Nikki Darling

ONE MONTH

2010-06-24T22:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, I can't believe it either, but tomorrow my Pretty Pretty Laila will be a MONTH old! Where did the past month go? It feels like I JUST brought her home yesterday...

Well, I'm no where near as good as Michelle when it comes to remembering to take pictures and blog and all that jazz, but I did get a 365 days app on my phone, and I've actually kept up for the first month! All in iPhone photos, but hey, something is better than nothing. Every picture has a little caption, so come a year from now, I can go back and relive all my little moments with her, whether I was commenting on her outfit, or how much I love her.

So, in honor of her first month, here are a two screen captures of her first months pictures. No captions, just the outside view :)

Little Girl, if you only knew how much you complete us... I'm in absolute awe over you, your Daddy tries to be hardball, but you've already got him wrapped around your tiny finger, and your Brother...my God, he just can't get enough of you. None of us can. You're perfect in every way...

Can't wait for month two's adventures Princess!

Meet the Godparents =)

2010-06-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Loyiel and I have discussed who we felt would be good Godparents for Laila for a long while now. Like, 9 months haha. We've agreed 100% on our choices and I'd like to introduce them here:

Introducing Nina Crystal

Ok, ok, I won't LIE - Upon finding out that I was pregnant with Little Miss Laila, as soon as Nino's came up I told Loyiel (I mean, if she accepted of course) "Well Crystal is Nina" and that was that. It was law, and he couldn't change my mind. Luckily, Loyiel loves Crystal just as much as I do (maybe more in all honesty lol) so there was ZERO argument there. It was just right/correct however you want to say it, for us to choose her. She's my bestest friend in the world, and has been there for me 1000% in more than one way. Crystal is truly, truly one of the specialest people in our hearts. Yes, specialest is a word =). Loyiel even explained that it feels like he has two wives sometimes, and I think they fight like a married couple does more than Loyiel and I do =). We both trust that she'll help guide Laila on a decent/right path in life, and it's all we could ask from a person.

Introducing Nino Martin

So, since I "no if-ands-or-buts" picked the Nina, I told Loyiel he could pick the Nino (with my approval) to be fair. Again, with my approval lol. Together we decided on his cousin Martin and I couldn't be happier with his choice. Martin lives a good life and provides for his family like no other. His little family is #1 and takes care of the ladies in his life better than most, and he's surrounded by them. When we asked if he had room for another little lady in his life he said (in his words) "HELL yes." Laila will get the same protection and guidance that he provides to his own daughter, his sister, his wife - and knowing that makes us feel great. He's one of Loyiels favorite cousins and my Bestie, and now, Laila's Nino =).

Introducing Nina Lorena

Wait, Laila already has a Nina, right?! WELL, again, upon finding out that I was pregnant, and when "Nino's" came up, I honestly wanted TWO Nina's instead of the traditional Nina/Nino pair. But when I asked my friendly neighborhood Church secretary if this could be, I was told that I couldn't have two godmothers on paper. It had to be a female and a male if I was choosing a pair. So even though on paper, the church won't recognize two nina's, WE are. And seeing as Lorena is Martins wife, it really worked out that he ended up Nino. Lorena is another one of my best friends and she has a heart of gold. She was one of those people who said "If you need anything.." when my mom passed and MEANT IT. She is one beautiful person inside and out and Laila is lucky to have her in her life.

So, there they are. Our awesome trio, in all their shining glory. Two amazingly awesome women who I could trust to help guide my daughter down a good path. And one awesome Man who will protect her as good as her own Dad.

I think Laila is lucky.

Call it unconventional, but since when have we followed the rules? =)

The Greatest Show on Earth!

2010-06-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

So Loyiel and I were literally just talking about the one time we each had been to a ringling bros show a few days ago and how amazing it was. I went as a teenager (15 or 16) and Loyiel thinks he was about 12. We were going back and forth on what our favorite parts were, and how Ducky would be absolutely amazed if we took him to a show at his age now (5 and a half). I told him, "Honestly, i'm probably only raving about it because we had GREAT seats! Everything was literally RIGHT in our faces. I don't know if it's as awesome in the nosebleed sections" when he quickly replied "Its just as awesome" haha. SO! We decided that when they come to town again, that if all we could afford were nosebleeds, we would take Ducky regardless!

So look what finds us!

I'm a Mom, AND I blog (sometimes lol) and there's a deal for us! 4 tix for $44! I don't know how much nosebleeds are, but that sounds like a great price to me!

Laila Graciela

2010-05-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

Thank you Mother =)

Shes Beautiful.

5 months...

2010-05-23T13:36:00.001-07:00

It's been five months since the last time I blogged :P

With my last blog, I was talking about my Mom, this time I talking TO her...

Mother,

Im ready for her :)

Love you always,

Nikki

Onions...

2009-12-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

The passing of my Mom has been the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life.

I've dealt with the passing of a relative once, when Abuelito passed away, and just like today, I was pregnant. With Abuelito, I broke down every minute and was a mess, and to this day, I blame the 8 month pregnant hormones because normally I can take stressful situations a little easier than most. But at the time, it was just awful, I wasn't holding back, and the stress put me in the hospital 3 times because of pre-term labor.

I was called around 3 and change in the morning and it was Jr. telling me that they took my mom to the hospital again. He sounded different, but at the moment I didn't notice. He said he'd keep us updated, and I said ok. I got up to use the restroom and ended up logging into facebook to vent my frustrations about my moms doctors and the runaround she had been going through. Maybe 20 minutes later, Juan called me to see what I was doing. "Well, Im in bed" I told him, but that I wasn't asleep. He said he was going to the hospital to be with my mom, and that maaybbbeee we should go too. I said of course, and instead of waking up Loyiel who had both worked late and gone out with some friends that night, I let him sleep thinking I'd just be in the waiting room with Juan anyway. I shook him awake and told him I'd be leaving, to keep an ear out for Ducky in the morning, and that I'd probably be calling in since it was almost 4 and my first alarm goes off at 5:30. Kiss, goodbye.

Juan and I talked the whole way to the hospital, which from my house is about 10 minutes away. We get there and Juan calls Jr. saying we're there. The guard who normally says "Ma'am i need to search your purse" in a stern voice nods us through and right when we get through I stop because, well, I suck at hospitals and I knew I'd get lost.

Then I hear (I wasn't looking at them) Juan say something to the effect of "Hows my mom" and I don't hear Jr. say anything, so as I turn to look, I see Jr's face tear up as he shook his head no...

Then it turned into a movie. I looked at them both and I said "WHAT do you mean?" Juan came toward me and said "Shh - its ok, calm down" and I said "NO." I couldn't believe them. It COULDN'T be true! My mom is a SOLDIER. More than that, my mom is STUBBORN and would not be taken from us that easily! From there, I cried, and I cried in Juans arms and at some point, my daddy came and hugged us too. All I heard him say was "llore mija, llore! Cry!" and he said it in the most calm voice I've ever heard. I cried and cried and thats when a nurse came to us (we were in the middle of a busy hall) and she moved us to a little room right next to the emergency ambulance entrance. She said she was so sorry, and that this little room was for us.

I don't know how it happened, but as quick as I was to fall apart, I quickly pulled myself together and my first thought was "The Baby." This actually shocked me for a minute because I still FORGET that I'm pregnant all the time. And for me to remember right away that I can't stress out for the baby...was a shock. But from then, I held my Daddy's hand, and he told me what happened. I cried a little bit more, but was able to compose myself. I do remember telling him that we needed to go get Michelle, because as far as I knew, she still didn't even know.

Then again, at some point, Juan asked me if I wanted to see her, and I said yes. Fully calm, I walked into the room she was in and just seeing her laying there reset it all and I lost it again. I couldn't even go in the room. I don't even know how long we were there or how long after that moment it was, but I was able to finally go inside and see her with my Daddy. I think Kika was already in there, and she said it best.. "Shes just sleeping, look at her." And she really did look like she was just sleeping. The part that made it so hard was that she still had a tube in her mouth. She was disconnected from everything else, and someone tucked her into the blankets so nicely, but it was the tube... I hated that tube..

Soon Vanessa and Frank arrived with Michelle and she cried so much and that broke my heart more than my own sadness could. It was weird, but I kept thinking of everyone else's well being instead of my own. I kept thinking "relax Michelle, the Baby." and I kept thinking "Don't cry, be strong for Dad."

Eventually, we all ended up in the room with my Mommy again. And as sad and heartbroken as we all were, we're Melo, and us Melo's have FAITH. We were taught about God and the Bible and how we're all here temporarily but our main voyage or mission is to be with God. My Mom is no longer suffering and she is with God and Jesus. Because of our strong faith, we were able to sit with each other and turn into ourselves. A little broken, but ourselves. We joked about my Mom and the crazy things we did or put her through. Also the things she did! We laughed so much! I know she was laughing with us... she normally starts these things/conversations anyway (Polaroids to fill up an empty sex book anyone?) She was awesome :]

A nice group of family was with us and her, and we were just waiting for our Priest to come and bless her. He took a while, but eventually he got there. We cried again as he prayed for her and for God to receive her with open arms. he sang a short and beautiful little song, and then it was over. We all said goodbye, kissed her, said we love her so so much, and then we left.

Since then, its been planning. We went to my Mom and Dads house... then Oscar showed up with bags of breakfast ingredients... eggs, bacon, sausage and papas. Oscar cooked us an amazing breakfast worthy of my Mother. We all ate and from then we just... hung out at the house. People came and left leaving their condolences, and we cried a few more times, but for the most part, we stayed upbeat. We told stories after stories and laughed and told more stories. Some of us made calls to some of her best friends and our family, others took naps, and others gathered important paperwork that we'd be needing.

All the while, my dad was a soldier.

The evening was amazing. More people showed up to be with my family, and then both my mother in law and one of my moms close friends brought trays and pots of food. Food! So much of it! We had a huge pot of albondigas, pasta or "goulash", chilaquiles, rice... A coffee maker with lots of coffee, pan dulce... and it was all from the heart. EVERYONE ate, some had seconds, and we had so much left over. People's thoughtfulness is amazing sometimes.

Loyiel and I headed home in the late night and it finally hit me again. I cried the whole way home. Every song on the radio was about HER. Especially the song that I've heard MANY MANY times in the time I've been with Loyiel (6 years) and not ONCE did i listen to the words. The song was Dos Coronas a Mi Madre by Los Cadetes De Linares. I bawled as I listened to the words for the very first time:

Dos coronas a mi madre al panteón voy a dejar
Donde me paso las horas llorando sin descansar
Dos coronas a mi madre es muy poco para ti
Madrecita de mi vida quisiera quedarme aqui
Cada año, dia de las madres es muy triste par mi
Cada año, dia de las madres crece mas mi amorpor ti
Aunque se que es imposible ya no estaras junto a mi
Madrecita de mi vida nunca me olvido de ti
Aqui te dejo estas flores dos coronas para ti
Recordando los momentos que tu me arrullaste a mi
Madrecita si me escuchas el otro año vengo aqui
A dejarte dos coronas dos coronas para ti
Aqui te dejo estas flores dos coronas para ti
Recordando los momentos que tu me arrullaste a mi
Madrecita si me escuchas el otro año vengo aqui
A dejarte dos coronas dos coronas para ti.

This song has never meant so much to me. (I found out the next day that (*sigh* nichole moment) it wasn't BEER that they were singing about, but crowns. An HONEST mistake might I add, because normally when these songs talk about death, they talk about drinking and tequila!) Anyway, We got home and we tucked Ducky into bed. Loyiel took a quick shower, and I went straight to bed. I cried myself to sleep and Loyiel held me the whole time. It hadn't fully sunken in, but I missed her so much already.

The following days have been full of family, love, some crying and lots and lots of laughing. Laughter was her favorite :]. Next to her grandkids of course. On Wednesday night, I fell asleep on my Moms side of the bed and when my dad came in to finally sleep at around 3 in the morning, he blames it on me but we talked for a good hour or so, and he just told me about the last few days and what they did. Thanks Dad, for telling me :]. Also, about 2 weeks ago, my Mom asked me if we would attend Christmas Eve Mass with her because for the first time in her life, she had started bible studies with my Dad and Tia Elena, and she asked me to think about it. I said of course we'd be there, and just like we promised, we all attended for her. They dedicated Christmas Eve mass to her, and I cried for her because I know she loved that. A few houses later, we were at my Dads again for the yearly opening of presents at insane hours of the morning but with so much more family. It was beautiful and had beautiful moments. The kids were all happy, we were happy, and I know my Mom was too. She was there, in the form of an Angel atop our Christmas Tree, and she'll always be there.

So here we are, Friday night...Christmas Day. The coming days will be the hardest. We've already been to the funeral home and picked out her casket and flowers, and we made it through that. But seeing it all, and seeing her...it's going to be rough. I have Faith, but I don't want to let her go. I just hope she can rest in peace and that she knows how much we love her. We'll never stop loving her, and we'll always miss her.

So, the onions. I realized while sitting on my floor separating laundry and thinking of her, that the last time I physically saw her was at Ducky's birthday party. She was so full of life and I am so thankful that she was there, but the last thing I told her (after thanking her for coming..i knew she wasn't feeling so good) was "Moooooom!! Do you want these onions?! They're too strong and are making me gag! Im gonna throw them away!" and she looked at me a little crazy then said "Yeah!!" so I ran them to Jr who gave them to her. She never liked wasting food. So, the Onions...the last thing I ever gave her.

I hope you make some awesome cochinita up there and use up those onions mom!

I love you :)

5.

2009-12-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

My little Duckling will be five...F I V E years old in 7 more days. Five. Fiiveee...

Wait a minute.... Didn't I JUST have this kid? No? Jeez, it sure feels like it. I mean, when I think of all the events/accomplishments/LIFE that went on in the past 5 years...yes it feels like a long time, but when its your baby, it goes waaaayyy too fast. Why don't they stay small, and cute and chubby (with those ADORABLE gummy smiles) forever? I so miss that little baby..

But of course, he absolutely cannot wait to be 5 (he thinks life is going to change DRASTICALLY one he is 5) but I get sadder as the day nears. I never realized what a big deal this actually is! He keeps telling me that he's not the baby anymore that the baby is in my tummy...and he's so right. I tell him that he'll always be MY baby and he just laughs and then slyly says something along the lines of "big boy" and all kinds of other nonsense. Ugh...just humor me, child.

So..since I cannot stop time, we'll just plan for it. Next Thursday is the big day and its also his christmas party at school, so I talked with Mrs. Kelly (his teacher) and set it up so that at snack time (10:00) we'll show up with birthday muffins (no cupcakes allowed...boo!) so everyone can sing and eat junk food with him. I mean, healthy food, of course. Then three days later (Sunday) we'll throw his birthday party at the park. He chose WWE (wrestling) as his theme and cannot WAIT to wear the championship belt we bought him for the occasion - or the shirt, or the beanie...lol.

So.. once those events happen, I'll blog again. But until then, I'll continue moping around because in a blink of an eye, I'll be sending him off to college....

*sniff*

My Mom: From Ducky's POV

2009-11-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

This is a cute idea. Copy this note, ask your child the questions and write them down exactly how they respond. Leave me a comment if you have done this, I’d love to hear the answers!

1. What is something mom always says to you? Uhhhhhh. *LONG pause* You're my best friend.

2. What makes mom happy? Me!

3. What makes mom sad? Uh. Upset.

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tickle Me!

5. What was your mom like as a child? Oh I dont know

6. How old is your mom? 22! (Good job!)

7. How tall is your mom? Bigger (Lol...thanks)

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Eat Subway

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around? Uh...pick me up! (from school)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? I dont even know mom!

11. What is your mom really good at? Work!

12. What is your mom not very good at? Work. (wtf?!)

13. What does your mom do for her job? You work your homework

14. What is your mom’s favorite food? Uh, corn...everything!

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Uh. I dont even know! (Man..)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? A baby! (lol ok)

17. What do you and your mom do together? Have fun!

18. How are you and your mom the same? Because we look the same (smart boy!)

19. How are you and your mom different? Because you're big and im little

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because you EVERY love me! (Lol I'll take it!)

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go? Uh Walmart! (SO not true! I think he means the subway IN walmart lol)

Thats my zero attention span Duck!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

2009-11-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

10 weeks

2009-11-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Baby,

Today I reached the 10 week mark in my pregnancy. To say that the past 10 weeks has been the blissful experience we all dream about would be a lie :). You have proven to me that each pregnancy is INDEED a different experience. With your big brother, I had virtually no problems/aches/pains or anything really until the end. But with you, little stinker, you have had me in tears because of the pain i've been in. I could never imagine what true pain feels like because I have not once broken a bone, needed to get stitches or anything along those lines, and even though I have gone through the miracle of birth, I had amazing drugs that left me feeling nothing.

But then YOU. You, according to the doctor, needed to rearrange your living space to your liking and I booy have been feeling the effects! It has not been pretty, but if it makes you happy, I'll deal :). The medications that were prescribed to me have helped an awful lot, but I think eventually, we'll be able to live in harmony for these remaining 6 and a halfish months, you and I.

Oh! Did I mention that I've seen you now THREE times since I found out I was expecting, and this last time, you danced the whole time! Your Daddy and I watched as you pumped your little fists and shook your little hips and just boogied down in your space. It was amazing to watch. The Doctor says you're gonna be quite the little mover! I think you get it from your grandparents...(They are showoffs, afterall :) This is good though, us Melos, we're dancers and you'll fit right in.

I can't wait to start enjoying being pregnant with you without the nausea and excruciating back pains. Im sure that will be soon enough. Until next time baby...

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T23:07:00.001-07:00

Halloween 2009: Party at Kikas!

Halloween 2009: Party at Kikas!

Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do...

2009-10-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

Bad Blogger! I haven't updated in what seems like, forever. I missed a whole entire month worth of blogging! Looks like I'll be giving you a few condensed posts in one..So anyguueeyyy:

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Sept. 13th

One of the PROUDER parts of September was wh

en we were told that Ducky would be awarded "Student of the Week" and that we were invited to the assembly to witness this mini-milestone. You better believe we were there. It was SUCH A BIG DEAL to him and we were so proud. He received his awards for having "Good Listening Skills", something a few students in his class lack lol.

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Sept. 23th

One of the MOST ACCOMPLISHED parts of September was when i FINALLY walked with my class and was an official Graduate of the Art Institute of Phoenix.

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Sept. 25th

A few of the FUNNER parts

of September happened

on the 25th where we attended both Loyiels Company Picnic at this nice park off Estrella Parkway and the annual SVDP Fiesta. We started the day out at Loyiels picnic and had some pretty damn good catered food (grilled/marinated chicken FTW!) Ducky played on all the brinca-brincas they had to offer and also played against dad shooting hoops. The boys had a great time while i enjoyed a warm afternoon taking pictures in the middle of the desert.

After the picnic, we joined the families at the fiesta. We enjoy this every year. And with all the many kids and nieces and nephews, it proved to be a fun night for all. I also met up with an old best friend of mine and we talked all night (as well as dinner at Native New Yorker the next day) and did a lot of catching up. It was really nice, and i totally forgot to take pictures. boo!

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October

There was obviously a lot more going on in September, but i won't bore you with the details. All I know is October is now here and we've learned some exciting news and though I think everyone pretty much knows, I'll leave this post with the "results" of said news:

We're Expecting! Est. Due Date: June 2010

xoxo all my love.

I simply love him

2009-09-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

Ugh, he's TOO cute for his own good..

This is what happens...

2009-09-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

When you rip off the floaties and throw them in.

He started the day like any other swimming with his floaties on, til I just yanked them off and told him "swim" lol. And he did it! Well, we actually knew that he knew how to (or the basics of not drowning lol) since he jumped in at the beginning of Summer without them on and was able to come up by himself, but I panicked and told him to "NEVER get in the pool without floaties!" in my big "im serious" mom voice.

Worst mistake.

He totally listened and anytime one of the older cousins tried to teach him how to swim he totally refused for fear of getting in trouble. I finally used the big voice and said "Take them off" and even though he didn't want to at first by the end of the day he didn't want them back on. So we swam together, Duck and I, all afternoon while we waited for BBQ lunch to be ready. He was swimming wall to wall (with mom behind him) in no time.

I know I have to keep this up because summer is nearly over and I really don't want him to forget by next summer! Something tells me with a dad like his though, that he'll be fine :)

Hulk Smash!

2009-08-17T21:54:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to post this, but kept forgetting. I just thought he was cute :D

Sea World Trip 2009

2009-08-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

At last! Another post! Thought I'd post my pictures from Sea World here after many many requests *cough okay only jen cough*. Im sorry I didn't get a whole lot of shows on picture but we were in the soak zones in almost every show and since I've already lost one camera to "nature" once this year, I didn't want it happening again! Well, here it goes!

Ducky all bundled up because 60 degrees is freezing to native Arizonians!!

Got him out of the sweater for a picture! Yay Sea World! We LOVE this place!

Flaves :D

Clydesdale! Budweiser Horses bayybbee

Definately some HUGE horses

Starting em early....i kid, i kid!

My gorgeous honey

Ducky wasn't able to go on some rides, again, because he was too short ( by about | | that much!!) So we took him and the twins to see the aquatic/polar animals and their habitats...he loved it!

Duck checking out the seals and other swimmers

How awesome is that?
The twins really enjoyed it too

He photographs so well!

Blurry Bear / Focused Duck

Burry Duck / Focused bear!

Luisito and Duck

Not so Baby Beluga

Me, Loyiel and Duck (as penguins of course!)

Don't judge me and how i look throughout this trip, we were wet from the minute we walked in lol.

My Boys <3

The boys playing

I didn't realize right away that our reflection was caught as well...I love this picture now!

Believe! I love this show so much (and all its cheesy-ness) that I forgot to take pictures lol. Sorry!

This wasn't the Sesame Street Bay of Play last time, but its JUST as fun!

Duck was scared because he kept falling and he thought he would fall ALL the way down to the floor. So Loyiel threw himself to show him that he would NOT fall.

Duck had much more fun after that :D

The Dolphin Discovery Show!

It was hot :D. Not Arizona hot, but hot!

Before they started wetting us. I love Dolphins <333

Hi!!

This is the last exhibit we saw on day 1. The Sharks! Lets just say it was a little eerie after watching Shark Week (which i Love!)

This tunnel thing is TOO cool!

Jaws!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Day 2! Word to the wise, on day one we spent almost $40 (yes i know.) on ONE lunch meal for Loyiel, Duck and I. almost $40! FOR ONE MEAL! On day two we took advantage of the All u can eat buffet bracelets selling for $30 an adult and $15 for a child. $75 bucks and we ate HUGE breakfasts, 2 huge lunches and took dinner home. Expensive, but its nice not worrying about food or separating money. just flash the bracelet and off you go! I highly reccomend it if you plan to buy food at the park!

And of course, after a big breakfast is a nice potty break. YES i lined Duckys toilet up like crazy with seat liners and toilet paper :D

We had Alex with us, so we were able to go through the disabled exits and get on rides within minutes. Well, Ducky was too little for Atlantis (roller coaster and log ride in one!) So as everyone knows, I CANNOT let my baby be by himself at a theme park, so i stayed behind with him. He had a blast while everyone else went on the ride 3 times in a row. I had him stand where the ride drops down (log ride part) and he would get SOAKED from the flying water. He loved it!

Ducky and Carla waiting for the water

Yay!

Daddy and Duck SOAKED

At the Dolphin Show again! This time FRONT ROW. Camera was def put away lol. Loyiel Snuck a kiss though =*

Ducky :D He was...again, soaked

Believe it or not, our trip is already over! One last look at Shamu and we were on the road...

This had to be THE HILIGHT of Duckys trip. The trip was alllll abouuuttt Shammuuu for him and this was the IT moment.

Look at that. He wanted to stay and watch him pass us over and over but we had to get on the road. Ahh, I will say that BY FAR Sea World is our FAAVORRIITEEE Theme Park. Its very much a family park and since we have our yearly pass, we're hoping to make it again before next summer so we can get three uses out of it!

Until next time Sea World!

Ducky's First T-Ball Game (Evverr)

2009-06-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

It was funnnnn :D!

Just a night out

2009-05-26T00:58:00.000-07:00

I love my family.

Happy Mothers Day 09

2009-05-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

I loove being a mom :)

I forgot

2009-05-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I forgot to update:

Last week the neighbors from hell were evicted for non payment of rent.

Its a HUGE relief, and a saaaddd reality at the same time. A relief because I hatteedd them, but sad because that mother obviously does NOT care about her kids.

Maybe its better this way. If doesn't hurt if you don't see it.

I'll never forget little Kimberly though. She'll always be in my thoughts.

MY Dad Rocks.

2009-05-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

A gift given to be by my fa-JaH for helping him out a few times :].

And yes, thats my reflection in this one :D

Thank YOUUU daddy!

Lets Go A's!!

2009-04-28T21:32:00.001-07:00

Today was Ducky's first T-Ball practice...ever :). Practices are only an hour long but he did plenty today. The kids started out with stretching, and wow, Duck is pretty flexible. They then partnered up and threw the ball back and forth, and well, Duckys attention span (or lack of) had his partner sighing lol. Poor kid, hopefully he'll get it! After that, they ran bases and the coach then called it a night.

It might seem like not a lot went on, but its more than enough for these kids! They were all hoping to hit the ball a couple times but Coach Nick said there'd be plenty of practice for that.

Heres to a hopefully good season for the Little A's!

09' A's - They're so cute :D

Thats Coach Nick...Ducky stretching

He's flexible I tell you!

Catching grounders

Leo caught a flying Deecie!

Running first

Cali 09' [Knotts/Laguna]

2009-04-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Peace out Az. Hello Cali!

This years knotts trip included a bonus day at the beach for me and my little clan. We've been wanting to go back to Laguna for so long and just hadn't had the chance. Its safe to say that we had an excellent time. We always do when we're at the beach. Sunburns are totally welcome in exchange for total relaxation :D

My favorite view in the world [so far!!]

Loyiel and I

I really do love you. Some days ;DDD

My boys

Sandy Toesss!

The boys again

My Duck and I

<33

<333333

Thalia at Thalia St.

Leavvinggg the beacchh

Then! The next day was Knotts. This was halfway a success. It didn't go down as I had planned by any means, but my son keeps telling me how much fun he had at Snoopy World, so its worth it in my opinion :].

Crys, Dad and Me

Hmm... Loyiel....

LOL. He looked fine, but was SO terrified

Now tell me, does that look like it belongs in Camp Snoopy? Looool

My poor Shorty...he couldn't get on most rides.

But he could get on this one!

He loved it so much he said "Im gonna relax mom" And thats his relaxed face haha.

Waiting :]. I just liked this pic

Crys and Alex on the bus!! yEeEAhhH!

Every kids DREAM

It was AWESOME. They went in twiicee

The boys

Duckys favorite ride

Alayna makes me smile

So does Ducky :]]

Easter!

2009-04-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

So im prettttyy late on this post, but better late than never! Like every year, easter was spent half with my Melo Family half with the Ruiz/Chacon Family. This year though, it was just me and the Duck because Loyiel had to work. I'd like to think I spent a pretty even/fair amount of time with each family! Go me!

Theres nothing like coloring your eggs the good ol fashioned way! He was the only one into it :]

He was serious about his easter egg hunt ;D

The Melo Clan [plus some]

Lol the kids were flying kites and one broke into the palm tree. It was hillarrrioouusss watching the guys trying to get it down. They succeeded!

My big boy got his big boy bike!! New footage is needed lol..

;D

Happy [late] Easter!

FRUSTRATION.

2009-04-11T23:12:00.001-07:00

Its 11:12 at night and a very kind and worried/upset officer just left my apartment.

My neighbors are apartment-neighbors-from-hell and they are just plain ghetto. Their kids are ALWAYS running up and down the stairs screaming and yelling at ALL HOURS of the day. I am NOT joking when I say ALL. It can be 3 or 4 in the morning and you hear children outside. And when they're not yelling outside, they're JUST as loud inside, with the door WIDE open. They are the WORST neighbors.

So tonight around 10 I hear one of the little girls screaming and crying at her apartment. I was listening to music while doing homework, so I kinda drowned her out. Thats until I FINALLY realized that it it had been 15-ish ridiculous minutes and the little girl was STILL screaming and crying in the apartment. So (I do this often) I open my door in frustration to give them the stink eye and this time I actually see a small girl OUTSIDE of the apartment knocking and kicking at the door. When she sees me she quickly says "Hi." "Mi mama no quiere open the door."

What in the world is a little girl doing outside at 10 o'clock at night?! She looked like she was Ducky's age!!! The last thing I need is problems with my neighbors (ANY of them) but there was NO way I could ignore her!! I went next door and knocked and knocked and knocked. No answer. So I had the little girl come into my apartment so I could get her a blanket. She was FREEZING. I had her sit on the couch and put some cartoons for her. She was talking to me no problem, said she wanted to watch "ponge-bah" and within a few mintutes she was OUT. While I did all this, Loyiel searched the apartment complex for anyone looking for a little girl and I called the police.

They sent out an officer and he was there within 5 minutes or so. We explained exactly what we "witnessed" and he slowly tried to figure out wtf was going on. As the officer came into my apartment, a kid sees him and does a "scared face, double take." He dissapeared for a minute and then he comes up and knocks on my neighbors door. The officer asked him if he lived there, he said his aunt did, and then he asked if the little girl was his sister and he said yes thats kimberly. Mister officer had him also come into my apartment and he asked him a bunch of questions, and he pretty much knew nothing. He turned out to be a 12 year old kid and the little girl was "left with him" so the mom could pick up her boyfriend. Story #1.

After about 10 minutes in my place, we hear a woman and a WHOLE bunch of kids yelling out "kimberly!" the officer goes down to talk to her and she says she sent the little girl home but didn't bother to make SURE she got home safely. Her story: The mom had "just gotten home." Story #2.

The officer released the boy to the aunt and tried to figure out if he could take the little girl with him, but because the mother had CPS issues BEFORE she was born, there was nothing he could do. He was just as frustrated as us. So after about an hour, he take Kimberly down to the aunt until the mom got home. After talking to the officer for a few more minutes, we said goodbye. I sat down pretty dazed and i hear a knock. The aunt, I believe another aunt and a boy came up to "thank us....we did the RIGHT thing." I simply explained that there was no malice in calling the officer, i was just worried about the little girl and they thanked us over and over again. Their last story? The mom was at Jack n the Box getting the kids food. And still, an hour later, she wasn't back.

I simply hate situations like this. ITs now 11:38 and I heard people coming up the stairs. I look out my peephole and I see kimberly crying and the mom pulling her in the apartment. Then she SLAMMED the door.

Its been the worst night ever. I DONT UNDERSTAND how someone could be SO IRRESPONSIBLE and selfish! I wish she wasn't my neighbor because I'll always be thinking about Kimberly and whether shes okay or not.

Its so upsetting.

Logos

2009-04-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

Here are the logos that have made the cut to appear in my portfolio. I had MAJOR trouble the last couple months trying to update them while doing other work because without realizing it, I was choosing very very similar colors for all of them. I think im comfortable with where they're at [for now.] I have to keep on trekkin and git r done! I have way more things to update/improve and i can't focus on just one thing!! The countdown begins!! 9 more weeks to finish this portfolio!!

New Space

2009-04-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

Its nice to not see a HUGE HUNK of plastic with a rounded screen anymore :}

<3333

2009-04-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

LOVE.

~swoon~

Weeee

2009-03-15T01:22:00.000-07:00

Normally Ducky is never allowed to play outside because there are way too many kids running amok everywhere and its not easy for me to go up and down three sets of stairs everytime he has to pee lol. But last week it was super breezy and very cool outside, so I decided to take our little fold out chair and my book and let Ducky ride his bike behind our apartments.

He started out riding in a straight line on the sidewalk, and when he got far enough, he'd turn around and come back; rinse and repeat. But then he got DARING and decided to ride down the little hill from the sidewalk. Now the beginning of this little hill is a piece of cake, but seeing as he's never ridden his bike down it before, he was a little reluctant. I told him to go for it, and surreeee enough, one ride down and he was hooked! He loved it :]

Eventually he wanted to go to the deeper/steeper hill, but mom knows how clumsy Duck is and I had to say "When you're 6." (Its my universal age for him to be allowed to do certain things, such as chew gum haha)

So he's my little guy in all his glory. He's too awesome for words :D!!

California Dreamin'

2009-02-22T00:27:00.001-08:00

I texted Crystal today letting her know how awesome she is because I was wearing my California Dreamin' MAC lipstick. You see, she's totally awesome for getting me a limited edition, ONLY available in California MAC lipstick for me a while back. MAC released it only in California and not only was it special because it was exclusive, if you had a coupon from the web, it was FREE!!

I MADE crystal (well, begged and pleaded more like it haha) go to her nearest MAC counter and get it for me! Turns out the closest MAC counter was out of Crystals driving comfort zone D: . But, my trooper (along with her MIL and sister) took the drive and got it for me :D

So now everytime I put it on (which is not tooooo too often because its a "weird" pink) I only think of my Creestol :D. I effing lovvvee the thing and knowing just all the effort she put into getting it for me makes me like it THAT much more!

Crystal Rocks.
Free Lipstick Rocks.
MAC Rocks.
iRock.

And Remember:

Mac girls do it better :D

FOTD

2009-01-25T02:26:00.000-08:00

(Face Of The Day)

Todays makeup. Pink to go with my pink shirt that read "Girls Get Dirty Too." Although its a Honda (racing) shirt, I felt it was fitting for the Monster Truck Jam as well!

-sniff sniff- I'm still quite devastated that my camera is lost and gone forever, but i managed to get some decent pics from my new phone! 5 megapixels!! Not too shabby!

2009 Monster Truck Jam!!

2009-01-25T01:51:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the monster truck jam with Boogie, Noe, and Angel. Luis and his small fam went too, but they sat pretty far away...not that I minded one bit :).

We had pit passes which meant we could arrive before the show and take pictures with the Trucks and meet with the drivers etc etc. Lots of pictures, and lots of walking later, we found ourselves waiting in our seats for the show to start. Loyiel met us there since he had to work and then we were complete! It was a great show and the boys all had a blast.

Here are many pics from the event!

Built Ford Tough!
My little Man next to The Grave Diggers wheel lol

Best Buds as they say

He so wanted to run and play rather than take pics haha

But he loves me so he smiled

These are for YOU dad!!

<333
'Look mom, I'm driving!'

He thought that was SO cool

Us again! He didn't take those off til we got HOME

My vision was so jacked up after 20 mins of that haha
sad part is, I've never seen a D-Backs game sold out like that! EVERY seat was full!

Duckys Favorite
Look! Its Juan!
MOMMYS Favorite! GO Gravedigger!

He was aweessommmeee!
The End!

Scrap

2009-01-23T06:16:00.000-08:00

literally lol. I'll be posting scraps that I do from time to time just for kicks.

This was a potential direction for my identity/website but i decided against it. Thought I'd share it here!

I know it LOOKS like nothing special, but I maaddee the little paper: holes, lines, wrinkles and all. So I'm a little on the proud side! It is super simple work, but i still thought it was fun!

The Boys

2009-01-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

Check out those hams! Left to Right:

Anthony Leyva, Angel Romero and Ducky

These are Ducky's two cousins and they're all in the same class. This is what my backseat looks like for 5 minutes twice a day, everyday going to and coming home from school. They fight like no other, but at the same time, these kids can't live without each other.

Ahh, my boys :D!

Lets go Coyotes! LETS GO!

2009-01-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

OoOWWWwWwWwWwW!!!!!!

Last Friday night we went to the Jobing.com arena for our very first hockey game ever. This was not only a first fir Ducky, but for both Loyiel and I as well!

We arrived about half an hour early and were able to walk around and get a couple shots in. Loyiel spent most of his time outside drooling over the cars that probably cost more than both of our parents houses combined haha. Ducky was just...well...everywhere. He was excited because the outside is lit and the building is huge, so he knew it would be lots of fun inside. Turns out he was waaayyy off about what he THOUGHT we were doing there. He thought it was a big movie theater :).

My favorite parentals finally arrived (Diego in tow) and we were finally able to go inside. We found our seats pretty quickly and were soon waiting for the game to start. Ducky and Diego were pretty darn excited about the floating Taco that was hovering over the ice.

Long story short (lol yeah right, this is nichole talking here!) our team won and it was a fun night out. We even met up with Juan and Jen who were also there not too far from us. Ducky had a blast, Loyiel got to see a few fights and like I said, we won! OoWwWw go Coyotes!

Ducky and Daddy waiting outside

Ducky and Mama

My lil stinker :D

He loved it!

"Look mom, they're ice skaing"

<3

December 28, 2008

2008-12-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

Makeup for today :]

No reason today, was simply inspired by a makeup friend!

Ducky's "Homework"

2008-12-23T19:55:00.000-08:00

Lol, my kid is a nut. Seriously.

I recorded this quite a while back when he had just started school. I just think he's so silly and I love it! He wanted to "do homework" like I do, so this is what I came up with.

Ducks Hidden Performance

2008-12-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

Well, looks like i've come back to blog again :]. Lets just see if this time I KEEP GOING with it. I'm a terrible quitter, and I know it lol.

So anyway! The holidays are among us! This has got to be my absolute favorite time of the year. I simply love everything about Christmas...even the headaches caused by crowded malls haha. And even better, this is the first year that Ducky understands whats going on! He knows that this is Jesus's birthday (and well, to be honest, he thinks its Marys too lol), and also who Santa Claus is, and what he needs to do to receive a gift! Thats right! He's been good ALLL MONTH long! Hey I'll take it...

Ducky even got to meet Santa himself! Check out this vid..you can see his excitement at around the 1:40 mark...

The next day, Ducky and his classmates had a small part in St. Vincent de Paul Schools annual holiday "performance" (for lack of a better word) and I ALMOST missed it! But thank God (no pun intended) I made it just barely and was able to record it. Sadly, I ended up on the opposite side of my little Duck and you can't see him at all lol. BUT his cousin Angel is in his class too, and he was in the front row, so you can see him in all his glory!

Ohh these kids had huge smiles on EVERYONES faces. They were about 2 or 3 seconds behind the actual music, but its the little things like this that put us all in great moods.

Enjoy the pictures and the video!

The 3 year old class :]

Best Buds!

"I'm your best Duck right mom?" If he only knew :DD