Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The Things You Know

As a mom, you know your kids will get hurt. Inevitably something is going to happen to them that will cause some sort of physical harm to them. However, simply knowing this fact doesn't make it any easier when something actually happens.

Isabella had her first big fall today, causing a HUGE bump just above her eye. It happened while under my mom's care but I don't blame my mom. Isabella is 15 months old, bumps and bruises come with the toddler territory. Frankly, it sucks and I can't quite explain how it makes me feel to see her facial features being altered by a puffy eye (sad doesn't quite cut it, more like freaked out, I'm still freaked out. She's acting normal but I still feel helpless like I don't know what to do for her and I'm her mom and there's this huge bump over her eye so I should do SOMETHING, right? Right?! But, what?! WHAT?!) but truth be told we're lucky that it didn't happen sooner! So to blame my mom seems nonsensical to me.

Speaking of blaming my mom (or rather not blaming in this case) now that this has happened to Isabella while under my mom's care I can honestly say that I can't relate or understand my brother or sister-in-law. I'm only further puzzled by their reaction to my mother accidentally pulling out an IV, at the time attached to my nephew's foot, while carrying him when he was hospitalized with a severe UTI. Did Shawn cry? Yes. Did it hurt? Of course! Did she MEAN it? Definitely not. I knew that then, just as surely as I know now that she genuinely means it when (describing Isabella's accident today) she says "creo que yo llore mas que ella!"

The great IV Catastrophe seems to be the root of all of the current inter-family awkwardness that exists between my brother and his in-laws and us, his one-time close-knit immediate family. My brother doesn't bring my nephew over to my mom's house. She always has to go over to their place to see him. Mind you, the IV incident happened when my nephew was months old, he's now 14 months old. Thankfully he recovered from the UTI and wasn't left with any lasting emotional or mental trauma from my mom yanking out that IV, I'm almost 100% positive of this. Even so, I feel like my brother and sister-in-law hold a grudge against my mom for the whole thing. As a result contact between "us" (my parents, sister and I) and "them" (my brother, sister-in-law and nephew) dwindled down into non-existence. The lack of contact caused yet another problem in the form of my family (sometimes overtly) favoring Isabella. My sister makes no apologies and (maybe it's because I'm Isabella's mother) I agree with her point that their favoritism was bound to happen because they NEVER see Shawn. As I stated previously, my brother does not bring him to see my mom. They've never been to my sister's apartment and they only made a fleeting appearance at Isabella's first birthday party.

I don't think my mom meant to pull out that IV. I know Isabella's accident today was in no way her fault. I know my brother is a big dummy who will live to regret cutting us off from his life. I just don't think HE knows...
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Sunday, April 3, 2011

Queso Frito...


Growing up, the best Sunday mornings consisted of my mom blasting cumbia music while cleaning and making breakfast. The memory of waking up to the mouth-watering smell of platanos fritos (fried plantains, with salty sour cream, YUM!) , huevos estrellados (huevos rancheros to some, basically sunnyside up eggs with a homemade tomato sauce, YUM!), or queso frito (fried cheese, YUM!) remains indelibly etched in my mind.

This morning I woke up in the mood to recreate one of those mornings for Isabella. When she woke up, I picked her up out of her crib, changed her diaper and took her to the living room, while I went to rummage in my fridge. All I had in there that resembled a proper Sunday morning at my mom's was eggs and queso tropical (that's troh-pee-cahl not trop-ih-kil). Queso tropical is a fresh white cheese for frying and it ended up winning by default because I definitely CANNOT make my mom's tomato sauce for the huevos estrellados...not to mention there was no bread in the house.

So, I put on the Sonora Dinamita station on my Pandora radio while frying up some slices of cheese. As the female vocalist crooned about an old man hitting on and honking his horn at her, the oil in the pan popped and little drops landed on my arms causing sharp little bursts of pain. I yelped a small "ouch!" with each drop that sizzled on my skin but the slices of cheese browned nicely and the fantastic smell of fried cheese filled my kitchen. I was only able to fry up two slices of cheese because Isabella walked in and I didn't want any of the popping oil to burn her. So, I took my two slices of fried cheese, got a glass of juice and shuffled back to our bedroom.

My boyfriend woke up when I came in with a steaming plate and mumbled "mmmm...food! What are we eating?" "Queso frito!" I exclaimed, he pulled a face and retorted with a drawn out "ewwwww."  To which I replied "that's fine, I didn't make any for you! Just me and Isabella." At the mention of her name, Isabella started in with her "mum-mum-mum" babbling signaling her eagerness to dig in. I cut off a small portion of the cheese and popped it into her awaiting little mouth. She chewed for a bit almost as if she was mulling over the taste before finally deciding that she was not a fan and spitting out the chewed up bits of yummy cheese all the while pulling a face remarkably similar to her dad's. I sighed, gave her a bottle while I finished my cheese, then returned to the kitchen and got her a bowl of fruit loops, which she gobbled up.

So, maybe I haven't got Sundays at my mom's down to an exact science (what with Isabella hating the fried cheese) but I can at least create my own version. As long as it includes breakfast and some really great tunes, we'll be set! After all she did shimmy and wiggle to the sounds of El Viejo del Sombreron and why wouldn't she with lyrics as awesome as these?!

Enjoy!!!:
Dicen que es vino tinto
Pero es un rojo uva mi carrito

Es un último modelo

Que siempre va conmigo a donde quiera voy mi carrito

Por que el es mi compañero ese carrito es mi vida

De el nunca he tenido quejas

Cuando consigo a una chica

El me lleva a donde quiera

Cuando consigo a una chica

El me lleva a donde quiera.



¡Señorita a la orden la llevo!

No gracias estoy esperando al viejo del sombreron

Uy no me diga que tipo tan afortunado

Ay llego vera.



¡El viejo de sombreron!

Ese viejo si es rebuena

¡El viejo de sombreron!

Para conseguir mujeres

¡El viejo de sombreron!

Será que tiene secreto

¡El viejo de sombreron!

Ese viejo si la mueve.



Voy a comprarme un sombrero

Un sombreo bien jalón

Pa' hacerle la competencia

Al viejo del sombreron

Señorita de mi alma

Tengo una preocupación

¿Por que esta tan entregada al viejo del sombreron?


Lo que pasa es que una gota de agua sobre una piedra hace un orificio

Ese viejo tiene su carrito y cada vez que pasa se sonríe conmigo

Va de largo, se regresa si me encuentra parada en la puerta

Me lanza un piropo y me toca el pito

Va de largo, se regresa si me encuentra parada en la puerta

Me lanza un piropo y me toca el pito

Pipipi es a cada ratito que pasa el viejito y me toca el pito

Pipipi es a cada ratito que pasa el viejito y me toca el pito

Pipipi siempre vivo pendiente

Pipi cuando el viejo me toca

Pipipi siempre vivo pendiente pi pi cuando el viejo me toca

Pipipi ya me tiene mareada con el pi pi con el pi pi con el pi pi

Con el pi pi me toca el pito pi pi me tiene mareada con el pi pi.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Bi-weekend-ly...(and the wonder that is my NOOK Color)

So, it seems like this blog will be updated bi-weekend-ly. It's the ONLY time I really have to myself, because I'm not at work (well, actually I am at work but not doing my regular work, which takes up much more than my allotted 8 hours per day and would NEVER allow time for blogging) or at home therefore my daughter isn't around to crawl/walk/climb all over me or knock anything out of my hands. Also, my boyfriend isn't around to suddenly attack me in need of "business time" ... which, naturally isn't always a bad thing. Except for when I'm sound asleep and a cold hand startles me awake...that's just not sexy, I'm sorry. I love him to bits but he has the WORST timing...but this blog isn't about him*sigh*

What is this blog about?

Nothing, really I just felt like writing. That happens to me a lot when I've been reading incessantly (that and I start to narrate my daily life in my own head, I'm a bit of a weirdo). And since purchasing my Nook Color I haven't been able to STOP reading. Which, of course is fantastic -- I know, I know as a self-proclaimed bibliophile an e-reader goes against everything I stand for but, damn it all! I LOVE MY NOOK!!!!! I have downloaded 71 e-books since January (a special shout out to Barnes & Noble's "Free Friday," which has definitely contributed to the increase of my library). Granted, some are samples and some are short stories but it's still exponentially more reading than I did last year.

I mean the fact is that since becoming a mom I don't have the energy (let alone the space what with carrying around a diaper bag more often than a purse for myself) to carry around any books, with the Nook I can carry around 71 books in ONE slim little device. Plus, I get to read in the dark because of the fantastic backlit screen. I've always been, what my sister lovingly refers to as, a book-eater, which means once a book lures me in, I'm hooked and I can't stop reading until I've devoured every last morsel of a word. This has led to many a night spent squinting at tiny fonts with nothing more than my cell phone to illuminate the pages and at 27 years old, that's really not cutting it anymore. Because let's face it my eyesight definitely isn't what it used to be (on a different and ironic note, I think I need glasses now, whereas in the past I wore them as a fashion accessory).

In addition to all the wonderful stuff the NOOK color has for me (oh, did I forget to mention the other features? Oh, well let's see it has crossword puzzles, chess, Pandora radio and sudoku. Plus it's not only for reading books you can read magazines and newspapers too! Also it runs on Android and I've been on Team Android since the G1 came out -- which, incidentally I still own! But I digress...) it also has kid's books with a "Read To Me" feature, which will be so incredible when Isabella is a little older. And, don't worry the Read to Me books do have a Read by Myself option so I can read the book to Izzie, or when she's old enough she can read them by herself...if I let her touch my Nook, which I don't...not often...not yet.

So, all in all, while an e-reader can never truly replace the wonder that is reading a book (i.e. the intoxicating SMELL of a book), it's still a great little device and I'm simply in love with it.

Maybe Barnes & Noble can invent a Nook case that smells like an actual book...hmmm...