Our Little Angel

Fifteen years ago today, we were blessed with a baby girl.  Not just any baby girl mind you, but a very special girl.

Early in my pregnancy, I took a test that is given to all pregnant mothers and was shocked when the Dr. called me at work to tell me that the tests had shown that there was a strong possibility that our baby would be born with Down Syndrome.  I immediately called Robert to tell him and we spent the next week, worrying and discussing why this would happen to us. 

We had to go in for more in-depth testing.  They wanted me to have an amniocenteses done which would show for sure if the baby had any chromosomal abnormalities.  Before we could decide, they informed us that there was also a chance that a miscarriage could result from the amniocenteses.  While we decided, we were sent across the hall to have an ultrasound done that could possibly determine without the amnio.   Unfortunately, the ultrasound didn't give any definite results because all the baby's measurements were on the cusp of what was deemed "normal" and "abnormal."  We still hadn't decided on whether to go through with the amnio and were sent to a room so we could have some time to discuss it with each other and decide.

I still remember that day like it was yesterday.  We were so scared and unsure of what to do.  We didn't want to do anything to harm our baby but at the same time felt we needed to know if our baby was fine or not.  We called a couple of people to ask their advice.  No one could tell us what we should do.  I remember sitting in this room and walking back and forth wondering and praying.  All of a sudden we asked each other what we would do if we did the amnio and the doctor's said the baby had an abnormality.  Would we abort?  The answer was a definite NO.  At once, we had our answer.  There was no reason to do the test because it wouldn't make any difference one way or another anyway.

We informed the doctors of our decision to not have the amnio done, left the clinic and went to lunch at La Casa Garcia, vowing to continue to treat this pregnancy the same as the others....with excitement and anticipation.

Finally, the day arrived and on April 13th, 1998 the wait was over.  At 12:00 noon, I gave birth to our daughter Aniecia.  Unbeknownst to us, there was a special team of doctors on hand to handle all the necessary testing should she indeed have Down's Syndrome.  Almost immediately after her birth, the doctor let us know that she did have Down Syndrome and would need testing to see if there were any defects to her heart as is common for most babies with Down's.  After a couple hours, the results were in.  She did not have a hole in her heart and would not need any surgeries.  We were visited by many professionals who wanted to "discuss" with us the challenges we would face and give us programs and organizations that we should participate in for assistance.  Once alone, we decided that we didn't need to seek assistance from anyone.  We were determined to treat her like any other baby.

There were many challenges that we faced and the only assistance we sought was physical therapy so that she could strengthen her legs and walk.  There were some behavior issues that although not uncommon to almost all children, were a little more extreme with her.  We disciplined her the same way we did the others.  She was given boundaries and there were consequences.  It was our hope that we would never treat her with less discipline just because she had a disability.  We tried to do things as normal as possible but there have been many events we had to pass on because of her inability to participate in or her discomfort in certain situations.  We never wanted to leave her behind and make her feel that other things were more important than her. 

Now, 15 years later, I thank God he chose us to be her family.   She is healthy, strong, funny  and beautiful.  She loves unconditionally without judgement and reminds me how we all should be.  Everyone who meets her loves her spunk and attitude and she has taught me to just relax and not worry about what other people think.

We are so blessed to call you our daughter and I am so proud of the young lady you are becoming.  I love you so, very much. 

HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY ANIECIA!

 

Remembering a Friend!

It was late 2003 or early 2004 when I first noticed him.  We had been living here for about 5 years, just blocks away from the Armory, where every winter they open their doors to the homeless.  It seemed that lately there were more and more homeless hanging around the neighborhood and I think I had just gotten used to seeing them around. 

I remember one particular morning when I was coming home from church.  I had gone alone to 7am mass.  Normally, I went straight home after church but this day it was a rainy, cold morning.  As I drove the couple of blocks to 7-11 to buy myself a nice hot cup of coffee, I noticed him.  He was behind the 7-11, asleep.  I felt bad, said a prayer for him and then went ahead to get my coffee as planned.  As I stood there, pouring my nice hot cup of coffee, I remembered him laying on the wet, cold pavement, and felt a little guilty about being so warm and cozy and comfortable.  I grabbed another cup and poured.  As I walked passed the donuts, I picked one of those up as well.  After paying, I got into my car and drove around to the back of the store.  I parked and walked over to this stranger and put the coffee and donut down next to him and announced that it was for him.  I didn't want to bother him.  He was wrapped tightly in his blankets and mumbled something that was barely audible.

A few days later, I was at 7-11 again (I was addicted to Dr. Pepper and visited almost daily for a Big Gulp lol!) and noticed the same man outside sweeping the parking lot area.  I said hello and he responded with a cheery hello!  I began to notice him more and more.  One of the things that caught my attention was that he resembled my dad who had passed away a few years earlier.

One day after taking the girls to school, I was talking to another mom who lives in the area.  Somehow we started talking about the homeless shelter and I mentioned the gentleman I had been seeing around alot.  She said, "Oh you mean Boman?"  Since I didn't know his name, I wasn't sure of who she was talking about.  Over time, I got to know him and so did my family.  Whenever we were at 7-11, we would pick up a hot dog and a soda for him.  He loved the hot dogs! 

Easter was coming and I had mentioned to my friend Ana that I wanted to put a basket together for Boman.  Just some goodies that I thought he could use like socks, razors, deodorant etc.  She mentioned that he would always ask her if she had a small battery operated TV that he could use.  We put our monies together and we bought him one and put that in his big basket of goodies.  A couple of days before Easter, Ana and I  took our kids and presented him with the basket.  He was so happy and grateful.

Whenever we had an event at home, we would make him a plate and take it to him.  He was always so happy to see us and the kids.  Because of him, my kids and I would go to the shelter and help serve food to the homeless.  It was such a great feeling. 

One night Robert and Alyssa were coming home from softball practice.  They stopped at 7-11, probably to get me a soda or something.  It was about 7pm when the phone rang.  It was Robert asking me to come to 7-11 to pick up Alyssa.  He said that Boman had just been hit by a car and Alyssa was really upset.  Immediately, me and the kids drove down to the store a couple of blocks away. 

Apparently, there was a homeless lady in a wheelchair that Boman was trying to help across the street to the Armory.  Alyssa saw him as she got out of the truck.  She said he had been drinking and seemed to be irritated about something.  As he pushed the lady in her wheelchair across Brookhurst St., cars came close to hitting him.  Once he got her to the Armory side of the street, he crossed Brookhurst again to get his shopping cart.  Alyssa watched him as he crossed, reached his cart to go back across, and stepped in the way of an oncoming car. 

I arrived a few minutes later and as we all stood there watching him lay in the street, my heart sank.  I thought of this man who had called these streets his home and wondered if he had someone out there who loved and  missed him or perhaps was looking for him.  Was he someones father, husband or brother?  I wondered what the circumstances were that brought him to where he was. 

Sadly, Boman passed away that night, January 12, 2005.  Our hearts were broken.  We cried like we had lost a family member.  He touched  us in a way I never thought possible.  I still think of him when I drive past 7-11.  I'm glad I stopped for coffee that cold, rainy morning.  We were blessed to know him and I know that wherever Boman is right now, he's not cold, wet and alone anymore. 

Fall Is Finally Here!

I've been waiting a long time for fall.  It's my favorite time of year.  This year, however, I had to wait a lot longer than most years.  Summer started out mild but hit us hard early August, and never really went away!  August, September and October were extremely hot months with temperatures hitting in the upper 90's and then at times climbing to triple digits.

A couple weeks ago, after being asked repeatedly by the kids, we finally decorated for Halloween amidst 90 degree weather.  It just didn't seem right.  We then took down the Halloween decorations and put out the fall decor, again with temp's in the upper 80's to low 90's.  Then all of a sudden the clouds, rain and then cold, crisp weather came.  So far it's still here and I cross my fingers that the heat is gone for a long, long time.

The trees are starting to turn color and it's starting to feel like the holidays.  Today I noticed Christmas commercials and although, I think it's rather early for that, it's a welcoming sight and feeling.  Now, I think I'll start turning on that oven and start baking yummy treats!

HAPPY FALL!

A Little Organization Please!

From This

To This

Today I went grocery shopping and went to put away my groceries but froze when I opened the pantry cabinet.  How can I put new fresh items in such a cluttered mess.  I can't make heads or tails what's in there.  I decided to clean them out and my 11 year old son eagerly volunteered to help.  (He's such a big helper!)

We went shelf by shelf, and pulled everything out.  We started at the top, in the snack cabinet.  Opened bags of chips and cookies.  Ugh!  It goes stale and then nobody wants to eat it.  I don't blame them.  I used my handy dandy Food Saver www.foodsaver.com.  It is so great for sealing anything and keeping food fresh!  Anything that was opened went into a bag and got sealed.  There were movie size boxes of candy that I placed into small single serve bags and sealed.  These are great when we are heading out the door to a game or for school lunches.

Next the baking shelf.  Oh so much stuff but who knows what's lurking in the back of those shelves.  Out with the boxes and packages and in with the Tupperware containers www.tupperware.com.   These are especially great for keeping little bugs out of the flour and pancake mixes.

We finished the cabinet and tossed lots of unneeded boxes and bags.  Now there is room to see and get to the things I have on hand.  The only thing left is to start the oven and get to baking!!

Neecy's Blanket

I love to do crafts.....lots of different crafts.  So far, I've done cardmaking, scrapbooking, altered paint cans, brick painting as well as other various crafts.  I love them all and I love learning new things.

About 30 years ago, I dabbled in crocheting and made a blanket with a zig zag design for my ex-mother-in-law.  I had seen my mom make a beautiful blue one and loved how it turned out.  Not having my mom around anymore, I asked Lou to show me how to make that same design and the blanket turned out very nice.  I think that was the last thing I made....until now.

I think it's always good to keep those wheels turning and learn new things so I decided to start crocheting again.  One more thing to add to my list of know-how's.  I sought out the help of tia Chabela, who at 89 still does various crafts.  She is one of the most crafty people I know and remember the many things she has created over the years.  I also bought an instruction booklet (I hate reading instructions).  Tia insisted I learn the different crochet terms and abbreviations. 

I made a baby blanket for my niece that came out nice but I wanted to to something even more challenging so I decided to tackle the zig zag design again.  Neecy asked me if I would make one for her when I was done with the baby blanket.  She said she wanted pink, white and grey.  I didn't think the colors she wanted sounded very complimentary but Neecy being the DIVA she is, know what she wants!

I went shopping for the yarn and found the colors then decided how I wanted to organize them into the blanket.  As I started to crochet the blanket, I realized the colors were actually really beautiful together.  I would take my project to softball games and waiting rooms to pass the time and would get many compliments on the color combination.  I guess Neecy knows more than I thought about color coordination! 

After months of working on it and putting it aside for a break, then picking it back up again, I finally finished it last night.  I was determined to finish and move on. 

I took it to my aunts house today so she could "grade" me on it.  After teasing my a little bit, she looked at me and said "This is absolutely beautiful mija!"  I felt so good that she was pleased with my work.  She gave me an A. lol!

What brought me even more joy was when I got home and presented the blanket to Neecy.  She was so excited to have it and happily agreed to pose for a picture with it.  I am so happy I finished it and now can't wait to start on my next one.  I'm getting ready to go get the yarn for that one soon.  It's for Patrick and I can't wait to see how that one turns out.  I'll keep you all posted!

Southern California Heat Wave!!!

Summer is finally here!  This last week has been one of the hottest on record.  We had a pretty mild start to our summer and I was proud of the fact that we hadn't turned on our air conditioner.  My goal was to go all summer without it to avoid a high bill.  Keeping the doors and windows closed during the day, our house stayed really cool and then in the evenings, we opened all the windows to let the cool air in. 

We used fans in the house when it was too warm but last week, I finally broke down and turned on the air.  It has just been so hot and humid.  The temperature has reached 100º.  That's just too hot for fans. 

In the evenings, there is no breeze and the heat is uncomfortable.  I really hope that this heat goes away soon.  I don't do well in the heat.  I feel tired, grumpy and lazy.  Looking forward to the fall when the weather is cool and I can start to bundle up and light a fire.

No Pink Slime Here!

As a seller on EBAY, I come across many things that I wouldn't normally know about or use.  One thing in particular that is hard to find but brings in great money is a Kitchen Aid Food Grinder attachment for the stand mixer.  When I do find one, (which is usually few and far between) I'm usually really excited because I know I will get 4-5 times the money I paid for it. 

A few months ago, while out at an estate sale, I came across one that looked pretty new in the box and immediatley thought of the money I'd make on it.  At the same time, there was lots of talk on the news about all the fast food restaurants burgers containing pink slime.  After seeing pictures of the disgusting looking stuff, I decided I might forfeit the money and keep this little gem to try it out.  I've had my Kitchen Aid stand mixer for about 10 years now and have never used any of the attachments that are available for it.

Today, I decided to try it out to see how it works.  Oh how fun!  I bought a piece of beef and cut it into chunks small enough to fit through the mill.  I can't believe how fast and easy it was.  I'm gonna make burgers tonight.  It sure feels good to know that what I'm putting on the table is pure and not processed with who knows what kind of junk. 

The possiblities are endless with this little gadget.  I'm looking forward to trying chorizo, which is actually pretty easy, or so I've heard!

Homeschool thoughts!

As many of you know, I home school my son who will be starting 6th grade next month.  I can't believe that 6 years have gone by since that dreaded "first day of school" experience.  We were all so excited (well, I was sort of excited) about our son starting kindergarten.  After all, his dad was a teacher there, his sister was a 7th grader there and I had spent almost every day at the school since he was born, either working in the classroom, helping with lunch duty or just attending school events.  He knew all the teachers, and most of the students and a lot of the parents.

He woke up his first day of school and got dressed in his cute little uniform and off to school we went.  I tried really hard to hold in my tears and emotions and pretend to be excited for him.  He was quiet and somber and looked so sad as he stayed in the classroom watching me and his grama walk away.  When I picked him up at noon the first day, he didn't say a word.  I took him to Jack in the Box and anxiously asked him about his day but he just sat there shrugging his shoulders.  The next day was no better.  He didn't want to eat, didn't want to talk and when it was time to go to the classroom, he cried.  The teacher tried to pull him in and I was telling her to wait so I could calm him down.  I didn't want to leave him crying.  She pulled him one way and I pulled him another.  Eventually, he came home with me.  The third day, after 2 days of not eating and not talking, we never even made it out of the car.  As we pulled into the school parking lot, he cried and said he wanted to go home.  I tried to tell him how exciting school was going to be but all I could see was his sad face and those big crocodile tears.  I called my husband on the phone and he walked out to the car, tried to talk to my son and finally said, "Take him home." 

That afternoon, when my husband came home, he announced to me that I would be homeschooling our son.  What!!!  I wasn't a teacher.  I didn't know the first thing about teaching.  He found a school online and signed us up.  A week later, UPS dropped off 4 boxes of materials.  My son was so excited to see all his new school stuff.  He didn't care how much work he had to do, he was just excited to get started!  That was 6 years ago and now, he is just as excited about his UPS deliveries as he was then.

He can't wait to open those boxes and see what the year has in store for him.  I must say that I was very reluctant about homeschooling and although, it's no piece of cake, I have thoroughly enjoyed the last 6 years.  People ask me every year when I'm going to stop and send him to school and every year, I say when he decides.  He is an excellent student and has scored extremely high in his STAR testing every year.  He does fine socially and has no problem joining in groups with other children.

Homeschooling for us has given us the freedom to spend more time together, work longer on subjects that he struggles with and really take the time to teach in a way that he understands.  We research things he has questions about, and we can find ways in everyday life to incorporate what we've learned.  I hope that these school days will become fond memories for my son.  I think the hardest part is following my heart and to stop listening to outside influences who mean well but think they have all the answers about what's right and what's wrong.

For now, we'll enjoy what 6th grade brings and revisit the issue in the spring!

Where's the Summer Fun!

It's the middle of summer and somehow it's not quite as fun as I remember it being as a child.  When I was little, I remember there being a certain feeling that started in May.  The weather was changing, the days were longer and the anticipation of the end of school meant only one thing....SUMMER vacation!

The last day of school was so exciting and it seemed like an eternity before it started again.  Summer meant sleeping in and staying up later.  I got to play outside till well past dark and I remember the sound of the crickets at night.  Grama's kitchen was always stocked with fresh fruit - oranges, peaches, plums, watermelon and those oh so delicious strawberries!

I remember one big vacation was planned (either camping or Mexico) for 2-3 weeks.  There were beach visits on more than one occasion with my aunt and running around barefoot was the norm!

Now, however, summer is just another season.  There's no vacation for me, no sleeping in or staying up late.  The thought of running around barefoot makes me cringe thinking of all that dirt on the bottom of my feet!  Summer to me means more bugs and I really hate bugs!  I never realized that someday, I would grow up and lose that excitement!

I wish I could be a kid again and just feel the freedom from responsibility for a few months.  There lies ahead another month of summer and I'm gonna do my best to try to relive those feelings and just let go of the worry and stress of life!  Wish me luck!!

Sunday Morning

Life has been so hectic lately.  Work, end of the year school wrap-up, graduation activities and summer anticipation have left me feeling depleted of energy. 
I decided to get up early today and slip out for my pedicure and manicure. It feels so good to just sick, relax and be able to clear my head of all the noise.
I am truly blessed to be able to have this time to re-energize.