Treatment of Mothers

I am human too.  Although I intend to be the best and to do everything right by my child, I have moments of poor judgment.  As I continue to raise my son and soon my new born child, I hope they can see past the mistakes I will make.  No one is perfect.  I know my mother wasn't.  I could easily find a reason to treat her poorly and to "get back" at her.  However, I see other things.  I see that she used to walk to work every morning to make barely enough to cover the rent for the month.  She worked at the hospital as a janitor and did so to the best of her abilities to keep her job.  Yes she was married at that time but her husband was very childish.  A mistake to keep him along for so many years but again who is perfect?  She went back to school for her CNA licenses.  A little bit more of pay but definitely more work.  I remember she would come home exhausted.  I also remember we would make a delicious dinner for us at night.  There were times when our refridgerator was just about empty: a gallon of milk, water, and one or two more items.  Money was really scarce!  Around that time my sister tried out for the cheerleading squad.  She made the team and somehow my mother came up with the money for her uniforms.  My siblings and I were always needing for something.  Those of you that are parents can understand the demands of school and the financial and moral support that goes with having school age children.  I am not going to say that she gave us everything we needed for school and for our activities; the money wasn't there.  However, she did sacrifice for us all the time. 

We hear stories of true poor mothers.  Mothers that neglected their children.  Mothers that dropped off their children at someone's house and disappeared.  How about extreme abuse such as the story of "The Boy Called It?"  You even have mothers that create a sex market with their own kids.

I understand if those children hold grudges on their mothers.  I understand if a child still feels abused by their mother and wants to keep a distance.  However it completely gets to me when children treat their mothers like crap because of human mistakes they can easily make themselves. 

I have learned from the mistakes of my mother.  I have valued the journey she has taken and keep it dear to my heart.  I've learned what not to do but I have also learned what to do during times of adversity.  I was a choice.  She chose to keep me and raise me.  I made it to my adult years.  I have been educated.  For that I am grateful.  For that I respect her.  For that I keep in contact with her.  For that she should always be treated well.

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Treat your mothers well.

No Judging!

Back to a baby post.  I have no amazing updates on the growth of the baby other than all is going well in the growing department.  We have our next ultrasound Jan. 13th and we are hoping for a gender declaration.  In the mean time, I have been behaving very well.  Okay, I was behaving well and today I walked into Goody's and they had this AMAZING sale.  I couldn't resist the deals and I had to take advantage!  So what do you do when you run into a sale and have no idea what you are going to have?

Well...

16 full outfits and 2 extra pieces and I only spent $50!  All items can be returned so I will be saying goodbye to half of the collections in two weeks.  $2.77 each set is definitely a deal to me!!

Oh the joy of deals!

Just in time for Christmas!

Kevin and I made it back from our cruise on the 23rd of December.  Thankfully, we completed our shopping and gift wrapping before the trip and we were able to get ourselves ready for the holidays. 

Christmas is a bit tough for me because I miss my Noche Buena celebration with my family back in Florida. 
However, I am working on creating my own traditions here with my smaller family unit.  I celebrate my Noche Buena with authentic Puerto Rican dishes (still working on getting pasteles here next Christmas).  My sister has joined us for the last two Christmas' and my friend Sharon spends the evening with us with her family.  Music plays in the background and we enjoy each others company.  Not big but my tradition nevertheless.

Sharon and her family spend the night at the house and we celebrate Christmas morning with the boys and enjoy a big hearty breakfast before dispersing to visit family and friends.  Kevin and I usually spend early Christmas Eve with his family but this year we changed it up to Christmas Day dinner.  Our Christmas Day was BUSY but we enjoyed the entire 24 hours indulging with great company and visiting family!

Summer in December

Kevin and I planned a five day cruise for our getaway vacation.  No kiddo, no responsibility, the ultimate vacation after a long year for the both of us.  This was Kevin's first cruise and it was definitely like Christmas morning when we got on board!  Our five day cruise included two days fun at sea, one day at Progresso, Yucatan, and a day at Cozumel, Mexico.  We ate at the formal dining room each evening and enjoyed all the events possible on the ship.  Our days in Mexico were mixed with an excursion to the Mayan Ruins, touring the cities, lounging at the beach, and shopping for bargains.  What a great vacation pre baby!  I cannot wait for the next one.  In due time...

Christmas Eve

It has been a while since my last post but I was busy with finals and I just got back from a 5 day cruise!!  That was by far the best idea after a hard semester.  Kevin and I had an amazing time; we visited the Mayan ruins in Pregresso and lounged at the beach in Cozumel.  I will update with pictures later but now I have to do my last minute running around before my Christmas Eve dinner. 

Have a blessed day!

Fire Cracker

I am trying to figure out what happened to the deep sleeping baby I once had.  Movements at this time are supposed to feel like flutters and soft movements.  Well...someone forgot to tell this little peanut that!  Apparently, I have Kung Fu Panda growing inside of me.  Sometimes I let out a yelp because the movement startles me.  The good thing about it?  At least I can feel the baby!

Drive by Posting.

I have been extremely busy with school the last month.  I had a few traumatic moments that set me back and have been working extremely hard to get myself caught up.  I am exremely exhausted and I cannot wait until next weekend when I get to head out for a little R&R. 

I have learned plenty in the last month. 
I have learned that God blessed me with really great friends.  I have been fortunate to have a great support system with an amazing bunch of people.  They call in and make sure I am not under my bed soaking on my problems for too long. 
My husband has demonstrated great patience with me.  I know he hates having an absentee wife but understand the stress I am in and supports me and takes care of just about everything so I may focus on my studies.  He has pretty much gone to college with me and I doubt he will want to go after the rollercoaster we've been on for the last four years!  I will give him a break and then harrass him with the thought again.
My son has been understanding and this has been the hardest thing for me.  I am that parent that enjoys being at school events and helping as much as possible.  I want to provide him with all the opportunities and it has been hard for me to pull time out of the time I don't have to begin with.  He has been so understanding and I get emotional thinking about all the memories I could not make the last few months because of school.

On to other thoughts:
We have nothing out for Christmas yet.  I hope that this weekend will be the weekend to put up the tree and decorate the house.  I am glad that I keep my stuff up until the Epiphany has passed!  So I will have the house decorated for a bit.  Also my household has really been discussing a 1 gift rule for Christmas time.  We have shared our thoughts and ideas with J and he took it pretty well.  I do not find it bad for people to lavish those they love with gifts on Christmas if that is what makes them feel good but my household does that throughout the year.  We see things that the other would love and we get it for them.  J does not go without and I know that he will be pretty blessed with gifts from family and friends that think of him during this season.
I also have been really wanting to give back during the holiday times.  Families are going through tough times and instead of spending money on myself on things that will one day perish, I want to spend my time and resources spreading the message of Christ through acts of love. 
As a Christian we celebrate and rejoice the birth of Christ on December 25th.  He came to us in the most humble of ways and spent His entire time preparing the way and giving of His mercy and love.  That is what is important.

So much for a drive by...