Although, I have been working the past several days so she's been home alone with nothing to do so I get why she's doing things. But I'll admit that's it's been pretty nice coming home to a super clean house :) not that I don't clean but I don't find it necessary to sweep and mop every.single.day. She has been moving things around too which I'm not happy with because then I can't find it but I just laugh about it. After all, she doesn't understand my system yet. 

In either case it's only been a week since she moved in so time will tell how things will end up but for now I'm glad to be spending time with my momma :)

Now about the reno, boy am I super excited for this!

We don't plan to stay in our house for a long time but doing the upgrades will sure be beneficial for us now as we enjoy them and when selling/possibly renting this house. So far only her "bedroom" is semi finished and needing to be painted with some framing  being started right outside the main living areas. I'm thinking the bathroom will be finished before anything else is though. 
After those two things are done the rest of the basement will be framed and divided into a seating/chill/workout area, and an official laundry room with extra storage. I am so excited for this! I'm excited for everything really but I've always wanted a designated laundry area  where I can fold and iron. Not that I enjoy doing laundry and all. 

Right now we're at a standing still since my moms friend who's doing the Reno has been getting lots of work so I foresee this little project taking quite the time to get done. In the meantime though I keep collection ideas of how I want the set up and how we'll decorate it. I've been learning a lot about construction too and electricity. I was able to assist him with the wiring and insulation. I can see myself doing that kind of work but do I have what it takes? Who knows. The hubby is in trouble though if I get any ideas to do other Reno around the house ;-)

Pamela 

I am so excited for the adventures that are coming this season. On top of this being my all time favorite season, from the cool weather to everything pumpkin flavored, we have lots of things going on on the weeks ahead.
My SIL Lola is coming to town for a couple of weeks with her four years old son. That means that many of our Fall adventures/traditions like apple picking, pumpking carving, seed roasting, and trick-or-treating, to name a few, will be done alongside that little one who lives across the country. As for the adults, events suchs as a bridal shower, bachelorette party, and a wedding awaits. Lots of eating out, wine drinking, and quality time will also be a part of this month. I decided to take off 2 weeks for her home visit, I mean why not? I have the time to use :) 
Then in November we are heading to Puerto Rico for a two weeks family vaction over the Thanksgiving break. I feel fortunate enough on being able to take off so many days in a two months period. I thought that this summer was a great one and as we get more in the groove of things this Fall season and the end of year approches I feel like this year has been short of amazing.
I'm excited for the weeks to come! But what I'm truly excited for is some me time. I cannot wait to be off from work and enjoy warm pumpkin flavored coffee outside my poch or out on my deck while I indulge in a romance novel. Maybe I'll embrace the cool weather and go for jogs/runs after dropping off the kids. Of course that my own schooling will be there with lots of demands but I will use my time wisely to make the best out of this stay-cation ;)
Look forward to the stay-cation highlights toward the end of this month as well as the last DITL post for the year!
xoxo,
Pamela

Four year ago I decided to change my lifestyle. I decided that it was time to grow up and focus on my family and new life as a new wife.

For you to understand me you need to know a little more about me and my dark past. Ok so is not that dark, just a little grey. You see, I've always enjoyed parties and dancing. Dancing is my passion, music is my stress reliever. If I'm home cleaning and I put on music to liven up the mood you bet that I'll end up showing my broom some moves ;) But four years ago I decided to be a follower of Christ and my old ways had to stop. And it has not been an easy journey. I've encounter many trials and tribulations along the way. And this might sound insane but if there was ever a out in my mind about God not being real, well there will never be again. The things I've witnessed and the things I've experienced have been beyond unnatural. There was definitely a higher power involved. Call me crazy but it's the truth. Maybe one day I'll share those experiences. For now though let's stay focus.

Little by little over the years I've pushed away from friends and family that were not on the same path as me. Now wait a minute, before you judge me hear me out. I did not push everyone away indefinitely, I simply stopped doing the things they were doing with them. Things that made me feel guilty like going to a dancing club Saturday night then to church on Sunday morning. The more I became involved in the church the more I pushed away. I didn't judge them, I just did not feel comfortable doing those things anymore. Many of my friends drink and smoke and dress very provocative and I was the outcast. I didn't belong and so I moved on, alone. Thankfully everyone respected my decisions and didn't judge me. We kept in touch and got together from time to time to catch up on life. Four years later and it all remains the same. I'm still moving on, alone, and my friends continue to go out dancing, drinking, casino hopping, etc. And so for many Saturday nights I sat back on my couch and allowed my earthly desires to be fulfill through my friends. It made me envious to see a group of girls go away to the city for a weekend, laughing, happy, having a good time, enjoying their 20s and here I was home alone.

Yes alone, although far from it, is how I felt when everyone was out having "fun". My kids would be watching TV or sleeping next to me, and my husband would either be out himself or sleeping through the boredom. I mean, of course I love being home with my boys but feeling left behind on what the rest of the world is doing is not the greatest feeling. It came to a point where it created problems in my marriage. My husband and I were not (and are still not) on the same spiritual journey. Is a daily struggle. He still goes out some weekends to watch a UFC fight or to hang out with the guys while I stay home alone thinking about what loser I must look like in a reality TV series jajaja. Deep down I felt alone. I had no one that shared my curent interest. It seemed like everyone was on the same page except for me. It sucked and I would take it out on my husband. "He had no business being out there with the rest of them, he was a family man now" I thought. He was putting himself in temptation's way. He was going to end up doing something he'd regret. It was all I could focus on. For years.

Then finally one night it hit me. I wasn't mad at my husband for having a life that seem more exciting than mine, I was mad at myself "for staying behind". I was allowing social media to blind me with what I thought was cool and what I was missing out on. The parties, the dancing, the drinking, the fun times with friends. But deep down I knew something wasn't right. I don't like waking up with a hangover. I don't like dropping off my kids at their grandparents so that I can go out dancing. I don't like wearing provocative clothes to call attention. I don't like feeling disrespected by man. I just wanted to have friends that share my interest, I didn't want to feel alone anymore and no one understood me.

I love being a Christian. I have met amazing people on this journey and it has brought me so much closer to others. I've found peace, and true love, and how beautiful forgiveness and God's grace can be. It has been hard staying focus and feeling alone but I wouldn't trade it.

I'm not perfect and still enjoy my glass of wine or two maybe even a Cosmo. I still listen to Spanish music and dance some bachata here and there.

I'd love to have more people on board with me but right now it seems that I'm still finding myself and I'm ok with that.

So I'm finally finishing up our last day of our first trip to OCMD. And that my friend is why I don't document vacations, because I can't never keep up with them. But then I read other bloggers vacation posts which are extremely detailed like Julia's here and I wish I had the time, energy, and motivation to write something as well written as she does but I always fail. This year I said that I would finish both trips even if it takes me all of 2015 to complete them. But knowing now how much work goes in to the detailed stuff I'm thinking that next time I'll probably be doing "trip highlights" instead. So be on the look out for those since we have quite a few trips coming up.

On our 4th day in OC we did what we had been doing every day since we got there. We woke up early and headed over to the beach. I guess the realization of it being the last day we were going to be there gave us motivation to wake up early and take advantage of the day ahead. 





At the beach we simply relaxed. We were all just enjoying the morning ocean side, we don't have nice beaches around us back at home so this is plain luxury. And I'm not even a beach person. Meaning I don't care much for salt water or sticky sand. But the view and the relaxation is all worth it. 

As I had BIL take one last picture of me and the hubby we had a beach photographer come near us and ask us to pose for him. We declined because we knew exactly how that works, they take beautiful pictures of your family and then beat you over the head with the price for them. No way, no sir, thank you. But he got us hahaha. He asked and insisted until we gave in and said "ok, we will pose for you but it'll be just for fun. We are not buying!" He agreed. He tooks pictures upon pictures of my little family and a few of the parents to be then one more of the entire group minus MIL's husband since he had walked over to the boardwalk for a bit. Then just like that our beach time was over. We packed our belongings and headed to the resort to pack up the room.  By 11:30am we were all set to check out. We were planning on staying till later in the afternoon and heading home by 3ish. We had some pool time, ate some pizza, and then headed back to the pavillion to grill.





At the pavillion the kids palyed, my mom enjoyed some more time in the inside hot tub, and the rest of the adults sat around talking while hubby and MIL grilled lunch. We talked about our time there, how many times we had taken small trips like that to OC and how much fun it has been to see the family grow year after year. 

While we waited for the food I thought it would be cool to have a little recording session asking everyone about their time in OC and boy oh boy this family sure is nuts hahaha but I love them either way. (Link to video coming soon.)




After eating we changed our wet clothes in the inside pool bathrooms which have showers :) and packed the cars. My mom and I drove back with the hubby, Miguel and Stephanie drove my car back, and MIL and her entourage drove back in their car. There was a huge storm happening back home and MIL even contemplated staying another night but hubby shut down that idea faster then it had popped in her head. He was itching to get back to work. We left OC a little before 3pm and we made it home right around 6pm.

It never gets old. No matter how many times we come to this place we don't get tired of it. The memories that have been built here, the laughs, the fights, the tears, the money spent, it has all been worth it. Trip after trip I look forward to coming back once again.




Stay tune for OCMD 2015 Part 2!

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