Sandralee's Adventures in San Antonio, Day FOURTEEN!

Today is Thursday and I was supposed to leave on Sunday. Realizing that I have yet to accomplish a few things, I decided to extend my visit another week. I spent all day doing laundry. I did three loads, but it took a while since I had to start the dryer twice for each load. We went to baseball/T-ball practice with the boys and then came home. We came home in time to watch the SPURS play! Gooooooooooooooooo Spurs! The final score? 97-87!!! Spurs beat the Mavs! ;) While I was sitting here watching the game, Ethan came up to me and said the darndest thing!Out of the blue, he came up to me and said, 'Duh Duh when you die, I will NEVER forget you!' My eyes flew to the back of my head and them the world went black! AFTER I picked myself up off the floor and composed myself I asked, 'Why did you say that, Ethan?' He looks at me with complete seriousness and sincerity as he replies, 'Because I love you and you will always be in my heart!' He said this as he started thumping on his chest over his heart. I always say that I love people and I pat my heart to signify how much I love them. I am quite sure that's where he picked that up from! I tend to get goofy and be extra melodramatic!!! The sincerity and obvious LOVE behind his declaration meant everything to me, but KID don't try to be placing me 6 ft under ANY time soon! ;) That took my breath away! Right after that I got a text from my friend, Janie. The text said, 'ASPIRE to INSPIRE before you EXPIRE!!!' WHAT THE HECK!!! SHEESHKABOB! Today was another quiet day, just like I like them! Well, the in-home daycare kids were a little rowdy, but I survived! ;) I notified all mommies that the daycare was closed until further notice! lol! ;)Overall, day fourteen in San Antonio was good!

Sandralee's Adventures in San Antonio, Day THIRTEEN!

Today is Wednesday and the count down has begun until I go back home to the Valley on Sunday. Still feeling the sore throat, headache and a little congestion. Didn't do anything in particular today. I helped wash the lunch dishes for my friend Jenn's In-Home Daycare. I've done her dishes before, but today I reflected on how hard it is to wash the Sippie/Toddler cups. Every single cup or glass has a lid, attachment, straw, gadget, gizmo or chingadera like I mentioned on my Facebook status. Before you can wash them, you have to take them apart and then the hard part is to put them back together! For those who do NOT know, you can TELL I am NOT a mother! I am a mother in my heart having miscarried five babies, but actual day to day living from birth to adult hood has yet to be experienced! Which brings to mind the time Ethan was a baby. I was making mijo a bottle and dumped the contents of the measured baby formula into it. I fed him the bottle and was content that I had done a great job. Jenn came home and was washing the dishes when she noticed the bottle I had made for Ethan. She asked me what measured container I had poured into the bottle. Ummmmmm, it turned out to be the cereal one. All I gave him was cereal water, and no formula! No wonder the formula wasn't mixing well! Jenn forgave me and allowed me to keep caring for Ethan! ;) Poor baby! He turned out just fine! He's seven now! ;) Should be going out for a bit tonight. Will be back to update the blog! Ended up going to dinner at Cici's with Bettina and her family. I met Bettina when I moved to San Antonio two years ago. My friend Daryl picked me up and we headed to Cici's near 1604 and Shaenefield. Isaiah and Bella ran to me and hugged me tight. Isaiah remembered Daryl and said hello. Daryl was the one who got Isaiah to shoot me with a dart gun one time. They laughed as I yelped in pain! ;) Then the little Princess, my baby Iris ran to me! She hugged me, kissed me and laid her head on my shoulder! She is just too adorable! Bettina, Javier and Iris traveled from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley for Josiah's funeral. It was an honor they did that for me and baby Josiah. Iris was exactly who I needed to see when I was grieving. Her hugs and kisses made the grief subside, even for just a moment! It was a nice dinner. It was Bettina, Javier, Javier Jr, Isaiah, Bella, Iris, Bettina's mom Mari, her step dad Dennis, Daryl and myself. Iris kept coming up to me and showing me her Dinosaur toys. I was trying to get her to pose for pictures and she would squeeze her eyes shut! I did get one good picture of her with her eyes open! It was awesome to see Bettina and the family again! Iris is just toooo adorable! It was a grand evening! Like Daryl said, Good kids and Good people! I told him that's what life is all about! AMEN and good night! ;)

Sandralee's Adventures in San Antonio, Day TWELVE!

Today is a BLAH day! :( My throat hurts and I do not feel well at all. I stayed at Jenn's all day just relaxing. The boys had T-ball and baseball practice so the family went to the ball park. I did have a RASPA, which I had been craving forever! A RASPA is a Snow-Cone! I had the PASSION FRUIT flavored! It was yummy! We came home, Jr. brought Bill Miller's and then we watched the Spurs Game. MY personal opinion is that Najera was playing dirty and took a cheap shot at Tony Parker. Nobody can prove if it was done intentionally or not. So, each to their own opinion! Please be nice if you like the MAVS!!! ;) Yes, the Mavs won this game! :( That was the extent of my whole day! Just relaxing and trying to get better. I really think it was a touch of food poisoning or something. The sore throat and headaches can be attributed to allergies with all the ragweed and etc in San Antonio. Thus ends my QUIET 12th day in San Antonio!

Sandralee's Adventures in San Antonio, Day ELEVEN!

Today is MONDAY!!! Ugggghhhhhhh! Everybody has to go back to their daily routine and the kids have to wake up early! My friend Don, whom I have known for over TEN years picked me up around 10:30 am to go out and about in San Antonio. We ran a couple of errands, including dropping his dog Bender off at the Groomer's. We then had lunch at 'The Panda Restaurant' The food was delicious, but as always one gets full way too fast! We enjoyed a leisurely lunch as the movie was not until 2:30 pm or so. Don and I met at the TSTC dorms and have a LONG history! There are stories that we BOTH can tell on each other that are better left UNSAID! That is all I can say about that unless I want Don to kill me! ;) Those were some crazy times! I had just gotten divorced and was a Domestic Violence Survivor and not coping very well at all. I am glad we still keep in contact and get together every once in a while. We had vowed to marry each other after 5 years if we each hadn't met anybody, but I think we would KILL each other! We are both toooo stubborn and set in our ways! lol! So, as my dear friend he shall remain! ;) Living with him day in and day out would certainly be an ADVENTURE to say the least! ;) After we had lunch and we had a couple to three hours to kill before Bender had to be picked up we set out to the movies. Over all, Don CAN be a gentleman! He paid for my lunch and the movies. He also let me choose the movie we were to see. I chose to watch 'The Back-up Plan' with Jennifer Lopez. Oh my goodness, did Don make me want to CHOKE him! He started complaining right off the bat that this movie was boring and then he pretended to snore. After he PRETENDED to snore, he actually fell asleep and started snoring! I punched him HARD in the arm like TEN times and he yelled at me to stop hitting him!! That's the OLD Don I remember! SHEESHKABOB! lol! ;) So, I left him alone and IGNORED the snoring whether it be FAKE or REAL!! The movie was good, but not EXCELLENT! It lacked some 'sparkle' it fell a tad bit flat! It had some funny scenes, but over all I would wait to see it at the Dollar Movies if you haven't seen it! I love J-Lo as an actress, ever since she played SELENA!!! It's just that the movie didn't seem to 'flow' right..... I started feeling VERY ill at the restaurant, so I asked Don if he would take me back to Jenn's after the movie. My throat started hurting and felt very sore, my eye balls were burning and I had some congestion along with a tummy ache. I don't know if he had anything else planned, but I was SERIOUSLY not feeling well. I got back to Jenn's and hugged Don good-bye. I immediately got into my pajamas and after telling Daryl about the movie, I fell asleep. I woke up around 7 pm or so and spoke to my mother on the phone. She advised me there had been an earthquake in Corpus Christi (or near it). I immediately thought about my ex-husband and although I wished him dead many times before, I was genuinely concerned. I wanted to call his mother since I STILL remember her home phone number, even though we have been divorced for ELEVEN years. Some things, you just don't forget! Yet, I REFUSE to go into details about THAT!!! I didn't call because I did NOT want to open up a can of worms, so to speak. Plus, one of the articles I read said it was outside CC and there was no reported casualties or serious damage. I pray they are fine, but in my PAST is where that WHOLE family belongs! This heart of mine can be RETARDED at times, STILL feeling concern for a man that abused me and caused me SOOOO much heartache and grief! Sometimes I wish that I could be a super mean ugly person (which I have been when I was dealing with the divorce and losing my four babies) that didn't LOVE as much as I do. Everyone tells me I view the world thru rose-colored glasses! All I can say is that is how GOD made me! I LIVE, LAUGH and LOVE!!!! I have caught up on all of my blogs now and the entire family is asleep, so I am going to 'follow suit' and go to bed myself! The count down has begun! I will be going home this Sunday!!! Over all, I still feel ill but I had a great day with my friend, Don. I have NO plans tomorrow and I think I will keep it that way! I hope to get better and not worse! :( Good night all, and God bless!

Sandralee's Adventures in San Antonio, Day TEN!

Sunday morning ALSO came way tooooo soon! We all piled in the car and took Ms Carly to the Doggie Park again. This park was HUGE!!! There were MANY baseball fields, walking/biking trails, soccer fields and a huge doggie park. There was ANOTHER long walk that kicked my butt again! When I get back home, I SERIOUSLY need to start exercising consistently instead of SPORADICALLY!!!! This is so humiliating to get so winded from a long walk! I have WAY too many things to accomplish in life that cannot be hindered by lack of health and fitness!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It really felt good AFTER the walks, but DURING the walks I felt like I was going to DIE!! I even tried to bribe my friend Monica at the Parade to drive me over to the Parking Area where we had parked. She had gotten there early and had gotten a GREAT parking spot! I walked back with the family, but even the FACT that I asked her to do that is HUMILIATING! I do not have a problem with continuing to exercise once I get consistent, it's just actually MOTIVATING myself to START and STAY motivated! I could use MANY and VARIOUS excuses... I lost a baby and was depressed/grieving.... (which is true) but the fact is that EXERCISE is a great source to relieve pain, stress, anger, hurt and etc....... You walk/run all that off! So ladies and gentlemen, this is MY public announcement! When I get back home next week, I am going back to eating right and exercising! I have to be held accountable! I do little things such as drinking water, juices and milk. I LOVE salads and chicken! There is NO excuse! I KNOW how to eat and exercise. Now it's just putting it into practice and making a life style change. This personal journey I have been on for two years has really helped me grow spiritually. Now it's time to concentrate on physical well-being. For those of you back home who are wondering if I've been a bad girl in San Antonio, my vow of celibacy is still intact!!! ;) It's VERY difficult, but I am at a great place right now and wish not to interrupt that! Back to my Sunday!! I got off on a very deep tangent! Realizing, understanding, accepting, and then actually 'doing something about it' is a GREAT place to be! It's time to start walking and STOP talking! I feel it in my heart that the timing is right. It's time for the whole world to see the beauty outside that many have claimed to see the beauty within! Back to my Sunday, AGAIN! lol! ;) Right after the doggie park, we dropped off the kids and husband at home. Jenn and I went to HEB and bought the ingredients to make Chicken Ranch Burgers to stay home and watch the Spurs kick the Mavs HINY!! ;) While I was at the dog park, I had called mi amigo Daryl and asked if he wanted to join us. He hates the SPURS and the Mavs. He is from Tennessee and lives in TEXAS! I think he needs to MOVE BACK home of he's going to go around hating the SPURS!!! Go back home, Daryl! Go back home, Big D! ;) He agreed to join us so he could watch the Spurs get their butts kicked or so he thought! The SPURS won! Goooooooooooooooooooooooo Spurs! In your face, Daryl!!! The kids had a great time hanging off Tio Daryl and playing ball with him. They acted as if there hadn't been a whole YEAR's span in which they hadn't seen him since I had moved back to the Valley! Big D, I am going to miss you when I go back home! I think it's time we had another intellectual debate! It's been a while since we've had one! ;) Like Jenn said, there is an intellectual level that we meet upon and nobody can enter in it's realm! She didn't put it quite like that, but I totally agree! ;) You understand my quirkiness, my 'way of viewing the world' and you 'GET ME!' Thanks friend! I appreciate that! ;) AFTER all of that, you STILL stick around! lol! I admit, I am 'totally out there' in my way of thinking at times! ;) Jenn and I ran to the Post Office after Daryl left and she told me she had a new appreciation for me! That's an honor! My personal journey is being reflected in my fruits! I just have to stay consistent and not lose sight of what is important! I have to keep God first and then everything else will fall into place! This evening was AWESOME! I loved watching the Spurs play and hanging out with the Garza-Castillo family and Daryl! Over all, this day was eye-opening and pleasant at the same time! Thank God for friends who are considered as family!

Sandralee's Adventures in San Antonio, Day NINE!

Saturday morning came by way too soon! We were out the door by 8:15 am to go to Espen's T-ball game. I have seen Ethan play but this will be the first time I get to see Espen play. We got to the ball park just to find out that the game was forfeited due to something or other. 'Blue' aka The Umpire allowed both teams to have one chance at bat as a scrimmage, I think. Either way, I got to see Espen play for a little bit, even though he had done great at practice! After the forfeited game/scrimmage was over, Jenn and I took the Expedition for a re-wash since it had rained the night before. I bought some cute key chains. One for my brother, Dan who is in the Airforce, one for my brother Richard who is an avid poker player and one for my cousin Joe who graduated as a dental hygienist! We were allowed to take Carly into the carwash shop and everyone was petting her. She is just so adorable! Then Jenn and I took Carly to the vet while the rest of the family went to breakfast. We saw sooo many cute pets there and OF COURSE Carly was being petted by everyone! 'Fat girl' Carly now weighs almost 18 pounds! She gained 7 pounds in 2 weeks! After Carly's vet visit, Jr picked up Carly to take her home and Jenn and I went to the Olive Garden. We were having a pleasant lunch when we saw this man out with his four children. He had three girls and one little boy. We found out the oldest daughter was 17 years old and we were admiring the baby. I asked what his name was, and they told me his name was JOSIAH. That is two JOSIAH's in ONE week. The first time, the tears threatened to spill but I stayed strong. My heart stopped beating for a few seconds and I felt like I was in a long tunnel and I just STARED at Jen. She couldn't look at me because she didn't want to cry... she just whispered, 'It's ok!' The tears started rolling down my face so quick and I tried really hard to stop them. This Josiah was only seven months old. He was so cute and the tears were in grief for my son, but the kids didn't notice anything. Josiah was keeping them occupied. I took a deep calming breath and the world returned to normal. Jen reminded me I always asked God for signs that Josiah was fine and she's right. I ASKED God straight up to give me little signs that he hadn't forgotten me and to please allow Josiah to say hello once in a while to mommy. I am not debating any biblical truth here, other than with GOD all things are possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I, as his princess child (He is a KING), asked him PERSONALLY to show me that Josiah said hello once in a while.... who are WE to doubt that my GOD can answer a mother's heart? WE are NOBODY! God is mysterious, so I have no doubt that he can do such a thing. If it's a grieving mother's disillusion, then it helps me cope with the grief and nobody should question MY personal belief of faith that God can do strange and miraculous things! Needless to say, I was at the Olive Garden with people around so I cried a bit and then forced myself to remain strong. I was helpless to stop the tears that fell. We continued on with our lunch, and I had the (everybody guess)...... TOUR OF ITALY! ;) That's what I order most of the time, so I get to take the Lasagna home and have it for dinner or lunch the next day! ;) As Jenn and I were sitting there enjoying our lunch, an elderly lady was being seated. She was asked if it was only two people at the table. She replied, 'Oh no! My husband is joining us! He is the tall handsome one!' Jenn and I looked at each other and laughed. She heard us laughing and we smiled at her as I told her that she was toooo cute! She smiled and said it was TRUE! We sat in great anticipation waiting to see someone like Harrison Ford come in! Her husband walked by us and he was tall and handsome! He needed a haircut though! lol! ;) Jenn and I both looked at him until we caught his eye and said, 'Hello handsome!' At first he looked at us like we had fallen off the short bus until his wife explained what had just happened! Just shortly after we told Josiah's dad and family good-bye, Jenn and I were finishing up our meal. We 'made friends' with Andy our waiter and learned he was also from the Rio Grande Valley, Progreso to be exact. He said MANY of the staff was from the Valley. We talked about Fiesta and etc. Andy is pursuing a degree in business and just has about 6 months left. Great job, Valley boy! ;) Proud that my Valley is 'repping' in San Antonio! ;) As we were getting ready to leave, I asked Mr. and Mrs. Handsome how long they had been married. She said 57 years! If she still calls her hubby handsome after 57 years, they are doing something right! I found out their name was Mr. and Mrs. Salinas. Mrs. Salinas had her sister with her. She was familiar with the Rio Grande Valley and asked me what city I was from. She then proceeded to tell me that what her sister said about her husband was true. She said when her husband passed away, they allowed her to live in the guest house and that Mr. Handsome was a GEM! Mr. Handsome seemed to have a QUIRKY sense of humor because he promptly said his sister-in-law's nose was GROWING! He said, 'Put THAT in your blog!' lol! ;)It's such an honor to meet 'real' men who honor their wives and extended family. I told them they would make my blog and Mr. Handsome asked what a blog was. I told him in simple terms it was an online journal of sorts. He said he would never read it because they don't have a computer, but I told him how other people would read it and be INSPIRED by him and his wife. They both seemed pleased! What an AWESOME couple! They reminded me of my 'young' parents who have been married for 42 years! Love you mom and dad! My lunch at Olive Garden was pleasant, even though I cried for my Josiah. Coming back to that topic, SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!! The name Josiah is NOT a common name. I saw TWO Josiah's in ONE week! My baby really wants mommy to be happy and know that he loves her! That is so like my God to send a little hello from Heaven! Mommy loves her some Josiah! Whatever my future holds, it's friends and family that make the road seem brighter. Jenn said I should find a 'baby daddy' donor and she would carry the baby for me. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! I soooo should take her up on that! Even though that may NEVER happen, the gesture of her EVEN offering filled my heart with gladness. For now, she lets me 'borrow' Lauren, Deandra, Ethan and Espen to fulfill my 'motherly' quota! Oh and now Carly! ;) I don't get to borrow Jr (her man) but he has accepted 'the Duh Duh' (as the kids call me) and has been a TRUE gentleman! Now what he says about me behind my back is another matter! He knows we can get crazy when we want to! ;) He is always so patient and kind when Jenn and I start making plans to do this and that! He just 'goes with the flow' and tells Jenn, 'Whatever you want to do, baby!' Awwwwwww! Que cute! It is now time to get ready for the Fiesta Night Parade, so I will blog about THAT later tonight or tomorrow! So far, it has been an EXCELLENT day! Shout out to my cousin Carolyn and the family back in the Rio Grande Valley! I will be home next week-end! ;) We stopped at Walgreen's before we went to the Parade. Elvis was walking out of the store an Jenn dared me to stop him and ask if I could take his picture. I jumped off the truck and asked if I could take his picture. He said yes and posed for a picture. He then asked me if he could give me a hug and I said yes. He hugged me tight and held on a little too long! lol! ;) We got to the Parade and had a little walk to the spot where the family had gotten 'front row joe' seats! I seriously need to start walking again! That walk kicked my butt! ;)The San Antonio Flambeau Parade was a SIGHT! I was told at least 500,000 people attend the parade! It was so much fun! I got a text from an old HHS classmate, Monica that said she liked my floral blouse. I was like, 'WHAT?' I got another text that said to look up at the crowd in front of me. Monica was sitting right across the street from where our seats were! What are the odds to run into an old high school friend in a crowd of 500,000? That was AWESOME!! The San Antonio Flambeau Parade was completely and totally beyond words! All of the Military Branches were represented. I saw some Floats from the Rio Grande Valley. The Citrus Fiesta and Border Fest were a couple that I remember from the Valley. There were clowns, fire trucks, police cars, beautiful floats, the UT Longhorn Band 'Hook 'em Horns' and soooo much more! Over all, the experience was very much appreciated. I want to try and come every year if possible! The food booths were great too! There was turkey legs, fajita tacos, super nachos and etc. The evening was beautiful and it is an experience that will never be forgotten! These are the MOMENTS! ;)

Sandralee's Adventures in San Antonio, Day EIGHT!

Today is Friday! Yeah! We went to dinner at Bud Jones and it was yummy! Today is Al's (Jenn's man, I call him Jr.) 35th birthday! His family joined us at Bud Jones. We had a nice time, talking about the Fiesta Night Parade on Saturday. Then Espen and Grandpa spilled a glass of tea! Espen said it was Grandpa and Grandpa said it was Espen! All I can say is there were NO cell phones and such in the way! That was a GREAT thing! After we got the table cleaned up we all enjoyed our various meals. I personally think Espen's Grandpa was the one who spilled the tea, because Espen is a good kid! ;) (said tongue in cheek!) He is as rambunctious as any three year old can be! ;) Since Grandpa probably won't read this blog, we'll all just say Grandpa did it! ;) As a matter of fact, I am SURE Espen won't read this blog either, because he is THREE! ;) So all in all, the birthday dinner was a success. Oh, besides the fact that Lauren told Jenn she had a spider on her blouse and Jenn started screaming so I started screaming! Then the spider slipped into Jenn's blouse and I was yelling, 'Turn around, take your blouse off and get it out!' Needless to say Jenn slapped me on the arm because Jr's family was there including his mom and dad. Yes, the same dad who SPILLEd the tea and blamed it on Espen! ;) I was just trying to help, I wasn't trying to get her to FLASH the family for Jr's birthday! ;) Or was I? *insert evil laugh here* Lol! Just kidding! I love the Castillo family! No disrespect intended, just trying to be funny! After dinner was over and the family said good-bye, we headed home. I immediately jumped into my pajamas and fell asleep. I had a headache and was a little tired. Jenn told me we were going to Simply Simon's for Kurrrokie (Karaoke) and Margaritas. I've been to Simply Simon's before, it's a family-oriented Pizzeria. We arrived to Simply Simon's and the Spurs game was on! We ordered some margaritas and my 'new' friend, Jen joined us. The 'Hot & Sexy' Ev brought the birthday boy Al aka Jr. a bucket of beer. Jenn, Jen and I ATTEMPTED to sing the song, 'What a man!' All I wanted to sing was, .....' I want to have your baby!' Does it say that in that song? lol! ;) We were messing up the song and Hot and Sexy Ev jumped in and tried to help us sing it. We wound up singing 'I kissed a girl!' That was fun! In the meantime, we were ROOTING for the Spurs while new Jen was being a hater. She was rooting for the OTHER team! ;) Some girl sang a song in Spanish, and I had to 'REP' my Valley roots.... so as soon as the song started and BEFORE she began singing, I did the GRITO!!! It was a GREAT grito!!! It felt soooo good! I had missed doing the GRITO!! Where was my Mari & Andy? They help me do the Grito! Jenn asked if I had to do that and Jr laughed and said I was DYING to do it and had been holding it in for a WEEK! ;) I like Jr's response better! ;) Jenn sang 'When you say nothing at all' and Jr sang, 'Rehab!' We had a great time, laughing and singing! They brought Jr a BIG slice of chocolate cake and we all sang Happy Birthday! The best part of the evening was that........ the Spurs WON, new Jen! ;) Ha ha! ;) Gooooooooooooo Spurs! Overall, it was a GRAND evening! I missed hanging out with the San Antonio crowd! :( Just as the evening was coming to a close, the storms seemed to be rolling in and the trees were SWAYING out in the Patio! It got a little chilly! We came home and went straight to bed, safe and sound! Thank God. Had a fun time on my EIGHTth day in San Antonio! Happy Birthday, Al aka Jr! You are awesome! A great daddy! Hope you have MANY more birthdays! ;)