My Christmas Spirit is Gone

So now that Christmas is over I find myself wanting to take down all the reminders of Christmas. The tree, the lights, all the decorations, everything. In fact today I was upset about something totally unrelated to Christmas decorations but all I could think about was ripping everything down, packing it in a box and putting it in the garage, like that would help or something. I don't understand. When I was decorating, it made me so happy to look at everything. Now I just have a feeling of something else that needs to be done. But I know as soon as I take them down, I'll be sad that Christmas time is over and gone again. Of course, now I have my birthday to look forward to. And Rayelle's and Terhan's. Yeah. Maybe it's the high of all the holidays that has finally left. Anyway, thought I'd just blog it. My Christmas spirit is gone....until next year.

Christmas in Kansas

So this year we went to Kansas for Christmas. We stayed at Andy's dad's house. I really liked going. It was a lot of fun. The car ride was so stressful. It took us as extra 2 1/2 hours to get there because of Kaiya. But once we were there she was a great little trooper. She let everyone kiss her and cuddle her. She loved the attention! The kids really loved going to Papa Jim's house. However this is the last year I'm telling them when Christmas day is until it's here. Picture this scene: It's dark outside, very late, nice and warm snuggled under covers. You fall asleep for maybe an hour and are suddenly woken up by your door opening. Two little heads peek in, "mommy" they whisper, "is it time to open presents?" ummmm, no. "Go back to bed." So you sleep a little bit longer, maybe another hour. Then again, "mommy, now?" "Go to bed." Then again at 3 o'clock in the morning, "Mommy, is it time to open presents yet?" "NO!! It's still dark outside." terhan- "but there's a little light right there" "Terhan that is a street light. Now if you wake me up one more time...." "Good night Grinch...I mean Mommy" Just kidding. That last part was my embellishment but the rest is totally true. My kids woke up three times between 11 and 3 to ask if it was time to open presents. I just about lost it! AARRGH! LOL! I remember being more excited about presents than sleep! Those were the days. Now I'd gladly give up a hundred presents for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep! Anyway, we had Christmas at Papa Jim's then on Saturday we went to get together with Andy's dad's side of the family for a Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. The kids played really well together and there was a lot of goodies. We had a great time seeing everyone. Our only disappointment was that it didn't snow enough for us to go sledding like we did last year. The kids would have had a blast. Maybe nest year.Anyway, I hope you all had a great Christmas and a happy new year. Love you all.

The Definition of Frustration

*Frustration is bathing the kids only to find them rolling in the dirt five minutes later
*Frustration is dressing the baby, smelling poop then undressing baby only to discover she had only farted
*Frustration is then putting her in the carseat and then she poops
*Frustration is unscrewing all the screws to change the batteries in a toy only to discover that you've actually taken the toy apart and the battery compartment is a little flip-open thingy on the side (yeah did that today- twice)
*Frustration is losing the binky under the crib in the middle of the night and trying to find it half-asleep with a baby screaming her head off only to have her fall asleep right as you find it(the dust bunnies were trying to steal it)
*Frustration is having nothing that fits your new post-baby figure
*Frustration is cleaning the house all day only to have your kids tear it apart in minutes
*Frustration is grabbing a glass out of the dishwasher only to discover after you've finished your drink- they were dirty (don't pretend this hasn't happened to you)
*Frustration is buying your kids new shoes only to have them find and jump in the only mud puddle for three counties
*Frustration is being sick and all of a sudden your kids act like they've downed a case of Red Bull....each
*Frustration is needed quiet but all hell seems to break loose
*Frustration is needing help and the house is silent as a tomb
*Frustration is not being able to pee without hearing, "Mommy are you done yet?"
*Frustration is, you know that new paint set and markers you bought that said washable...yeah they're not!
**The Dissolver of all frustration- a kiss from your kids followed by "I love you"
**That and a shot (or two) of something really strong!
Welcome to Parenthood!

I was looking through some of the old pics on our computer and came across some pictures of when we lived with the Quintanilla family in the summer of '06. Terhan was 1 1/2 and Rayelle was 3 1/2. They look so little! There are also some pictures of the Quintanilla kids. They are all having so much fun. The pictures make it look like such a happy time and it was in part but it was also such a stressful time in our lives. We had just bought our first house, then Andy lost his job with no notice and we eventually had to move in with our friends just to stay afloat. Four adults and seven kids under one roof! I absolutely loved that I got to live with my best friend though. To cook, clean, and raise our kids side by side was so much fun. I think it was the biggest test our friendship has endured but after all was said and done our families still remain very close. Now that is the sign of a strong, solid relationship. Even with hundreds of miles between us, we are still as close as ever. We love them like family. I just wish we had a few pics of us adults!


Terhan playing in the sprinkler

Rayelle and Emily

Rayelle, Ian and Mario

I love this picture because Terhan and Ian rarely got along but this day I walked in the room and they were sharing the chair so nicely! I just had to take a pic and document the moment.

This was at the Willis house. I know this house has some bad memories for the Quintanilla family but this was a good day. We set the kids loose to play with chalk on the porch and they decorated themselves instead! This is (right to left) Emily, Rayelle, Ian, and Maya.

The Sigh of Relief

You know that feeling you get when all your kids are in bed and asleep...(sigh)yeah that one. The wonderful blissful sound of silence. The fabulous feeling of knowing the next few hours (or minutes depending on how much of a fight they put up!) are totally yours. Do with them as you wish. Should I start that book I've been dying to read? Should I take a long, hot bubble bath? I am so not doing dishes or laundry. NO! This is my time, for just me, doing what I want. It comes but once a day and is gone so fast. What should I do? what should i do? what should i do........ ZZZZZZZ. "MOM!!! I NEED YOU!!!" "WAAAAHHHHH!!!" "HONEY, WILL YOU GET ME SOMETHING?" Oh well, maybe tomorrow night I'll get to all those other things I've been dying to get to. Maybe. Until then I will think and dream of my time by myself when the last kid is tucked in and fast asleep and I can breathe that sigh of relief.

My cute little boy


I'm not doin' nothin'

My mom and Kaiya

All wrapped up like a present

Our family :)

New House

Oh my goodness, we've finally got everything into our new house. Yeah! Everything from our storage unit in Houston and then all our stuff from the apartment. You never know how much stuff you really have until you move. It seemed like every time we thought we were almost done, two hours later we still are packing. However, it's been worth it. Our new house is huge. Everyone is welcome to visit. Give us a call, we'd love to have you. I will post pics of the house later. I've been so busy trying to unpack. I feel like I haven't even made a dent in the boxes. They seem to multiply when we sleep :) So some new things that have happened in our new house: Kaiya has rolled over, front to back then less than a week later back to front! My baby is growing up. She's already three months old! Well, I really don't have time to post everything I want to. Hope you like the pics I do have time to post. Some are from our family reunion at Thanksgiving. More on that later! Love you all.