Ben - 5 Months

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Ben rolled over last week! He fell asleep trying to push himself over :)

Talking to Momma - Starting to get very interactive!

Ben goes to church, too - check out the little vest!

Emma Goes to Church

Friday, March 27, 2009

Emma looks so pretty going to church each Sunday. She loves going to nursery (Sunday school) and knows all the kid's names in her class. She learned "I Am a Child of God" just hearing it once or twice and taught it to me! I am so proud of her growing social skills. Gracias a Marina por los vestidos mas lindos que diste a Emma!

Ready to get in the car to go to church.

Catching one last glimpse of Dora before leaving (it helps me get her hair done).

Happy to be home.

A smile for the camera! Wow, that's rare!

I Am Officially Inspired.

Monday, March 23, 2009

I have been watching The Biggest Loser for 2 or 3 years now. I always thought it was a neat show to watch because they are real people with real issues that lose a ton of weight.

This season has been different from the others for me. I find myself in tears every other week watching them. Maybe I can relate to them more than ever before now that I have 2 kids, a husband and a house to juggle (and more weight to lose). This season they've talked a bunch about involving people at home. One thing they're doing is the Pound for Pound Challenge. Also, I've heard a lot in the player's comments: "don't just sit on the couch and watch, do something about it". I began to feel a little hypocritical doing just that - sitting there on the couch and just watching, when I know that I have the willpower to do more.

So I started getting up early to exercise. No excuses. Yeah, it can be hard when Ben decides to wake me up 1-2 times a night, but there is no time like the present. Ugh I feel sick writing this, but I am making a public promise here so that I stick to my word.

After I had Ben I weighed 195 lbs. (Feeling sicker.) When I got married I weighed 160, and that was the thinnest I've ever been in my life. I've always been "big boned" as my well-meaning family would always say. But I wasn't meant to be that way - I just think that there were a lot of stresses growing up and I put on weight and never lost it. I think deep inside of me there is a mentally and physically healthy 140-145 lb. Michelle. And so that's my pledge. No more sitting on the couch and watching others take control. It's my turn. I HAVE to make time for myself, and just do it.

So there it is. I am making a promise to myself and to the whole world I guess, to lose 40 (eek) pounds. My plan is to wake up and do an exercise video before the kids wake up, make healthier choices in the kitchen, and incorporate more activity into my daily schedule. (I'm starting a garden...posts to come soon!).

Are you trying to lose weight or be healthier? What are your goals? Share with me so I don't feel so sick haha!

Veracruz: The Final Chapter

Monday, March 16, 2009

The Fokker Almost Crashed.

The stupid plane that started all of our problems (I got in trouble for taking this picture, we were walking here to board the plane.)

Papi and Ben exhausted.

The Story:
I realize it's a play on words, but I really am not swearing here. That's the real name of the stupid airplane that started it all. The Fokker 100.

I really wish this never happened and we could have ended with our happy beach memories. But it did, and it's taken us 2 weeks (today) to recover from it all.

Our plane took off on a Friday at 3pm. It went up in the air, circled the port of Veracruz, and then landed again at the Veracruz airport. I was too busy enjoying the view to realize when we landed that we were right back where we had started!

They told us they were going to fix the error and that it would be about 45 min. We got off the plane and ate lunch. 45 minutes later, they canceled our flight. When the news was announced, everybody started running for the doors so that they could get in line to make their arrangements. But since we had the 2 kids, we weren't so fast.

We were at the end of the line, and we were there for about 2 hours. I noticed the line was not moving. It seemed they were taking 30 minutes per party to fix their tickets and get them compensation. There was this french woman in front of me with a toddler like Emma. Both kids were irritable and antsy. (The portable DVD player's battery died and there were no more Dora episodes for the princess.) I watched the French woman as she cut in line and asked to be attended to because of her little one. Anger welled up inside of me as I watched her wait, Emma cry, and Ben get sleepy,and all as time passed and it was getting dark outside. I gathered all the courage inside of me, took Emma in my arms, and placed myself right behind the Frenchwoman (who was now being attended to). I could feel people glaring at me. These 2 annoying ladies kept trying to get in front of me, but I was bigger than them, and I let them know it. I was really mad that we had been there 3 hours with our little kids.

We left the airport by car around 7:30pm with flights scheduled for 6am Sunday morning (remember it was Friday). That was the best they could offer us, my guess is because of all the people who were in front of us. There was one catch that I didn't pay much attention to at the time. They changed airlines in the process. We were flying Click Mexicana, and they changed our tickets to Aeromexico. We would soon find out that this was a problem.

The whole week we had been staying with Emmanuel's sister. But she had some other family coming in town the weekend we were leaving. So we went to Emmanuel's mom's house. We had to all sleep in the same bedroom, so we decided to have me and Emma sleep in one bed, put Ben in the pack and play, and have Emmanuel sleep in the twin bed. When Emma discovered that I was there sleeping with her at about 2am, she would not leave me alone. She was kicking me, rolling on me, putting her cheek against mine, hugging me. A side note - Emma and I have NEVER slept together. She's always been made to sleep alone in her crib. Also worth mentioning is that I'm the type of sleeper that needs to be left alone, untouched, or I can't sleep. Emmanuel knows to keep his distance :) Around 3am, Emma woke up completely. She stood up in the bed, wanted to go downstairs, etc. We tried to leave the room and make her fall back asleep, but we came back in too early, she heard us, and proceeded to throw a fit. We didn't get back to sleep until 5am.

The next night we had to get up at 4:30am to get to the airport on time. Emma screamed herself to sleep that night because we made her sleep in the pack and play. This time, Ben and Emmanuel slept together. We did this because the previous night we tried putting Ben with me in the bed and Emma in the pack and play and she was all jealous of Ben and wanted to be with mami too. So I slept in the single bed. There was something in the bed that kept me scratching my throat all night, and before I knew it it was 4:30 and I hadn't slept at all.

We arrived at the airport on time. When we got in line to check in, Aeromexico told us that they would not honor vouchers that Click Mexicana gave us to fly and that we could not board the flight. I was steaming inside and about to flip out, but Emmanuel kept his cool and talked real smooth to the lady and got her to put us on the flight. We arrived in Mexico City at 8am.

Our connecting flight to Reynosa (the Mexican side of the border) was at 11am. Before we could board, we had to talk to both Mexicana and Aeromexico several times to verify certain things and pay some taxes. Everything seemed fine. We got a bite to eat, and when they called our flight, we were the first ones in line. We were on the bus that was going to take us to the plane when we heard them calling, "Emmanuel Garrido!"

They took us all off the bus and told us we weren't verified to fly and that (yep, you guessed it) Aeromexico was not accepting vouchers from Mexicana. We asked to speak to their supervisor, they wouldn't let us. We told them the same thing happened that morning. They didn't care. We told them that we had already talked to several different representatives from both airlines that morning. They didn't care. I couldn't hold back my emotion. I started to sob. I was functioning with a combined total for both nights of 4 hours of sleep, the portable DVD was dead (I had no energy for entertaining Emma, and I really needed Dora!) Emma's eczema was horribly flared up, Emmanuel and Ben were dead tired, and we just wanted to go home!

Let me mention here that we were just trying to get to Reynosa (the Mexico border). We STILL had to drive from Reynosa to San Antonio and cross the border. That's why it was so important that we were on the 11am flight, so we could get home in the same day. We didn't have a hotel set up for that night because we expected to have plenty of time to get home.

Mexicana was visibly mad when they heard what happened and took care of the mix up, after an exchange of words. Aeromexico gave us tickets to have lunch and assured us it would not happen again. Mexicana said they could do nothing more for us. I'm still mad about this. They gave us some food vouchers and (3) $100 coupons (one for me, Emmanuel, Emma) for future flights in this calendar year with Mexicana. This was all for cancelling our flight, making us 2 days late, and then getting held up in Mexico City all day with 2 kids? Is this happening? It's outrageous and unfair. And who the HECK wants to ever fly with Mexicana again after their elaborate mix-up, poor customer service and disorganization?

So, the ending. We were stuck in D.F. from 8am to 4pm. We got to Reynosa around 5, got in the car around 6, crossed the border around 7-8, and made it back here around 1am. The kids hate sleeping in the car. They were crying for stretches of the way home. I was fighting my eyelids so that I could be alert for Emmanuel who was driving. But we made it safe, and we all slept in our own beds that night. Home sweet sweet home.

It really took me 2 weeks to recover. I got pretty sick with mean flu symptoms and could do very little but rest and take care of the kids. We got back 1 am Mon. and I didn't go grocery shopping until Wed.! We ate from the freezer those 2 days :)

Right now, it really just feels like a bad dream. You know when something really crummy and almost traumatizing happens to you and the memory fades as time passes? That's what's happened. I've been remembering the beach and the good family times more and more as time passes. And you know what? We'd do it all over again if we had to. It was horrible. But nothing replaces the memories you make with the family that you live so far away from. The time spent together will never be the same. The kids will never be 2 and 5 mos. again. The cousins will also never be the same ages. This trip might have had a monstrous ending, but this trip to Veracruz, while we were in Veracruz, was the best trip of my life.

Veracruz: Chapter 5 of 6

Friday, March 13, 2009

I've been holding out for these ones...they are the best of the bunch!

The Beach

Veracruz: Chapter 4

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Some Relaxing Times

Emma playing ball in the Zócalo.


Ben"jamón" (Ben-ham in Spanish) as Tio Tavo (Uncle Tavo) calls him - playing together.

Abuela Chagua swinging Ben in the hammok.


Emma found the gata!

We got to go out on a date once or twice while the kids were sleeping. Here we were shoe shopping for us, but we ended up coming back with shoes for Emma :P

Veracruz: Chapter 3

Friday, March 6, 2009

Carnaval

Day 2 in Veracruz was the beginning of this huge parade to kick off the annual Carnaval - much like Mardi Gras, but more family-oriented (from what I saw, at least). This was also the first day we noticed Emma was not herself. Poor thing had an ear infection and we're dragging her all around town. Everybody was so excited to go to the parade I didn't want to be a party pooper and insist on putting the kids to bed instead. So, we went - and it was truly a disaster.



Papi and Ben waiting for a taxi to take us downtown.
Emma and Abuela Chagua waiting for the taxi, too.


Emma was so exhausted she passed out in Emmanuel's arms - despite the noise from the crowds.


One of the best-looking floats I saw.


Another cool float.


The disaster was this. We were sitting in bleachers. We got there last because we couldn't find a taxi to take all of us, and the lady in charge sold our seats. She managed to squeeze us in the entrance to the bleachers on the bottom row because she felt bad for selling our tickets. It was the highest traffic area of the whole set of bleachers because it was the entrance. Once the parade got going and it got dark out, people started getting really rude. They were standing up so no one could see, they were leaving and then coming back, and they took no notice to the 3 kids that were with us. The latter part is what ticked me off the most. So every time somebody decided to go get a drink, we all had to get up or move completely to make room for them to get out. Then once the parade started, those who didn't have tickets or seats tried to squeeze in the entrance without being noticed. This made our space go from very little to nothing at all. I put up with it for about 30 minutes for my in-laws sake's. Then I went ballistic. First, this mid-30's guy kept pushing up behind me. Then this flock of teenagers almost trampled Emma. I stood up, told my in-laws we had to leave NOW, and pushed through the crowd with Emma in my arms yelling "move!" and telling the lady in charge, "I can't believe we PAID for this!". I am still trying to figure out what happened to me haha. I really lost my cool. I think it was in part a claustrophobic reaction. And I was appalled by the way those people weren't taking any notice to our little ones and how Emma almost got hurt by one of them. Oh, and it was wicked late and I was worried about Emma's ear and getting her to bed. So, I made a scene, I pulled a "Dale Numbers", but it was worth it. I think my in-laws like me more because of it haha. At least they know now that I have a strong opinion once provoked, regardless of the language and I'm not some weird mute gringa.

Veracruz: Chapter 2

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Let's party!

The kids did super our first night traveling. Emma slept through the night and was actually excited to be in the hotel. When we arrived in Veracruz, the whole family was buzzing with excitement. Not only had we just arrived, but it was the event of the year for the Garrido's - Emmanuel's Dad's birthday party.

The birthday man - 76 years old! Can you believe he still goes to work in the hot sun everyday?


And his lovely wife...she made that cake.

He was pretty happy to meet Ben. Too bad my babies are so heavy he can't carry them long...

A birthday dance :)

Vacation to Veracruz: Chapter 1

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We had to get there first.

I don't know why we're still trying to be adventurous now that we have 2 kids, but we decided to drive to the border, cross, stay in a hotel overnight, and fly the next morning from Reynosa to Veracruz.

Almost to the border! Getting a little nervous at this point...the news in Reynosa is pretty scary.



You know you're in Mexico when...



There are military tanks with armed men all around the Mexico side of the border...pretty creepy. Reynosa is like the armpit of Mexico, really.



Sweet Emma and Papi watching our airplane ride arrive. She was so excited!