Cruz Chatter

Baile Folklorico

2012-02-12T22:08:00.001-06:00

Cora and Perry just started participating in baile folklorico, Mexican traditional dancing. This is the first dance they have learned - La Raspa.

making the cut

2012-01-13T12:32:00.002-06:00

we had a good friend (robb) take some family pictures. he is the real deal. it was a full-on photo shoot in our living room. we snapped a few for our christmas card which was so fun to pull together. here are some that didn't make the cut, but which i enjoy immensely!

thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-13T12:28:00.002-06:00

just had to post this beautiful little face. i love her gorgeous brown skin. i spent lunch with perry at school for the thanksgiving feast (in november of course). she was so happy to have me there with her. she gave me ALL the details of kindergarten life.

SAY WHAT?!

2012-01-13T12:17:00.002-06:00

this one was funny after i heard myself say the words.

cristian has a wart on his left elbow. he's become really aware of it and is often times fiddling around with it. he's learned it grosses us out.

one of his current past times these days is annoying, teasing, or grossing people out. enter.pre-pubesent.boy. (sigh)

he was asking me for something and i shot him down, dashing his future of happiness for ever. he takes his warty elbow and starts rubbing it (the wart) up and down my forearm.

i angrily tell him, "stop rubbing your wart on me!"

there ya go. who'd ever thought i'd need to say such a thing!

boys.

Cora's First Performance

2011-12-01T23:28:00.003-06:00

Cora was so nervous about her performance tonight. She did a great job and we our so proud of our budding violinist!

Click on the picture for a link to her performance.

Twinkle Twinkle

signs

2011-11-18T14:19:00.003-06:00

my boy is changing.

gosh, i hate it. especially because he is my firstborn. that's what i keep telling myself at least.

he is still my sweet child, but i see the metamorphosis happening.

he's increasingly more quiet (if that is possible).
he retreats to his bedroom for long periods of time.
he likes music and listens to it and knows all the current songs.
some girls really annoy him, but SOME don't. (eek)
he is wearing deodorant.
his legs are getting hairier.
he doesn't see the need to shower EVERY day.
he has almost a man's appetite.
i am no longer allowed to hold his hand or kiss him in public. (stab my heart)
he and i are reading the same books for fun.

this is a heart wrenching part of parenthood. i know it is just growing pains for us both, but man does this hurt emotionally. i am happy to see him mature and develop himself. but what happens when he has a girlfriend? oh no, i don't think they are going to stand a chance.

i've got to tame my mama-bear now.

Mustang Owners Car Show

2011-08-06T14:28:00.005-05:00

I took these three boys with me today to the Mustang Owners Club of Austin Car Show. I have to admit it was more for me than for them, but I think they enjoyed it. The muscle cars of the 60s and 70s these days just seem to call my name these days - may be directly related my approaching 40. One of these days I may surprise Jen and drive one home instead of my 1997 Volvo.

Cristian's Favorite - Shelby Cobra

Mason's Favorite - because of the doors.

Not sure what Ian's favorite car was, but he just appreciates cars in general.

I didn't really have a favorite, but I definitely gravitate to the 60s mustangs. There were probably 40 of them there. Very Nice!

I am looking forward the Texas Classic Car Show on September 24!

pacos' love of my sister

2011-08-04T10:20:00.002-05:00

carlos loves this picture of shay. in fact he uses it on his phone as her i.d. when she calls. i don't even know how she produced such a face but it's here to stay. she actually scares me here. one of her finer moments and i'm sure she's thrilled to be published here.

zoo fieldtrip

2011-08-04T09:58:00.002-05:00

i take one large outing with the kids every week and call it "fieldtrip day". the name alone excites them more than the outing i think. this week we drove up to waco to visit the cameron park zoo. we've been a handful of times before and enjoyed it so much that we've bought season passes.

yesterday was a great time with the kids. i so enjoyed the afternoon with them. here are some highlights:

1. the 109 degree weather
2. mason asking to go home after we'd been there for 30 minutes
3. my genius gene striking again - i supplied all 4 kids with spray bottles to spray each other with as we walked everywhere. they kept us cooler and they loved the "toy factor".
4. cristian announcing that he was sweating in places he never knew could sweat on his body.
5. perry screaming because she was scared of the river otters.
6. an almost empty zoo because of the heat.
7. the feeding of the lime green eel before closing time.
8. perry announcing she wanted to "love on those" cute tiny screech owls.
9. cristian being eyed by the alligator like he was the next meal.
10. cora's retelling of an indian legend prompted by our visit to the bison and tepee. she retold the whole story for the following 20 minutes. it was precious.
11. mason's spraying of his armpits and making the loudest armpit farts ever. he and i were both so proud.
12. mason's announcement of his favorite animal at dinner being the "dik dik". it's an actual animal, look it up.
13. the cute brown duck with a bright blue bill.
14. perry's love of the huge rusty orangutan.
15. cristian catching a dragon fly.
16. perry accumulating a collection of 8 river turtles with her spray bottle.
17. cora's spotting of the alligator gar in the pond. they are freaky, ugly fish.

the heat could have made for such a miserable day. but it was the best time i've had with them at the zoo. it was fabulous. i hope they remember these memories that we are making for a lifetime.

dads are great for this....

2011-07-30T19:20:00.003-05:00

...all thirty minutes of screaming with joy!

the house

2011-07-28T14:27:00.008-05:00

here's our new house - still under construction. we'll be moving in in about 3 weeks and we are ALL so excited about it. we drove by today (as is custom) and noticed that they are working on the sprinklers and sod. yee haw?
here is cristian's private bathroom. he is pretty jazzed about it. i've tried to make it extra special for him since he is entering tweendom. he specifically asked to have his own bedroom which surprised me. it shouldn't though. he is gaining more independece and automy which is good but personally devastating for his mommie. we picked out his bath decor and he's getting a large bed with new bedding to boot.

this is the girls' room. we picked this over the others because of the lovely bay windows. i thought cora would want her own room but she still loves the security of having perry with her at night. hey, i'll take that as long as it lasts.

in case the dishwasher doesn't arrive i've got my spare ready to go. no electricity or batteries required. he looks happy about it now - just wait! the granite isn't something i would have picked out but i can definitely live with it. we actually didn't pick out anything in the house. it was an existing unfinished home. i got to "pick out" the tile from the three choices they gave me. not what i would have chosen either, but it'll do.

ridiculous amounts of cupboard space with i am totally down with. i am excited about having a built in micro and oven next to each other. as usual, these large homes have tiny pantries. i just don't get it. i'll forever love my pantry on john tee. it was ginormous!

love the curving stairway. the youngsters have already been caught climbing the outside of the railings. REALLY?!! (sigh) my favorite feature of this home is the very grand and open foyer and staircase as you enter the front doors. large foyers make me feel like the house tells a story when you enter.

the lovely foyer. i keep myself awake at night thinking about how to decorate this space. silly isn't it?

covered porch is lovely but i'll never use it. i don't BBQ on my porch nor drink beer. someday we want to build it into another room. the small three windows above it will be a fifth bedroom hopefully within the next year.

melt

2011-07-26T22:37:00.002-05:00

here is my beautiful boy. he has been fun this summer. he has had a lot of changes in the past few months. he is really enjoying reading with us these days instead of getting so frustrated by sounding out words. he still loves to rhyme. dr.seuss is his idol. he is experiencing growing pains. his legs ache and he is eating lots of food as of late. he has become such a strong swimmer. he is loving building with several block kits he owns. he loves to manage the car. about every 2 minutes he reports the time to me that he sees on the dash. he is always telling me how much gas the car has and calls out the color of the lights so i can text at the reds. he is still a volatile little personality. he has done well though telling us now that he has been "made angry". it's a step in the right direction. he is obsessed with "technology" and gets very bent when he is denied access. he loves to climb into our bed every morning for a few minutes. he is still our best sleeper and earliest riser. we are working on his volume control. he talks way too loud for each setting. he secretly loves my tickles but fight them everyday.

even though he is such a pickle, there is something that i just can't get enough of about him. i love him so much. he is such an independent, unique personality. he is so strong and overwhelming, but sensitive at the same time. he tries me the hardest sometimes, but i love him to pieces. he is just priceless to me. i cannot imagine him not being in our family. we all need and love who he is.

my genius gene strikes again

2011-07-26T22:32:00.004-05:00

point a) i hate the junk linoleum in our craptastic rental. i decided to use the sqares to our advantage. cristian had a good time taping off the hopscotch board per my instructions.
point b) look how freak'n black our little pear-bear is this summer. our daily swims are really paying off, eh?

drew names

2011-07-26T22:26:00.006-05:00

sometimes the kiddies fight over who gets to bake with me on sunday afternoons...
that was the case last sunday and cora and cristian got their names drawn for pineapple upside-down cake. we've never made it before.

they did a great job lining up the fruit "just so"

it looked beautiful and was a hit with most of the family

portraits

2011-07-25T21:20:00.005-05:00

we had some pics taken of the kiddies a couple months back. my intent was to have one blown up for carlos' office at work for father's day. it'll happen eventually. i love the colors the kids wore and the photographer had some fun poses & props. my babies just aren't babies anymore. sigh.

2011-07-25T21:14:00.002-05:00

as usual, i don't make this stuff up. cora & lena asleep with their masks on. we are in so much trouble.

2011-07-05T10:03:00.003-05:00

this has been the summer of stir fry. all the kids will eat it...

it's healthy....

it's pretty...

it's quick....

it's been eaten every week for a past two months. yumm-o!

2011-07-05T09:59:00.001-05:00

here's what our summer looks like. how i love these little faces!

the Brown Bag in the Brown Home

2011-07-05T09:26:00.013-05:00

our annual camping trip began with a visit to our friends, the brown's. they introduced us to a crazy game called the brown bag.

its simple. take a paper grocery bag. cut it down by half from the top. the challenge is to pick up the bag with your mouth. only the bottom of your feet may touch the ground.

after every round you trim off the top of the bag. (we pause here for some comic relief from mace and girl friendship from cora and haley)

it's hilarious to watch the kids contort their bodies to pick up the bag with their mouth.

poor tucker got a little over zealous and ended up with an ice pack on his wallabies after the game!

thank you brown's for the introduction to this fun game! it's been a hit with every crowd we've played it with.

that's "mrs. genius" to you

2011-05-19T23:22:00.004-05:00

when shay was delivering kavers she was the vomit queen. with every contraction she'd vomit and dry heave. it was very painful to see my baby sister in that condition. and hard to not console her. that was her husband's place and duty and he was taking it full on. at the foot of her hospital bed was a neat little dispenser of blue vomit bags. they had a cardboard circular ring at the opening and pointed into a sleek bag ready to collect its contents. they were the coolest invention eva!

i say this because cristian has always been our carsick child. this was a small, compact answer to our driving dilemma. i stole like 5 that day. ever since then, whenever i've had to go to the ER i make sure to steal about 5 more. i'm telling you they are awesome. when your child carries around a barf bucket it is large, cumbersome and let's face it the contents sometimes splash outside the bucket. vomiting isn't a clean process.

i ran out of barf bags and shalynn has decided to start birthing children in other states so my stealing practices came to a halt. the perfect storm came around our house about 2 months ago. in my 10 years of parenting it was the first illness bloodbath. the simultaneous infection of all 5 children. they staggered themselves of 2-3 at a time. some with vomit, some with diarrhea. one would mend, return to school, then flip and come down with the opposing aliment. for 2 weeks the house was fluids from both ends. i had to devise a plan.

i thought of how i could make these amazing barf bags....

i found the embroidery rings at hob lob. get the plastic ones so they can be washed by hand if necessary. the wooden ones will soak up stains, smells, etc. ooh, look cute fun colors....

1 gallon freezer bags simply looped through the rings with the rings tightened snugly.

one cute kid fake vomiting/laughing into his vomit bag. these are even better than hospital ones because they are ziploc-able. you remove the ring, seal the contents, and throw away. i keep these bad boys in the car at all times.

for real, it's a gross topic, but i'm a freak'n genius for creating these little numbers! enjoy.

mixed bag

2011-05-19T23:06:00.002-05:00

i had some serious doubts about cristian's soccer team when the season started. he is way taller than all the other boys because it's a 3rd/4th grade team. i thought for sure he wouldn't be challenged on the team with such little fellas to work with. then our coach bailed. he suddenly had to relocate to another city for work. it left the team short and without a coach.

a couple of dad's stepped up to fill in for the season. i think most of them are techies and sports are really alien to them. no kidding, last week's game found the coach wearing a shirt in bold letters that read, "STAR WARS". this team is breaking all stereotypical barriers.

the team is doing quite well. especially the tiny little indian boy who plays goalie. he is just so scrappy and tenacious. there are other boys who have soccer in their blood. it's really a fascinating dance of various skill and talent while watching them play. i'm always impressed.

my favorite part of his team though is the diversity. wow, it's a total mixed bag of ethnicity. and to think we are in suburbia in austin texas makes me so, so happy. in fact, there is only one caucasian boy on the team. two, i guess if you count cristian - i never know where to put my kids on the race scale - they're both.

check out these names though - elijah, arsh, jacob, diego, akalish, edgar, mauricio, trunks, and cristian. we've got hispanics, indians, i guess Mediterranean, and caucasian. it seriously is such a beautiful thing for me to see. i love my kids having such experiences.

random

2011-04-09T15:44:00.002-05:00

perry stacking the zoo collection on her face. she was really entertained by this. i thought it was pretty cute myself. she loves to ham it up in all things. my mister mace. til the end of time, his eyes will just captivate me. they are big round deep almonds. i just love them. and he is a major eye speaker. he is always communicating with his gorgeous peepers. the kids are spending lots of time outdoors with their scooters, bikes, etc. case in point right?

Over Dosing

2011-03-27T22:54:00.003-05:00

This was a weekend, like a perfect storm or something, where everything lined up insanely. This time it all revolved around church. I am so glad it's Monday tomorrow. We started Friday afternoon with a trip to San Antonio for Carlos and I to attend the temple. All the kids were great in the car for there and back. They got to hang with Auntie Noel while we were in the temple. Not bad. Saturday morning brought a double baptism for two of Cora's friends. Cora, Cyrus, and I went along to show our support. Not bad yet. While at the baptism the missionaries call. Of course, I had signed up to feed them that night. I swear I have the worst karma with feeding those boys. It's always when we are stupid busy with something. I start to get a wee bit anxious now. I complain to Carlos when I get home (3 hours later) that this weekend would be hilarious if our home teachers visit us, he needs to give a blessing to someone, and the kids have a talk to give in Primary. His eyes light up. No kidding, while I was gone, Primary called to remind us that Cristian had a talk to give! Heavy sigh. I go about the afternoon. That night I prepare my lesson for Perry's class. I was subbing for a friend. It's on the Holy Ghost. Deep breathes, Jen. Sunday morning Carlos is gone by 6 a.m for his church meetings. I arrive 30 minutes late to sacrament with the kids. Typical. 9 a.m - 5 kids - my sleep schedule = perpectual tardiness. Carlos stays after church for more church work to complete. I get stuff settled at home (somewhat). Carlos leaves again at 7 p.m. for more church meetings. Maybe it wouldn't have been so intense for me, but this was the weekend we were getting the house prepped to put back on the market. Shopping, cleaning, planting, organizing, etc. Thank goodness Carlos' dad stopped by unexpectedly and helped out for several hours on Saturday. Paco and I are tuckered out! Monday brings the realtor, the house will be photographed and put online officially. And then my hubby and I are going out to lunch. It's our 13th anniversary!! Yippee!

the name game

2011-03-23T10:44:00.002-05:00

so we had a long drive back from georgia. i'd love to say we got tons of pictures of the vacation, but i actually took not one. typical of me.

the kids were just angels for the 18 hours of driving. i like this older kid thing sometimes.

cora and perry at one point entertained themselves with their coloring books and crayons. cora announced that she'd like to name all her kids after colors. i told her i loved this idea.

she started with her list: teal for a girl, although i like it more for a boy myself. then was fuchsia for a girl, scarlet of course, wisteria, and possibly grey.

mason piped up and announced that he liked cobalt for a boy. how cute is that?! i mean it actually works.

i promoted azure for a boy or girl but there really weren't any takers. i love these sorts of conversations with my babies. they are such bright little munchkins.

i'm intensely curious to see if any of these names will stick.

Little Toot

2011-02-10T11:42:00.004-06:00

Here is Cyrus with his new haircut. We cut off about 5 inches everywhere. He instantly went from Polynesian baby to Mexican baby in just a haircut!
He is what I call ridiculously handsome. He isn't cute, just handsome, like a man. He reminds me a lot of Carlos. Stocky, solid with a butt-chin.

Love his glossy black hair and liquid black eyes.

A happy baby in the Cruz home. Us Cruz people take good care of our foster kiddos while they are with us. It is really an honor for each of us to do it.

I Ran!!

2011-02-10T11:33:00.003-06:00

Bionic Noel is doing another sprint marathon. She asked if Carlos & I wanted to join her. It's in May, this was December, it seemed so doable. I dunno if Carlos is still "in" or not, but I've started my training.

I have zero desire to finish with any kind of respectable time in this thing. My only concern is to finish. As such, I thought I'd push myself and at least TRY to run. So I ran a 1/2 mile at the gym the other day. It wasn't bad. I didn't pee which was fab-u-lous and didn't have a heart attack (another perk). I don't even care if I don't run the 3 miles, just so I do some of it and complete the race.

If I ever get skinny and become addicted to sprints (which I could actually see happening, really) I'll worry about improving my times. But I am just excited to be training again and to do this with Noel. Granted, she'll have finished, gotten a pedicure, showered, put in an 8 hour shift at work, and washed my car when I cross the finish line but it's all good right?!

Wish me luck!!

Tender Mercies

2011-01-04T12:53:00.002-06:00

Mason and I were talking about "mommie Ana" the other day. I make it a point to bring her up quite often to him. He remembers quite a bit of life with her and I feel that a lot of his feelings about himself have resulted from his time with her. I want normalize his life as much as possible and let him know that he can talk to us about anything in regards to her, us, adoption, etc.

I was commenting on how gorgeous of a child I think he is. I pointed out that his gets his hair and eye color from Ana. He looked at me aburptly and said, "No, I don't." I told him that he does. He has lighter skin like her and gorgeous brown eyes and hair like her. He denied it again with just as much fervor.

I asked if he remembered what Ana looked liked. And he replied, "Yes, she had yellow hair but I don't have yellow hair like her." I asked what color her eyes were. "They are blue like yours mom."

I was stunned. My first thought was, "Oh my gosh, I need to get a picture of Ana. He is forgetting what she looks like. He can't forget where he has come from!"

And then I was like, "Wait a minute. He thinks I am his mom. He is remembering only me as the face, the hair, the eyes that have loved him." Call me selfish (because I am VERY selfish, a lot) but for now, I am going to just marinate in the sweetness that I am his pulse to his world.

Thank you Macey-baby. I LOVE being your mommie, forever.

meeting cyrus

2011-01-04T12:09:00.003-06:00

oops, we did it again! this fostering thing is a great system of supply & demand. so... meet cyrus. he is 8 months old and is gradually adjusting to our family. you can't really tell but, he's a quarter african-american and the rest hispanic.
he's nice and chubby - just how jen likes 'em. we got a call sunday afternoon after having him for only 2 weeks and guess what? his mother signed away her parental rights making him available for adoption! how cow, an adoption dream.

carlos and i are teetering right now. i guess its all happened so fast and we want to make sure that this is the right choice for every person involved in our home and family. we'll definitely keep you all posted.

once again though i am amazed, humbled, and grateful for this institution of adoption. i just don't know how to articulate how wonderful and amazing it is. having carried and birthed children of my own and then adopting pear and mace there are definite differences (mostly stretch marks) but in some ways adoption is more magical and precious to me. i guess because i am being given another person's child. ever so humbling and the ultimate gift ever. hopefully i'll be able to articulate how i feel about it all some day. but honestly, i really think every decent, married couple should adopt. it is just magical.

account-a-cute-a-bee

2011-01-01T22:05:00.001-06:00

Cora had dish duty and didn't know where the mixing bowl went. I'm loving her note to dad!

2011-01-01T22:00:00.002-06:00

this little cutie had left the vance home after a year with them in foster care. little desi is a pistol and a half. she was such a joy to be around. i know she won't stay with her parents permanently. she'll be bounced around again. it's a very imperfect system but she was loved and safe for a whole year of her life. and that was a blessing.

candy cane lane

2011-01-01T21:44:00.004-06:00

so i've got this friend...we'll call her diane carpenter to protect her identity. she and i have a mutual friend who we'll call amy lewis. i stopped by amy's house one day in december and noticed her driveway cutely decorated with candy canes. my eyes followed the festive line of red and white and then stopped. the last 3 candy canes were totally destroyed. the line was ruined. pieces of plastic and wood were scattered about. i asked amy, "what the *h* amy?!" she sweetly told me that diane ran them over the other day with her car. i saw an opportunity folks. so i snipped off the killed canes, boxed them up all purdy-like, and gave the gift to diane stating that it "was from my heart".
a few nights later we get a doorbell ditch in the evening. i find broken candy canes, the remainder of amy's dead cane lane and....

this lovely message written in festive candy cane font. i do so enjoy funny friends. thanks amy and diane for the good laugh.

calorie swap

2010-12-26T22:35:00.002-06:00

pruetts introduced us to the raw tortillas from costco. freak'n addictive and just so yummy. i found them the other day. i hate you pruetts for the introduction. it'll be a toxic relationship.

to return the favor...i thought i'd introduce you to the peanut butter snicker square (also available at cost co). i hope it proves to be lethal for your waistline davey.

love you both.

Princess & the Frog

2010-12-26T22:19:00.008-06:00

girl movie night. carlos took the boys to a hockey game so we girlified the house. princess and the frog was the movie.

in attendance where cora, perry, desi, kaira, brynlee, emily, lena, madison, natalie, and savannah. it was a lovely evening. most were captivated.

perry and cora even made cute invitations to invite their friends over with. they had a great time cutting and coloring. carlos and i love how wonky perry's invites looked - so cute!

girlie runner

2010-12-26T22:06:00.004-06:00

so i saw this idea on a blog and just fell in love with it. a table runner made out of doilies. i enlisted the help of shay and mama because they are crazy thrifters and knew their areas of the country are awesome for other people's crap. this squarish one is my favorite and they found it somewhere in central california.

i went to visit shay in cali (while mama was there) and we hit a consignment shop. i happened to speak with the owner about the project i was working on. she had several doilies throughout the shop to display things on. she ran around the store, collected them all, and gave me about 8 for ten bucks. they were all different shapes, sizes and colors.

now you know my fancy, white trash crafting skills. i tied each doilie together with waxed dental floss. SOOOOO much better than thread because it was sort of stiff and easy to work with. sometimes i am crafting genius.

p.s. yes, my house is always this clean and put together. if you know me, then you know how i roll.

simple addition

2010-12-21T12:45:00.002-06:00

1 package of stickers + 1 4-year old daughter + 1 large canvas =
solution: stickie daddy

Besties

2010-12-21T12:36:00.003-06:00

this is a weird looking picture of the girls. lena looks like she's 3 years old and cora looks like a freak giant. these two are kinda besties. they are inseparable at school despite lourdes best efforts to keep them apart. ha, ha! they are both sweet, good girls. but don't underestimate their power for evil. i'm quite sure they will "cover" for each other throughout their whole adolescents.

2010-12-20T22:46:00.001-06:00

sunshine girl - your smile makes everyone smile too - you've got a great mug

p.s. i love your chocolate skin

2010-12-20T22:39:00.002-06:00

oh, my little divas...how i love you both. perry, you shook your bootie tonite like a hormone-ridden teen at a dance club. i laughed so hard. it felt wonderful. you've got a black gene fo' sho'. cora, you are always so feminine and proper. you want to always be pretty and girlie. i adore that about you. you both are super fun to have around. and you aren't stinky and gross like your brothers. thank you.

Fire Days

2010-12-14T12:22:00.007-06:00

look at this darling mug! perry had a field trip at school. amusing because the fire station is like an 1/8 of a mile from her school but they still had to charter a school bus to take them there. perry was in her element.
the firemen gave the kids the grand tour. they climbed all over their truck and got to handle some tools or weapons as perry referred to them. i have not so secret crushes on all firemen. it's pretty ridiculous and intense. carlos wanted to be a firemen when he was younger. um, he would be SO HOT in firemen gear.

the class got to destroy the fire stations work out room.

the men put on their breathing gear and let the kids try them out. the mask creates a powerful suction to the face obviously. the breathing is quite loud and a little freaky to hear.

perry was braver than brave of course. some of my kids are just fearless. is it fearless or just uninhibited? not sure really.

class shot. dear firemen, i really do love you. don't tell my hubs.

Blue Bell Creamery

2010-12-14T12:05:00.007-06:00

Betcha didn't know that I worked at the BYU Creamery for 2 years in college. It was my BEST college job. So fun watching ice cream, cheese, whey, cottage cheese, etc. being made. And all the employees were the funnest group to work with.
I think that's why I wanted to take my chillwrens to the Blue Bell one. It was pretty lame though. Our tour guide blew through our tour. Fortunately, I knew what most of the machines did so I gave the chillwrens my own tour.

It felt a little willie-wonkaish. No indoor photography and some top secret signs posted here and there. Really? It's just ice cream. We aren't launching nuclear warheads.

Our tokens to begin our tour. I wanted to keep them as souvenirs. No deal though.

The tower of ice cream power. We got to sample several flavors. Cristian loved Snickerdoodle. I loved Pumpkin Spiced Praline (or something like that).

The chillwrens posing with the milk maid. It was a fun little field trip for the kiddies and mommie.

SAY WHAT?!?

2010-11-18T16:57:00.002-06:00

This one left me laughing.

The kids are in various stages of preparing for bed. Perry was using the potty and Cora had on her jammies and was brushing her hair with her Little Mermaid brush.

Cora waltzes into my room, dramatically brushing her hair and announces, "She scares me."

"She scares you?! Who scares you?"

"Perry. She goes to the bathroom and then leaves without washing her hands. Disgusting. So I tell her to go wash. So now she went back in there and is washing her hands!" (It was actually a long run-on sentence from her.)

"Um, I see," I respond vaguely.

"Mom, she is just disgusting - in an unlady-like way!"

THAT would be what I'm deal'n with here folks!

2010-11-11T21:33:00.001-06:00

I love this little chocolate face. Look at those chubby fingers and heavy cheeks. So glad I have beautiful babies. Some people get ugly ones. Just say'n.

Movie Nite

2010-11-11T21:16:00.004-06:00

I was kinda ridiculously excited for "How to Train Your Dragon" to be available for purchase. We sent out invites for a movie nite. Each child got to invite a friend or two. Here's Mace & Ian. They both are stink'n handsome boys. Just say'n.

Cora had Lena & Maddie over. Maddie didn't want her picture taken though. Cute girls right?

We had everyone come in their jammies and bring pillows. Carlos was on some serious popcorn patrol. They all ate bags and bags of the stuff. I was in charge of the candy tray. Go figure. Here's Perry with darling Brynnlee. I love these two together. They are girls all the way!

The stinky back section of the theater. Bug, Logan, and Shane. I do adore these boys immensely. This is the picture that will be hilarious to them in about 10 years. I'm planning on their freindship to last a lot longer than that.

It was a fun evening. I love having my babies and their friends over to create lasting memories.

california lov'n

2010-11-11T20:37:00.010-06:00

my visit to seaside, ca to visit shay & the new babe paisley wanted two different shoes at the park. she loved the swing
i took kavers out to mexican food because that's what you do everyday in california. i had such a good meal. it's what i miss about cali the most. we ate at "la tortuga". fabulous.

this little girl is such a sweetheart. she's work'n a wedgie here.

for reals.she.is.so.beautiful.

love her freckled cheekbone

kavers - the pistol. he is a riot. currently loves orange.

baby cater. lovely bundle of chubs.

getting paisley girl up from her nap.

comatose daddy. making babies is hard work. take 5 davie.

love & miss you pruetts

mummy pizza

2010-10-28T23:24:00.004-05:00

one of our nods to halloween came in the form of homemade pizza the evening of cora's 8th birthday. mason was totally against the olives since he finds them "hideous" (his new favorite word which he uses correctly so i don't mind it as much). but i showed him an eyeless mummy and it just wasn't cool. i think he actually ate 2 eyes worth.

just being objective here, but isn't my boy just too handsome for words? i have really lucked out - both my boys are hunky in their own ways. they will both be very handsome men. i hope their wives appreciate our DNA contributions and my stellar grooming skills.

the older two, in deep concentration.

oh you daring girls

2010-10-28T23:16:00.003-05:00

"the daring book for girls" is cora's current bible. it has all sorts of fun activities and tid-bits of info. she stumbled upon daisy chain crowns. she and perry plucked all the tiny flowers in our backyard only for me to dash their hopes to pieces-they were way too small. we placed an emergency call to daddy. please bring home a bundle of store bought daisies! done.

i think this is my favorite picture of our girls. they are both so beautiful and happy. their crowns are divine on them both. cora quickly had the technique down so she happily constructed perry's for her.

i wonder what the next project will be?

yogi

2010-10-28T23:03:00.005-05:00

something that i adore about cora...well, sometimes it's really cute her desire to be 21 and all. she glided downstairs one day after school and announced she wanted to do yoga. um, how darling is that? she got on her leotard, asked for a mat and went to town. she did the entire video with ease of course.

streamlined christmas

2010-10-27T13:31:00.002-05:00

a friend shared this little poem(?) with me about gift giving at the holidays. she and i evidently are cut from the same cloth when it comes to presents at christmas. the gifts need to be spilling into the next room by the 24th for it to count as "christmas". i've done this every year since carlos and i were dating. it was how we grew up and i love the lavishness of it all. but 2 years ago, our gifts for the kiddies were insane and overwhelming. i decided enough was enough. last year we went simple but spent the holiday with grandparents and relatives. it got out of control again.

so when diane shared her poem it was just the structure i needed to mold our new christmas gift giving.

it goes like this:

"something you want,
something you need,
something to wear,
something to read."

wow. it covers all the bases - greed, necessity, fashion, and learning. it streamlines the gifts down to 4 per child. that's only 16 gifts under our tree. plus their gift from santa - and we are good to go. i thought i had better get the kids trained for this now while they are still young. before long they are going to have ridiculous lists of expensive gadgets. it'll be nice to have a "no" plan set in place when they come a pleadin'.

3:00 p.m.

2010-10-20T08:23:00.006-05:00

The best part of my day is gathering my little chicks back home with me. What does your 3:00 look like?

He's Brillant

2010-10-14T12:17:00.005-05:00

So we bought this table off of Craig & I am about 80% in love with it. Even Carlos has a small crush on it. However...it came with 8 rusty stars on each leg of it. The stars are actually cute. I actually like stars. Here's the problem...you know when you take something good or even neutral and then attach it to something that you don't like? Well, then the neutral or good object becomes tainted and then you don't like it after a while.

That's the story of the stars because we live in Texas. Love stars, love Texas. Don't like what Texans have done to stars. They are EVERYWHERE here. Stars in the other 49 states are fine to me. It's kinda how you feel about Michael Jackson and skin bleaching. Took a good thing and ruined it for all.

Sigh.

Above: Cora's leg - 02

Onto the numbers...I fussed to Carlos that the stars HAD to be removed ASAP. He removed one only to find a huge metal post underneath. So something had to go over the post to cover it up. He sawed off the post flush with the wood. Then brilliance struck. He suggested we put the kids birth year on each leg of the table.

I loved the idea. Every 10 months or so Carlos taps into his gay gene, takes a mental note, and then walks away from it. He has some really good ideas though every 10 months!

I wanted really expensive, chunky numbers like from Restoration Hardware. I was willing to spend big bucks but then we were out at this charity sale. They had these numbers for.....wait for it....wait for it....

10 cents a piece!!!

I couldn't pass them up. They were originally black so we painted them. I don't love their style at all or even their size so much, but for $.80 um, they looked pretty good.

Above is Perry's leg - 04

Cristian's leg - 00

Mason's leg - 05

The stars of Texas bagged and given to a friend who is a major crafter and will do something amazing with these I am sure!

The kids loved waking up the next morning and seeing what we had done. I think they all felt pretty special to have a piece of their history out in the open and on display like that.

flower power

2010-10-14T12:13:00.002-05:00

I love this little diddy that Cora put together. She got this set from Santa a couple of years ago. I think Santa thought she'd adore this kind of project. It's just now taking its effect. Cora is our artist through and through. It's something she does everyday in one form or another.

2010-10-14T12:08:00.002-05:00

M-E-M-O

Carlos, Mr. Rudd & Mr. Wisdom called at 2:47 today. They said they would like their red pens back.

--Jennifer

CARLOS....YOU WIN!!

2010-10-14T11:23:00.008-05:00

Carlos took a little man vacation. I've been asking him to blog about it because can I really comment on a vacation I wasn't a part of?! Well, resistance is what I've been met with. Guess what? I found out I CAN add commentary. Please note that all comments are untrue. If you want the real story, ask Carlos.
From left to right: Felipe, Buck, Carlos, & Guido. They met Felipe while hiking. Evidently he is homeless and spends much of his "time" out on the trails pillaging off nature. Buck was the hunter of the group. He killed 3 squirrels and a small badger all with a slingshot. It was very David and Goliath-ish I am told. Guido speaks Italian and very little English. The group was sure he spent most of the trip cursing the outdoors in his native tongue.

This is Mexican cuisine. Carlos said they fried up fresh cactus in rendered fat from the badger that was killed. Gross. He said it was actually pretty good. Carlos, just so you know, does not have discriminatory taste buds.

Hot Mexican man scaling the French Alps. In Arizona.

Interesting story. They found this small boy child at the top of this rock edifice. Evidently, the boy's parents fell off this rock and plummeted to their deaths. The group took him in and hiked him out of the mountains. He was a cute kid and can be seen below. Carlos said he seemed to be pretty unfazed by the tragic event. Probably in shock.

The orphaned boy - he name is Jermaine. Who still names their kid Jermaine these days?!

Weird, but I thought the French Alps would look so much different. No snow and these are more like plateaus rather than steep, plunging edifices. But what do I know, it wasn't my vacation.

Carlos and Buck - these two became fast friends. Carlos said he is just like a father to him. Sweet.

THE END.

kitchen epiphany

2010-09-22T20:38:00.002-05:00

while doing the dishes today, or rather not doing the dishes...the dishwasher froze and then burnt on me...i had an epiphany. of course, i started calculating the cost of a new dishwasher since carlos casually diagnosed its death over the phone. i started festering, sometimes i really do miss my anti-anxiety pill. sigh.

so i'm grumbling in my head because this is a double pooper. first, i adore my dishwasher. i average 2 loads a day. i don't hand wash, that's why i have a dishwasher, see? but secondly, why did it have to break now? we have our house on the market to sell. i don't want to buy the dishwasher that i want only to have it for 3 months and leave it with the house.

i'm thinking about this and other things as well because i am female, we are multi-every-thingers ya know. i think about a conversation i had with noel last night. she is in the middle of dating. i got off the phone with her and told carlos that i was so happy to be married and to not have to ever date again. in dating, you eventually get to the point where you are tired of it. you are ready to commit and settle down with just one personality for good. it's like eating velvetta when all you want is a good quality, expensive cheese.

it then strikes me that noel and i are kinda going through the same thing right now. we are both for sale. and it sucks.

when you are for sale you are always putting your best foot forward. there is always possibility dangling out in front of you. it feels artificial to me in lots of ways. it is filled with hope, excitement, anxiety, disappointment. i mean typically, if done right you buy up every time. you don't break up with a loser and then date the same loser with varying DNA. you don't buy the same square footage or the same upgrades. you get bigger and better with each transition.

i don't know if noel is ready to purchase yet. i know she is getting there though. i know i hate advertising my home, i dislike it being spotlessly clean. that certainly isn't the real me.

but there are definite perks to being on the market. for example, i've gotten some lingering projects finished up and out of the way. i've thrown away a lot of garbage that was just taking up space and of no use. i guess noel's doing the same thing. we all carry experience and opinions from previous relationships. but dating gives us the chance to clean house, wipe out the cobwebs, and buy new things.

i wish the best to my little noel and myself in our selling efforts.

beloved

2010-09-21T08:02:00.002-05:00

so i basically totally crush on cristian 24/7. he's ridiculously handsome, but more importantly...he is just like his father. hence, the ongoing crush. for reals, he is the sweetest, gentlest boy. even though he fights it sometimes, he still hugs and kisses me. i lurve it.

so yesterday i was squishing on him and then kissing on him. i asked him if he knew that i loved him. he replied in the affirmative. "and do you love me back?"

"mom, who wouldn't love you?"

I know. kill me right? (insert sugary sigh here)

2010-09-08T13:28:00.005-05:00

as a sidenote...i miss this little creature more than i can verbally express. he was such a bright spot in our family

the glory of yellow

2010-09-08T13:17:00.002-05:00

mason's 6th birthday - yikes - my baby boy is getting so big. we had a friend in our ward make his cake for the event and she did a stellar job.
we had the usual ya know - friends, cake, pinata, and slip-n-slide. i relish simplicity

mace got two small, inexpensive gifts from mom and dad and was totally thrilled with them. i really enjoy the simple pleasures and glad that he does too.

oh happy day our little mace. we adore you!!

feminine charms

2010-08-23T20:15:00.003-05:00

so i am seeing my crazy which doctor. she and i have several goals we are working towards. most of them i agree with except becoming a vegan like her. no thanks. we are weaning me off my antidepressant. we are bringing hormone levels within normal ranges...

well, over the past several months we have worked on raising my serotonin level. mission accomplished. her favorite phrase to tell me with every conversation is this, "90% of the serotonin in your body is found in your digestive tract." i've come to accept this as a fact, even though i haven't done an ounce of research to prove it.

so serotonin is good now. we must now work on dopamine. we switch pills around, eliminate some, add others - poof! a whole new cocktail is born. so i start this and about day 2 diarrhea hits. um, this poop condition rarely hits me. i'm always way on the other side of the poop spectrum. so i think i've caught a bug. by day 3 i realize it's my new cocktail. and then my boobs hurt tremendously.

i call the witch doctor. she tells me this is a side effect of coming off the antidepressant and my new meds. then i get the monthly visit. and this month happens to be gory.

so we go out to dinner tonight. my boobs hurt, i'm crampy, bloated, my intestines are twisting themselves in knots. basically from the belly button to my upper thighs...waging war on my body. it wasn't pretty.

we are wrapping up dinner at the restaurant when my intestines signal their hello. um, know this - i DON'T poop in public bathrooms. i poop in the great outdoors before i use a nasty public toilet "cleaned" by an ex-con with hepatitis. so my drive home is painful. i'm sweating from sheer will and concentration. we get home, the urge has momentarily subsided. i'm bringing stuff in from the car. all the kids have disappeared (not unusual).

and then....it hits. the urge is back. it's that way because your body knows you are home. in your own personal safe haven, my clean throne, toilet paper that i like, perfect ambiance, etc. i go the guest bathroom - taken, by mason. i head to my bathroom where i hear the shower running. taken, by cora. oh well, she'll have to bathe in my stinkiness - she does it to me at least once a week. i enter - she is pooping on my toilet. i briskly walk to the kid bathroom. the door is locked. i pound on it. cristian responds. what are you doing i yell? i need the bathroom NOW! he's pooping. oh my gosh, it's getting really bad. i start to panic. i gingerly descend the stairs. one false step and it could all be over. i pound on the guest bathroom. mason, what are you doing? are you pooping?! of course he is! oh my helena! i am writhing in pain and determination. my intestines are going to burst. my uterus is screaming in twisting agony. WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO POOH AT THE SAME TIME!! Carlos is laughing almost hysterically the whole time. i feel like squatting on his side of the bed and letting go. not. nice. hubby.

needless to say, sweet mason did his business as fast as he could. he even washed his hands in the kitchen to streamline his time.

i. about. died.

4th Time Charm?

2010-08-23T19:38:00.003-05:00

Today was the first day of the school year. To say that I was giddy would be putting it mildly. Even though I had Perry and foster baby Ty for most of the day I was pumped!! I was actually yelling in glee at Carlos. He chuckled and reminded me to take it easy or I might make myself pee. That's love for ya.

First item of business... take Pear to the doctor to get one shot. Her school starts at noon so we were making good time. We wait, get 3 shots because I failed to take her to her 4 year physical (nice) and zip off to school. I head to the nurse's office, proudly hand her our shot record, & wait for school to begin. The nurse returns 10 minutes later to tell me that we missed the ONE shot we went to the doctor for in the first place. I smiled sweetly. Which is freak'n amazing because I'm on my period AND I've decreased my antidepressant all in one week. Insane combination as poor Carlos has been the brunt off. Oh yeah, and we are taking shifts all night with the newborn. I think I'm handling it fairly well.

So my poor Pear-Pear. She was such a trooper with her 3 shots. She didn't cry. I even suggested she not look while she was punctured but she stared at each needle and said, "I'm doing really good to not move!" Of course she didn't cry, she is my toughest child. But then I had to tell her this afternoon that we have to go back to the doctor again tomorrow to get one more shot.

She was so darling this afternoon when I picked her up from school. Her face was all lit up, sweaty but lit up. She climbed into the car all excited to be with us and tell us her events. She said, "I was a really good girl at school today and had fun, but then my legs started to hurt."

I gave her the largest dose of Motrin that I could. My poor little darl'n.

Here we go for round two tomorrow!

2010-08-09T14:24:00.002-05:00

My husband has lost his intellectual edge as of late. He's becoming forgetful, absent-minded, oblivious. How does this relate to the wood filler you ask? Well, it's like this. We are currently doing some projects around the house. This has placed Carlos at Home Depot several times. His visits have resulted in 3 individual purchases of wood fillers. At least he has a permanent affinity to Elmer's products each time. Alzheimer's here we come.

2010-08-09T14:21:00.001-05:00

Noel's first piece of furniture. Thank you Craig's List.

love note

2010-08-09T14:05:00.001-05:00

sometimes i leave little love notes for carlos in his car. i find this one particularly sentimental, don't you?

on bella

2010-08-06T12:23:00.002-05:00

can i just say that i am really enjoying bella these days. she has hit this phase of development that has made me stop and realize i am not raising a child, i am raising a person. i know that's not so profound but it is for me. she has such adult mannerisms, opinions, likes, & thoughts that make her so individualistic to me. all my kids are this way of course, but cora is like her auntie shay. always ahead of the game, a quick learner, a marrow sucker, she wants it all and she wants to experience it now.

my favorites with her right now are how feminine she is. she has this girl thang down! mason has been on this "manly, man" kick as of late. he'll point out what a manly man would or wouldn't do. you know, testocerone at its finest type stuff. he pointed something out that cora did and told her that's how a manly man would do it. she replied, "but i don't want to be a manly man, i want to be a womanly woman." that would be cora. she loves to color coordinate her outfits, she loves to accessories with bows, jewelry, and purses. she is a shoe pig. she has the most shoes in the family and she always wants more. she has this pout that she's recently developed and she uses it in perfect female cue for maximum results. she'll turn her thin little lips into a tight heart-shaped pout. i've told her boyfriends and husband will be powerless to it. it works great on daddy.

she is fun, sassy, sweet, sensitive, pouty, dramatic - all things girl. oh, how i love her.

the erekson

2010-08-06T12:13:00.002-05:00

a quilt that i began at least a year ago. yikes & ridiculousness. it has a nice swirl pattern to it, pretty traditional. i enjoy the color combination with this one. i saw this pattern in a quilt shop and really liked it. it is simple, clean, boldish. i'm sure i'll do this pattern again.
here she is all laid out. this is a thank-you of sorts to mike and sharon. they so very generously G-A-V-E us an office furniture set when they got new furniture. they are glorious peeps.

2010-08-04T20:03:00.003-05:00

dearest husband,

thank you for introducing me to your fat-boys. i had no idea that they even existed let alone fit me. you are truly kind to share with your super-sized wife. you do know that i will be forever "borrowing" them now right?

kisses,

tu vida

the owen

2010-08-04T19:52:00.003-05:00

welcome to white trash quilting folks! i am doing a couple of these to just get a few quilts checked off my mental list. i really am such a ridiculous procrastinator. this is for my nephew, now age 3. it is bright and crazy - perfect for a toddler.

this is the back side of the blanket. it is fabric that i bought foreva ago at ikea to make curtains and pillows. another project never gotten too. what's that saying, "the pathway to hell is paved with what...?"

if you look carefully you can see the quilt pattern. i had it done in elephants. too cute in my mere opinion. i hope my nephew enjoys cuddling with this blanket. it was made with love, albeit white-trash love!

the sleep diva

2010-08-04T19:48:00.002-05:00

really? how cute is my daughter with her sunglasses dangling off her nose? she fell asleep on the long drive home from arkansas & was too cute to pass up. these are by far my favorite pair of glasses she's ever owned. soooo sassy!

s.w.a.k.

2010-07-27T10:16:00.003-05:00

a huge thank you and warm fuzzies to everyone who has called or asked us about out departure of little hayden. family and friends have been so amazing to us. your concern and kindnesses (?) are so, so appreciated. we are slowly doing better. i dreamt of my little blondie this morning and we are all looking around corners trying to find hayden only to realize...but, time does heal, right?

we are off on a vacation. the arkansas air will do us all good!

Kids Camera

2010-07-26T11:01:00.004-05:00

We've been letting the kids use our old camera to take pictures around the house of whatever they want. After a couple of weeks, here's a sampling of what the memory card yielded.

We might actually save some of these pictures. Maybe a couple.

2010-07-22T22:46:00.002-05:00

dear houston c.p.s.,

tonight i would like you to have a big turd land smack in your eyeballs.

i would love to thank you for the endless tears and wailing that you have given us this evening, even up until 10:49 p.m. cora and cristian appreciate your selfless generosity in allowing them to explore a whole new repertoire of emotions.

can you please forward your claims department address? i need to know where to have their therapy bills reimbursed at.

your obedient servants,

carlos & jen cruz

bleeding

2010-07-22T14:10:00.004-05:00

CPS informed us today that our little sweet Hayden is being taken from us tomorrow. He is being placed in another foster home in Houston so he can be near his biological mother. People always ask me how we can do foster care. This moment in time is the reason why so many people veer away from it.

I'm not going to lying to you. This always hurts. You feel torn, hurt, rejected, dejected, angry, sad, hopeful, grief - you feel it all. Hayden has been extra special to our whole family. I don't know the reason why he has except that he is just an amazingly special child.

But what endears me to the human spirit is our ability to regenerate ourselves. A piece of my heart is being ripped out. I'll miss and worry over Hayden for a good while. A then another sweet little spirit will be dropped off on our doorstep. And we will pour all our love and efforts into that child. Because I have learned something these past few years fostering...

It's not about me.

Yes, I hurt and ache. I want Hayden to stay here. We all want him officially adopted into our family. But there are many things we have no control over. And while Hayden, or Jose, or Miguel, or Naila, or Sara, or Christavia, or Evie, or Lily, or Gary, or Natalie, or Terence, or Perry, or Mace are with us they are loved. It's not about me. It's all about them.

We love you Hayden. You'll always be our pickle.

okay shay

2010-07-17T14:34:00.004-05:00

here's a little number we bought off of craig's list ($100 i think). it was in great shape, except i wasn't fond of the color and HATED the wood diamonds on the front. those were taken off and smoothed down.

we obviously painted her over and put on new hardware. thank you hobby lobby. she feels very beachish to me and i love the pop of color she adds to my very brown house.

i stained the edges with a walnut-colored stain, but then lost interest in it all. so the bottom half of the unit isn't even done. how ghetto is that? if you wait and live with it long enough you simply forget about it. you should try it.

Soap Box

2010-07-17T14:07:00.002-05:00

Okay, look you stupid Mormon moms, I have a serious bone to pick with you. Why are you putting your daughters, regardless of how young they are, in two-piece swim suits? Have we not all been told about modesty especially bikinis since the beginning of time? What is your deal?

Let me guess...

She is just so cute in it. You can't resist!
She isn't being immodest, she is just a little girl.
You'll stop the behavior when she gets older & when it really matters.
There's no harm in it.
You're pleased she can wear one because your glory days are over
You think sexualizing your daughter is awesome.

Um, for starters she'll have photographic evidence of how you dressed her. My huge thing with parenting and how I parent my kids is don't give in to something that I'm not willing to always give in too. I can't pick and choose with my kids when I want to follow a rule or a commandment. It makes for very confused and manipulative kids and piece of crap parenting. I either completely disregard a principle or never bend on it.

Women, grow a backbone. Are you in or out of this religion? Why would you dress up your daughter(s) in provocative, sexualized clothing especially when you have a living prophet telling you the polar opposite? I don't get it.

On awful thought that keeps me especially motivated on this topic is something I have zero control over. The thoughts of other people in public. It disgusts me to think of sick men or boys starring at my daughters because their attire solicit the look. You don't know what kind of people are in public and what they are thinking as they watch your child. I wouldn't put my 5 year old daughter in a triangle bikini top to help stimulate his imagination.

Follow the prophet and cover your girls up. Please.

Our 4th this July - Part One

2010-07-12T11:46:00.013-05:00

How adorable is our little Hayden? He loved all the open space of Noel's apartment...

Look at our stow-away. He kept trying to climb inside dad's bag. I didn't bring many toys for him, but let's face it babies would rather play with the electric cords than their toys. It's a fact.

We were busy all three days at Noel's house. All the kids did amazingly well. I am coming to terms with the fact that I just have super well-behaved children. Carlos and I are doing something right!! It was freak'n hot the whole weekend. We came across this fountain and we all got a little wet for kicks.

Here is our fabulous tour guide. She was a little weird, but sweet at the same time. Noel bought a Popsicle from a street vendor - this was in the El Mercado district - and we all jumped on board with various flavors. THE BEST POPSICLES EVA!! By a company called Arco Iris. Noel had watermelon and we bought pina colada, coconut, and strawberry creme. They were so rich, creamy, and refreshing.

Um, this is how we ate them - it's called "family style".

Can't be in El Mercado without a mechanical bull ride now can ya?

Cora looks all pro in this shot. She even took off her hat in true rodeo fashion!

My little Mexican Men. It was nice to have Tijuana right here in Texas!

These masks were so colorful. The boys loved trying them on and pretend they were Nacho Libre. Weirdos.

No thanks. I don't like this look on my boy. Just stay away from Mexican cowboy culture please.

Best Thing/Worst Thing

2010-07-11T19:29:00.002-05:00

So a friend of mine has this tradition in her home. I've known about it for a couple of years now and liked it so I don't know why we didn't steal it until a few weeks ago.

It's called "best thing/worst thing" in which you go around the dinner table and each share these two elements of your day. The kids love it & I can usually guess their answers before they speak, but I think it'll be invaluable when they are pre-teens and teens and hate my guts and won't communicate at all. At least we'll have some idea as to what is going on in their daily lives.

This is how it goes thus far: Carlos is always thankful for some aspect of his family or the food we are eating, Cristian usually can't think of a "worst" thing (optimist), Mason rarely can think of a "best" thing (pessimist), Cora's list is usually long and very detailed, it hits a variety of personal injustices, Perry can't narrow it down to 2 of anything and keeps jabbering until we cut it off, & my worst thing usually involves child behavior so I make up something else.

Thanks Robyn - we are enjoying this tradition!!

Bug

2010-07-09T23:44:00.008-05:00

Some things never change...
Both Cristian and the walking stick bug are a bit bigger.

and of course, our brave little princess

We found this walking stick bug in Noel's apartment complex while taking a walk one night. We spent the 4th of July at her place in San Antonio.

Joy

2010-07-05T23:27:00.002-05:00

This was taken in San Antonio this past weekend. I love this picture of Perry! It captures her perfectly! Happy, carefree, full of life, and a little dirty like a Beyonce video.

There was a large vent in the sidewalk that entertained the kids and I for about 15 minutes. Perry loved having her hair blown wildly and her dress up to her chin. She was laughing and giggling the entire time.

I love simple childhood joys. They make me so happy and it's experiences like this that she'll remember forever.

Cute Kid x 5000

2010-07-05T23:13:00.004-05:00

So here is our little family obsession. Hayden is by far the ruler of this home. He is doted on by every person all day long. Even the boys/men spend their days speaking in "motherese".

But can you blame us? The child IS always this smiley. He is such a lover - so sweet and happy. It is unbelievable what he has been through in his first 7 months of life. I see no signs of his past life. He is sweet, happy, affectionate, and (for now) ours!

Stewart's you have to give us your take, but Cora, Paco, and I see glimpses of Reade in him now and again. I thought it to myself but Cora was the first to point it out!

Love that orange vegetable nose! It's amazing what magic one little life can bring to our whole family. We are all totally smitten.

--heavy sigh--

2010-07-05T23:09:00.002-05:00

On any given day this is the room of Perry and Cora. Who is the slob you ask? They both are. They can't ever seem to hold it together for longer than half a day. I've basically given up. Anyone care to join me?

I spy...

2010-07-05T22:57:00.004-05:00

..with my little eye... a half-grown boy child swaddled in all his bedding on the floor.

Forts are a big deal in this house, especially in the summer time. The kids like to gather all their crap in a pile, tie it all together, & call it good.

Cristian opted to sleep here this particular evening. I go to bed praying we don't have a fire. How would I ever find the kids in time?!

current obsessions

2010-06-29T12:10:00.002-05:00

there are a few things that occupy my thoughts this summer. or maybe a few things i am just loving this summer. here goes the nonsensical list:

1. hayden - slathering him with kisses, ogling over his every achievement. like i'm a first-time mom or something.

2. my kids' armpits - i know, totally bizarre, but i love rubbing their soft, little armpits. i'll plop down next to any one of them and say, "pits!" and they know to raise their arms in pointless humiliation. tank tops make them even more irresistible.

3. quilting - i am thinking/dreaming about this a ton. i am doing none of it though. i can't seem to find time and space to do it. and i am NO GOOD after 8 p.m. the lazy gene kicks in and i just want to veg in front of the tele.

4. italian chicken/orzo soup - the recipe will be forthcoming, but i am addicted to this soup right now. i have been making it every week for about 5 weeks. even ALL the kids like it. it is hearty but low-fat. amazing.

5. crest scope outlast - magic -freakin' toothpaste. my mom introduced this to me. for reals, no joke your mouth is minty and fresh for at least 30 minutes after you brush. i've never had a paste do that. it isn't approved by the ADA so i might die in 3 years from its use. i'm taking the gamble.

6. highly chlorinated water - our usual summer staple: the pool. we are there everyday, well 5 days a week. my babies are black, with exception of cora and hayden. i love to my kids happy and active. they adore swimming.

7. craig's list - um, i am having an affair. i can admit that openly now. i could be on craigs list 2 hours a day if i felt totally entitled. the disease has progressed, i've branched out into other cities besides my own. i am often tempted to "see" what for sale across the country. sick, i know.

8. pill popping - this isn't something i want to deal with, but it's become a very real part of each and every day. i think i'm up to 31 pills a day now. i will say i no longer have headaches. i guess amino acids do have their place in this world.

all in the family

2010-06-21T23:35:00.002-05:00

I love this drawing that Cora did. It tells me that she too feels whoever is in our home with us IS our family. I love the fact that there are 2 people represented here that aren't a part of our nuclear family but still considered as such. In these moments I am so proud of these kids we are raising & of me for being a rock star of a mom. Welcome to the fam Noel & Hayden!!!

canned nastiness

2010-06-16T18:59:00.003-05:00

Wulf & Luli invited us to float the river a couple of weeks ago. It was wonderfully refreshing. The kids had a blast. The water was gorgeously blue-green. Divine.

I didn't want to do "meals" so we dropped fifty bones at the store on the way there on a bunch are garbage. Sometimes it is delightfully fun to do that.

We scattered through the cracker aisle with little hands grabbing and pleading right and left. I knew what I wanted though. Nothing says "floating-down-the-river-with-a-bunch-of-drunk-college-students" like Easy Cheese. I knew the moment my kids tasted the forbidden product that they'd become addicted. I tossed it in the shopping cart as Carlos starred at me wide-eyed.

As predicted, the nasty cheese product was a huge hit. The kids couldn't get enough of it. I finally put a halt on its consumption. Mean mommie!

But then I got mischievous.

We were on to Oreo's by then. Wulf was talking incessantly like he usually is. We were all listening intently because let's face it, he tells a good story. I'm handing out the cookies. I have Carlos twist the top off a cookie. I dab a squirt of easy cheese inside the filling & plop the top back on the cookie. Carlos hands it to Wulf.

Gulp. Gone. Gross.

He doesn't even notice. Carlos & I are laughing like naughty school kids.

Much later we are swimming at a pool. We are all tuckered out. The kids have dragged their exhausted, happy, but hungry bodies out of the water and want food. Wulf has fallen asleep on a picnic bench (as only males can). He's stretched out, bare-chested, almost snoring.

Then I got mischievous, again.

Out comes the spray cheese. I'm laughing just thinking about what I want done. I lean over to my partner (in crime) and tell him to spray some cheese in Wulf's belly button. Carlos laughs and whispers there's no way he's doing that. He and I are both silently laughing.

In steps Luli, "I'll do it." She grabs the can and sprays a generous portion of florescent orange in his hairy little naval. We start laughing out loud as Wulf swipes at his stomach thinking it a bug. In the process his hand becomes cheesed. He opens his eyes and looks at his hand. His look was SO worth it.

He's amused and grumbling about our prank. I'm almost peeing my pants. The kids are excited and laughing every which way you look. And that's when Kaira walks up to her daddy and digs out a chunk of bellybutton cheese and eats it.

Double nasty.

SAY WHAT?!?

2010-06-16T00:14:00.006-05:00

I was fixing a shelf in Cristian's room and Mason was the one observer in the room. As I took the shelf down, Mason noticed that Cristian had put a small portrayal of Jesus hanging on a cross on the side of his shelf. And the following conversation ensued.

Mason: Dad, can I get a picture of a dead Jesus on my shelf too?

Dad: Mason, how about we put a picture of a live Jesus on your shelf?

Mason: Okay...pause...What about if we put picture of a live Jesus and a dead Jesus on my shelf?

evil little me

2010-06-15T14:35:00.003-05:00

just got off the phone with hayden's cps worker. i asked how his mom was doing. was she anxious and missing him terribly. we've had him a month now. he has grown 2 new teeth, started crawling and sitting up, and eats his solids like a pro now.

the worker said mom is very anxious and is doing everything she can to get him back. this is where evil steps in. not the answer i wanted to hear. i'd like to hear that she's taken off and can't be found. that's a really good sign. not that she is ready to work her services. but, come on the point is to have her reunited with her son after she has made permanant life changes.

i just really want her to fail. so i can adopt her child.

honesty is great thing, but it usually makes me just come off creepy.

On Pessimism

2010-06-15T14:11:00.009-05:00

Thought I'd give you a synopsis of the Cruz marriage. I suppose it is one of the reasons we work well together. Good and bad to both personalities.

Anywho...I had a friend ask me to watch her kids yesterday. Well, only four of her six kids...I was glad to do it because I really like her kids. I mean I really do like her children, they are sweet and hilarious. And then it was one of those situations that I get myself into WAY too often when I actually think after I've committed.

Why did I agree to have 9 children under the age of 10 for 8 hours?! Am I totally moronic? So, I set up all the scenarios of how awful and stressful this day is going to be - hence the title. Mason won't have anyone to play with and will whine all day, Cristian and the boys will run wild in the house & be stinky, Cora will be emotionally devastated because they're aren't any girls her age, Perry will boss the babies around and drive me nuts, etc.

And then the day happens...Shane & Logan are ridiculously helpful with polished manner's to boot, Josh ignores me all day BUT adores Hayden all day, Perry & Abby play along blissfully well, Cora & Logan play a few games together, Shane talks Cristian's ears off, some lame Godzilla movie entertains all 19 kids for 80 minutes, they all love my lunch, no one drowns in the pool nor pees in it, Hayden sleeps well, the bottom 4 play trains for an hour while I make dinner, and Bug, Shane, and Logan tear apart Cristian's room.

It was a perfect day.

Now I'm not say'n pessimism is where it's at, but when you assume the worst and life doesn't come close to it - well, then you start look'n at the flip side....which is called optimism.

b.e.s.t.i.e.s.

2010-06-03T20:22:00.003-05:00

bella has several best friends and i imagine she always will.

i took hayden, mace, and bella out on a walk this evening and i suggested we stop by and pick up madison.

maddy has been in her class this year at school. i think i like her very much. she is a sweet, smiley girl. fair haired, fair skinned with a large circular face. she has been good to cora and that goes a long way with me.

so we pick her up and proceed on our twenty minute jaunt. i'm yaking with mace and pushing the stroller. the girls are pleasantly talking with one another. i look back and see them arm in arm walking.

it was so jane austen to me. they needed parasols and stuffy, feminine dresses to make it complete. every time they'd separate for one reason or another, they'd re lock their arms and continue walking. shouldn't we all have such lovely friendships?

New Me

2010-06-03T19:11:00.002-05:00

So this is my new church calling - the mighty Webelos Den Leader. The church's version of this position is way more lax than if you joined a community troop. That has its advantages and disadvantages. However, I am loving this calling so far.

Cristian will move into my class or den in September when he turns 10. For now, I have three of his best friends who I adore. The den is loud, wild, and sweet. They are darling boys. I am loving teaching a short lesson on some life skill. That is so up my ally it is ridiculous. Plus, I just got an assistant that I am excited to be working with. She is creative and not a slacker. We should be a good little team.

Um, do I look good in yellow and blue?

Biding my time...

2010-06-03T18:45:00.002-05:00

So this was the conversation today...

Me: "Noelie is going to a dance tonight."

Perry: "Noel is getting married today?!"

Multiply that kind of conversation by 50 and you'll have any day with Perry. By 11 a.m. I am ready to kick it up to death mode.

I am really hoping this is a 4 year-old thing because I don't have the patience for it all.

27

2010-05-29T15:23:00.003-05:00

So I have this amazingly brilliant friend. The great Catherine Brown. Um, I adore her because of her brain, her rationale, and her sense of humor. There are lots of perks to having a brilliant friend. Especially if that brilliant friend has a lazy friend such as moi.

Catherine loves medicine but is annoyed with doctors. So she researches and studies and puts things together. Which means that I can go to her with all my medical anomalies and she tells me what to do about them. I love it.

This symbiotic relationship - although I'm not sure what I bring to the friendship in return - means that Catherine has found me my "crazy witch doctor" as Carlos has lovingly dubbed her. Catherine and I are both current patients of the good doctor. She is a gynecologist who has branched out into bio identical hormone therapies.

Long story short, she has analyzed just about every fluid that my body produces and came back with this verdict: you are a mess! Validation on paper does make me feel good. So now I am on 27 pills per day. Cora was appalled at my pill popping practices. I have to take pills throughout the whole day: 7 am, 8 am, 11 am, noon, 4 pm, 5 pm, 8 pm, 10 pm. Um, its very time-consuming and I feel like generalized crap the whole day. I'm on mainstream things like thyroid, vit. D, and cortisone, but the rest are supplements that are insanely expensive.

I really hope this works...

Whip it, whip it good

2010-05-29T10:01:00.001-05:00

I don't know what it's like at your house, but I am always the one to "crack the whip". I have instituted Saturday mornings as work days. It has been met with much enthusiasm (by me). As you see demonstrated, Cora is having an emotional crisis becuase sweeping the porch is so awful.

Cristian is beyond bored while he preps the van for a good vacuuming. He loves to see what "junk" he can salvage from the car. It affords me the pleasure of going through his room bi-monthly disposing of his "treasures".

Perry is hard at work eating pizza for breakfast. She needed a break and took it diva style in her pink car seat.

Mason was in the groove. He enjoyed ripping out the many weeds in the yard. He is quite the plucky fellow and got a big 'ol pile going.

Impending

2010-05-28T20:09:00.007-05:00

Just keeping you all in the loop. Carlos and I birthed another child. We birthed a 7 month-old. And he finally looks a lot like his mama.

Brilliant blue eyeballs and a bald head of blond fuzz. His name is Hayden & word on the street is that we'll have him for about 18 months. We aren't looking to adopt again, but we've all fallen hook, line, and sinker for him if the opportunity rises.

Yeah, we know. We're crazy. But saintly crazy right? Adoption has done something addictive to us & like a drug we just can't say 'no'.

I'd love to post a snapshot of the little fellow. But no one has come forward with our piece of crap missing camera. (I'm turning into Shay - no camera!) He has a great smile - totally different than Perry's great smile, but contagious like hers.

We'll keep you posted...

How Could You Do That!?

2010-05-24T09:54:00.003-05:00

Here's a new little segment inspired by my darling husband.

One of his best husbandly attributes is that he likes whatever I make for dinner. This goes a l-o-n-g way in my book because I don't need one more person in this house talking to me like I'm their personal waitress.

However...the past couple of years Paco has been harnessing his inner Latino. This is all well and good until it's Italian night at our house. He has been caught red-handed (or brown-handed) several times throwing salsa or Tapatio on my prepared meal. That makes me go a little berserk.

If I made a basic, bland casserole I say go for it. Throw all of Mexico on top if it's what you need to choke it down. But there is no salsa on my lasagna. Not allowed.

So the other night I made a yummy Asian stir fry. It was an actual recipe and so delish! There goes my man, slicing up an avocado and stirring it into his bowl. What!? It's like you are pooping on my creation. Fortunately for me, Noel (who is always on Carlos' side and a perpetual voice of reason) even said no to that one. Not allowed.

I'm sure there will be many entries into this segment. Cristian is a salsa duplicate of his father and Mace just does gross food combos as is.

See you soon...

SAY WHAT?!?

2010-05-24T09:37:00.002-05:00

October 29, 2006
Sunday

Today was the end of daylight savings time. Cristian and I were about to play a game downstairs & Cristian said, "Mrs. Richter told us we need to turn our clocks around." I asked him if she didn't say "turn your clocks back", but he assured me that she said 'around' so he ran upstairs and turned his clock "around".

When I went upstairs later, sure enough, the clock was facing the wall!

--Dad

the deal is...

2010-05-24T09:34:00.003-05:00

so maybe i've become lazy or maybe carlos and i are like two ships in the night or both. we've lost our camera (great) so...me.no.bloggie! trust me, life and stuff has been going on, there's just no record of it. if anyone finds our piece of crap camera...call me.

Melt Away

2010-04-19T17:39:00.003-05:00

This child does it to me every time. I can't get over his gorgeous almond eyes and chubby little cheeks. He is becoming more and more handsome. Lately, he'll sneak into our bed in the wee hours of the morning. It bugs Paco but I personally love it. I missed his first 2 years of life - that is a lot of snuggle time wasted. I love that he comes in to sleep between us. It means he loves to be near us, that he's safe, he finds comfort with us, but mostly, that he wants something from us. He is fiercely independent. He creates a facade that he doesn't care or need anyone, but in truth he is probably our most sensitive child. He climbs into bed because he needs to be with us. It's always a different reason: he's cold, bad dream, he needed someone to be with, we woke up early, etc. But I'll take him any day for any reason. He is my darling little Mace.

SAY WHAT?!?

2010-04-19T17:30:00.002-05:00

I had a friend stop by the house the other day. It was her first time to the house and she asked to see our backyard. You know, it's springtime, we're all planting our gardens - yawdee, yawdee, yawdee. The kids were out on the tramp so as she peeked out the door they all saw her.

Mason looks over at her and says, very casually, "Oh, hi Shay- Shay." This friend looks SO much like Shalynn. I corrected him telling him she does look so much like her.

He got off the tramp and walked into the house, very excited to talk to her.

He starts talking her ear off, all animated about life in general when he says, "Hey guess what?! Sometimes I like to smell myself."

WHAT!??

I was left laughing and she took it all in stride. Too funny that kid!

SAY WHAT?!?

2010-04-19T17:28:00.002-05:00

June 2005
Age 2.5
Cora

"Mom, when I have my own kids, can I call you Jennifer?"

I gave her a definite "No!"

the even dozen

2010-03-31T09:19:00.004-05:00

can it be babe? we just celebrated our twelfth anniversary? dang, we getting old! let it be known that we went very low key this year. every year we talk about getting away, just the 2 of us...hasn't happened yet. maybe we are saving it for the 25th? i did quite enjoy our indian meal at the clay pit and out decadent cupcakes afterwards.

but this milestone leaves me thinking about us again. and i am amazed and grateful. i think it rare these days that people stay married for the long haul. many people do stay married, albeit, unhappily. i think of what could be wrong in our marriage and isn't. i am grateful that i still love you and you love me. but mostly i am grateful that i still really, truly like you.

someday these four little heartbeats are going to leave our nest. and while they occupy eighty percent of our conversations right now i'm not afraid of being alone with you in an empty house. because i still really, really like who you are.

i'm not a fool babe. i know this marriage works solely because of you. you give and compromise and look the other way out of kindness and love everyday. i've got my good points and strengths, but you hold us steady. and for that i am so grateful.

oh, and thanks for simply laughing at me when i asked you how much you are worth dead to me. it was really asked in love, but you already know that right?

i love you paco...here's to 80 more years together....

tu vida

Open your Mouth

2010-03-21T21:03:00.002-05:00

This is Joseph. I know, right? Basically I told his foster mom that she wasn't getting him back. He is the most delightful, happy child. We got to watch him for a few hours this weekend while his foster parents went to a training class.

I decided to run to CostCo so I took him and Mace. They were both darling the whole time. I mean, come on, free samples every 3 minutes soothe any child into retail submission. So CostCo was crazy busy, as it always is, and I stopped a moment in an aisle and slathered this gem of a child with kisses.

About five minutes later we were standing in front of Beverly. She was a spunky African-American woman handing out samples of red velvet cake. I know, right? She abruptly asks me, "Is this your child?" She was kind of abrasive so my first thought was, "Crap, this is his biological grandma or something. Here comes an ugly throw down."

I looked really confused because Mason is my child, Joseph isn't but when I have a foster child I consider them "mine" for all intense purposes. So, I'm thinking all this and she asks, "Is he yours or are you fostering him?"

I tell her I am fostering him.

And then the floodgates open..."Well, I just want to thank you for what you are doing. Because this is not my child but he is my race. And somebody needs to take care of this child and I thank you for doing it. I saw you over there kissing on him and I just want to thank you."

I actually got a little teary as I thanked her and told her it was our pleasure to do what we do. I moved on behind her so she could continue handing out her samples while I fed the boys.

About 45 seconds later she stopped serving people (and there was a long line, remember it's red velvet...) and turned around to face me with her cakey knife in her hand...

"I mean I just really appreciate you and I just want to thank you and praise you for what you are doing. Somebody needs to take care of these children!"

She was so gracious. I thanked her again for her kindness. We now had an audience of about 10 people listening to all this. I was getting embarrassed.

But I will say this. Parenting is often a thankless job. There are definitely rewarding moments, it seems they are often life events. It was wonderful to hear from a stranger their gratitude for what Carlos and I do. When you parent your own children you ARE great. But, for me, parenting a stranger's child feels very divine. It really feels like God's work... to love and care for a stranger I suppose. I know I need to feel this way about my own children too because they are all the same.

I was on cloud nine though because little miss Beverly opened her mouth to a stranger simply to say "thank you for you". It was something so small and simple but it cheered me through and through.