Adventures of Momdom

I missed my bus this morning, so I took a different one to catch the train. As soon as we get off the bus, the train pulls in and everyone is running to catch it. Phatfat fell and the guy behind us picked her up to help us all get the train.

Not until she sits down (and the train pulls off) does she or I realize that She Lost a Shoe!!! I now have the pleasure of carrying this (not so little) darling up & down stairs to a connecting train, then again to exit the train station and finally two blocks from the train to the sitter's house, some more stairs and an incredibly slow elevator ride up to her apartment.

I hereby declare this episode of "Adventures of Momdom" as fulfilling today's workout requirements. Did I mention she weighs just over 50 lbs?!?!?

#MyLifeIsNeverBoring!!

Time for change

Recently, I've been trying to take steps toward being healthier. I've realized that I'm getting older and I'm not as spry as I once was (not to mention, my family's medical history is a genetic nightmare).

I push myself daily to stay away from things I Know aren't good for me. But old habits die hard. Especially considering my addiction to Oreos and coffee *I like to think I've single handedly kept the Starbucks in both MetroTech And Hanover Square open for business!!*

This past week, I've had a trip to the ER, two to my primary physician plus Eleventy-twelve blood tests, image scans and neurological exams.

Needless to say, I've had the health scare of my life! From food/medicinal/environmental allergies to nutrient deficiencies and genetic "no duh's". At first, I was scared & highly pissed off. I don't want to have any surgeries or walk around with a pharmacy in my purse. I don't want to give up the foods I adore or take nutrient supplements. Nor do I have any desire to read labels, Google organic foods, re-learn how to grocery shop or carry an Epi-pen wherever I go.

I've never been a religious zealot. But I DO know God and that He arranges things in a seemingly random chain of events to help me learn or achieve. As a Champion of "Organized Chaos", I recognize that this is how God works in MY life.

After a restless night of worrying, obsessing and over-analyzing ('cause that's how I function), I came to the epiphany that all these things are a culmination of what I started to do a few weeks back. All of these" health concerns" are just a catalyst and motivation for me to continue to seek out and establish a healthier lifestyle.

No more excuses for why I "can't" work out or eat better. No more giving myself "a free pass" because I'm tired or not feeling well. For every time I've watched/heard a family member neglect their own health because of a lack of self-discipline, I will remind myself of those who have gone too soon from something that could've been avoided.

Family

Growing up, holidays were HUGE! Epic, really. No one needed an invitation, because everyone KNEW where to be & when. Kids ran around playing. Grownups cooked, drank, danced, drank, caught up with eachother, drank, (alcohol was a staple in this family, sad truth)...
But everyone played their role. Everyone from the chef(s), the apprentice(s), the drunk, obscure relatives who insisted on hugs & kisses from reluctant children (who had ZERO clue who the hell these people were)...
People fought over the ONE t.v. to watch either football games or parades. Which didn't really matter, since the radio blaring Salsa y Merengue always drowned out whatever was on the tv.
Someone always had embarrassing pictures AND stories of any and everything. Which inevitably caused a fight. There was ALWAYS a fight. And that fight was usually resolved with a gallon of Bacardi, ending with the fighters crying and saying they loved eachother. Sometimes somebody stormed out. They eventually came back.
When it was time to eat, it was a
Puerto
Rican glutton's Paradise! Arroz y gandules, pernil, pasteles, ensalada de papa(potato salad), deviled eggs, corn on the cob... an almost endless buffet of goodies. I miss these days of Real Family togetherness. I wish
I knew what happened to us. Why everyone turned away from the obligation of family. Why everyone got so selfish and self centered. Why no-one is willing to admit and apologize to the other for their wrongdoing. It's really sad that my children, nieces, nephews and second (or third) cousins are growing up not knowing their family. Not knowing where they come from. Not knowing all the great stories of how they came to be.

Technical Difficulties

I have NO idea what I'm doing wrong... figuring out this blog stuff is hard enough. Add in three attention craving offspring & I'm a Complete mess! Not to mention, I thought downloading the Blogger app to my phone would simplify things (it didn't). :-/
How in the Halibut do I link my post(s) to my facebook feed????

Ggrrr....

My son or my man???

Today "The Boy" was more than anxious to get home.

He wouldn't tell my why, but somehow or other believed that I could will our train to go faster or change cross signals with my (supposed) powers of telepathy. He ran up the stairs to our apartment tripping over himself & the monstrosity that is his backpack only to realize I was still at the bottom of the stairs...WITH the keys!

Once I was finally able to get the door open, he bolted into his room frantically looking for some all important object he absolutely must have right now!! He's seriously tearing the room apart; throwing clothes everywhere, pulling drawers out of the dresser, yanking stuff down out the closet. He even turned over his mattress!!

Dude, really? O_o

So I (not very calmly) asked "Why are you jacking stuff up like a maniac?"

The Boy: "I had $10 in my drawer and I NNEEEEDD it!!"

Me: "Why do you 'NNEEEEDD' $10 right this minute? "

The Boy: "Because I need to buy something important!"

Me: "We just got home. I'm tired and I really don't want to go back out. Why didn't you say you needed something on the way home?" 

He's speachless & out of breath. Unresponsive to my questions; but still intent on finding the last $10 in the universe.

Me "Okaaayyy..... So, I'm gonna leave you here to clean up this mess. You got five minutes. That's three minutes longer than it took to make it"

Less than a minute later, he comes out with tears pouring down his face.

Me: "What is the matter with you? I'll give you the ten bucks if it's that important. But you need to pick up that mess."

The Boy: "You don't understand!!"

Me: "No, I don't. But if you tell me, WITHOUT crying, I might."

The Boy: "It was supposed to be a surprise. There's a man at the bus stop on my way home & he's there everyday selling different kinds of flowers..."

Me: "You have a girlfriend?!?!"

The Boy: "Moooommmm! You know I don't have a girlfriend. I just started at that school, and...uuuuggghh!! You're distracting me!"

Me: "Okay, so no girlfriend. *whew!* Go ahead."

The Boy: "So, the man sells flowers & I he even has Purple ones. His sign says $9.99 & I wanted to buy them on my way home from school tomorrow & surprise you..."

OMG, at this point I'M crying! I can't even finish.... Oh well, I <3 my son. Who needs a man when I have him?!?! <3 <3 <3

Not a cookie!!

Normally Olivia just does her own thing while Joseph and Ruth have their after school snack. But lately she's just not that into being a toddler. She absolutely HAS to do everything the big people do - exactly how they do it! So naturally, while her siblings are sitting down to eat she has to sit at the table with them.

Now, I know full well the child isn't hungry; because she had a snack at 2:00 before the other kids came home.

I sit her down and give her a coloring book and some crayons. Unacceptable! She just flung them across the room. So I offer her a toy to play with. That wasn't to her liking either. Fine. I let her sit there and watch as we talk about our day. Next thing I know, she reaches over and snatches Ruth's jelly toast right out of her hand!! I take it away and give it back to Ruth. Here we go - her Scream. It's not even a scream really, it's more like she's WAILING!! So I give her a spoon & let her attempt to open the jelly while I toast her bread. She obviously saw right through my attempt to distract her and proceeded to throw her spoon at her brother's head in protest!! Poor Joseph is crying. This girl's got an arm!

Finally, the toast  is done! I quickly grab a butter knife, smear the jelly and hand the toast to Olivia.


"NO!!! Not a cookie!!" she says, climbs down from her perch and leaves the kitchen.

The calm before the storm

Olivia has some kind of weird bond with my Aunt D.
Every time Olivia sees her walk in/out of the door, she screams at the top of her lungs until she gets some lovin'.

   So this afternoon my aunt heads out the door just to go to the store across the street and Olivia starts hollerin' "I WANNA GO!!!! ME! I GO TOO!!" So D takes her with. (No stroller!! What a brave woman...) Walking around, you'd never known there was an almost 2 yr old in the store. She behaved like a big girl and didn't grab at things walking through the aisles. Candy aisle; nothing... Cookie aisle; silence...Potato chips, soda, cereal; not a sound. WOW!!! Olivia is just astounding Aunt D with her behavior!

As they pass the refrigerated section, something catches Olivia's eye. She stops dead in her tracks and here it comes- the tantrum- she found something she wants...."CHEEECKUUNNN!!!!" Dumbfounded, Aunt D takes out a box of frozen chicken & Olivia stops crying. Noticing that the box is partially open & torn, she puts the box back & Olivia starts screaming at the top of her lungs"NOOO!!!!! MINE!! MINE!! MIIIINNNNEE!!!" Aunt D takes out another box & hands it to Olivia.

The battle is won. Olivia happily carries her box of chicken through the store to check out.
Awesome.