Good Friday- a Good Friday

Since I didn't have to work today, we got to play with some friends all afternoon. Aleah and Kanani got to come over and have a picnic, then we went to the Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse. Here's our day:

Picnic on our front lawn

On our way to the playhouse.
Can't believe it, but we did it- 3 carseats in our car at one time! (This picture was taken for the drive there. The drive back home was very unpleasant, as can be expected from two nap-less toddlers.)

First stop- trains and playhouses

Then on to the foam gym toys

Balance is not her best skill, so she kept it low-key and stuck with this.

Upstairs in the "Everything Room"

Being little mommies

The next Julia Child

A stop in the basement of Smithville- a.k.a. "Car City"

Nani is a pro behind the wheel.

Siena pumping gas for her friend

Mostly interested in pushing the vehicles, not riding them

But definitely obeys the law

Moving outside to the playground; this place has the best playground toys I've ever seen. This is a pic of a merry-go-round with a climbing net. It was a big hit with most of the kids there and it was a big hit with Siena, too... literally. She got in the way on the ground when they were pushing it in circles and ended up getting trampled. Besides the bloody lip, she was fine; not the worst that could have happened, but it shocked all of us mommies on the sidelines because it happened so suddenly. None of us saw it coming, but I still feel horrible that I let her get in the way.

Roaming the park

Looking for the next fun place to stop

How about the big wooden slide? Chelsea was such a sport and took the three, yes 3, girls down all at once.

Then Siena flew solo.

Like I said, awesome playground equipment.

Taking a breather

Playing on the tire swings

"Nani"- whose name Siena finally can say

Looking for more fun

Looks like Nani found it

Then came Siena, who wasn't about to let Nani relax. She didn't like the swings, which is so odd because those were her favorite things at parks last summer.

It was such a fun afternoon; I think we took it at a good pace and spent the perfect amount of time there. We all came home exhausted and happy, so it was a day-off well-spent.

Fingers and Toes

We painted Nena's nails yesterday... inspired by her little friend Nani. It was a disaster.

After a healthy allocation of nail polish remover, they look the originally-intended part.

Another Big Step

After a long search for a toddler bed, we finally found one on Craigslist. Siena is still fascinated with it--that is, as long as the lights are on. We decided to introduce the changes of the bed and the rooms at the same time so she wouldn't have to go through change after change. After realizing that she was not happy once we turned off the lights in the new room and closed the door, we dug through the miscellaneous drawers in our house and found a nightlight we've never used. It helped a little, but the crying continued. Oh, how I hate leaving her when she's alone and crying; but, we stayed strong and she's been able to cry herself to sleep after only a little time alone. Last night, Juan and I listened to the pitter patter of her feet from the room below and just laughed. We are sure she was trying to find a book or toy to amuse herself, but we have learned to put everything away on a high shelf before her bedtime so she has no choice but to go to sleep. Mwah ha ha ha, what tricky parents you have, Siena.

I'm already considering the consequences of the nightlight, but I'm not too worried because I have thought of a plan to "wean" her from it. Glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, maybe?

Pass On This Good Deal

We think, we hope, we pray that it is finally time to potty train Siena. She's showing a lot of signs that she's ready, like telling us when she's gone or about to go. So we went to SlickDeals.net and found out that Sears is having a huge sale on their toddler potty-training products. We drove down to Sears and bought a Summer Infant All-in-One Potty Seat & Step Stool for $3.99. Can't beat that, right?

(p.s. They still have some left at the 69th Street Sears, if anyone needs one, but hurry because I think the sale ends today.)

Harper

Today is this little bugger's 23rd birthday. Aaawwww... he is still just as available... I mean adorable! ;^)
(I know I can write that because he never reads the blog.)

It's Hailing, It's Pouring

Hailstones the size of marbles surrounding us, a million decibels ringing in our ears, and a sleeping little girl in the back seat- that was our drive home yesterday. Phenomenal!

It's Finally Here!

We're nearly back to normal in the Chavez home.

After work, Juan, Siena and I loaded up in the car to take a drive down to Delaware (home of TAX-FREE SHOPPING!) to purchase another computer. Hallelujah! (Don't get me wrong, there will always be a special place in my heart for the key-less laptop.)

We've been setting it up all night; between bluetooth activating, and changing personal settings, I think we're ready for the most important installation- CS3 (luckily, we still own that.)

But back to "bluetooth stuff"... I am completely amazed at the technological progress of our generation. I took the picture below with my PHONE, edited it in my phone, and zapped it across to the computer in less than 15 seconds... wirelessly.


And speaking of phones:
Our phone service-plan-whatever is up at the end of the month, so Juan and I decided to try a new provider to see if we could get better reception in our home (uh, yeah, I guess it's a little better.) Anyway, when Juan puts his mind to finding a good deal, he usually immerses himself into surfing the Internet for the best out there. The phone plan hunt was no different; he has been searching, studying and sluthing for weeks, and it finally paid off on Monday. He found us a new plan (AT&T) and some awesome free phones that came with it. Now, 'free phones with new plans' is not unusual, but knowing Juan, there had to be something more. They have app capabilities (which would combine the power of his Palm and his phone... so we will not have to replace the Palm afterall), the data service plan was the cheapest out there, and it came with free bluetooth earpieces. Ooooo, the bells and whistles on these things. Oh yeah, and did I mention that we didn't have to pay activation fees? Oh yeah, and that we get $50 back from mail-in rebates?

Want something like this when your plan runs out? (I sound like an advertisement) Go here. Tried, tested and approved by the Chavez fam.

What a Busy Week!

This week has flown by.

Updates:

• Siena loves to sing. She sings her heart out in the car, when she thinks we're not listening.
  
• "Time Out" no longer shows positive signs. (What to I do... What do I do... WHAT do I do?!!!)
  
• Siena loves brushing her teeth; but she hates it when we do it for her.
• Work is good; the only drawback is now I just come home and talk in "kid talk" to Juan.
• The tulips are growing, growing; and we have a squirrel who takes it upon himself to taste-test them for Quality Control.

I know I have more, but at the moment, I can't remember what else is new.

Happy Birthday!!!

My birthday has been wonderful today, thanks to my awesome family. Thanks everyone!!!

Speaking of birthdays, there is a special person whose birthday is coming up on September 23...

Baby Chavez No.2

Teeth

Siena is a late bloomer when it comes to the situation in her mouth. She got her first tooth at 9 months! Now, she's finally broken a a fine pair of pearly lower molars, but we're still waiting for the top molars to reveal themselves.

This bit of tardy behavior on the part of her teeth was frustrating when she was younger because as the other kids got to snack on apples and pretzels, she was stuck with Rice Krispies. I felt bad when I had to take their offerings away from her; every once in a while I would let her suck on a whole, peeled apple just to redeem myself, knowing full-well that most of that perfectly delicious apple would eventually be found in the dirt or covered with lint and boogers. Since then, she's gotten better as more teeth have popped through her gums. It's just a matter of time before she's able to actually chew raisins without swallowing them whole. Progress.

Last Bit of Misc. Advice, I Promise

As we are still in the process of getting all the paperwork filled out for the insurance company, I realize there are a few more things that I wish I would have known/done.

1. Periodically, take pictures of your home; I'm talking every closet, every shelf, every drawer, etc. just so you have documentation of what you have. We didn't even realize the thieves had also taken our camcorder because we don't use it that often. Pictures are good reminders of what you own, and also can be used as proof of property.
2. If possible, keep all of your big-purchase receipts!!! In the event that you cannot find them, make sure you have backup documentation that proves you own(ed) what you say you own(ed). And: User Manuals. Although we did not have receipts, we did have all of our User Manuals, which are proof enough, I guess.
3. Don't claim things that can be cleaned or repaired by yourself. It makes the insurance agent more willing to help you out. (I think she is still on our side...*fingers crossed*.) However, make claims on things that need professional cleaning/repair because that's what your monthly premium has been going toward.
4. If you haven't been serious yet about getting Renter's Insurance (for those who this applies to,) DO IT! We decided to get it because it was required by our landlord; it was the first time we've ever had it and let me tell you--worth every cent! Besides the peace of mind, we are "saving" thousands of dollars because we don't have to pay for everything to be replaced. The total of our past monthly premiums does not even add up to a quarter of what the total replacement cost would be.

So there it is... take it or leave it.

(Go on, just take it.) *nudge*

On a Brighter Note

Here are some of the few pics we thought to capture on our travels Thursday and Friday:

Did I Say I Would Post These on Thursday?

Yeah, that must have been a typo.

...and I will have to spare you the pics of our room. We don't have Photoshop anymore to censor that. :^) But see all the wonders of Powerpoint:

Welcome to jschavez dot blogspot!

So you may be wondering why we had to change the blog address. Answer: it was our homepage on our computer.

No big deal.


Until someone breaks into your house and steals your valuables, iMac included... with all of your personal information.


I do not know why, but we were sure that something like this would never happen to us. We live low-key, inconspicuous lives and have no known enemies. However, we live in the city of Philadelphia--the statistics are not in our favor.

Here's the story:
Yesterday we all piled into the car and headed out for a "sights of Philadelphia" tour. We left around 11:30 and were not planning on being home any time before 5:00. After our tour of the city, Juan dropped me off at work and he and the girls went shopping. They pulled up to the back of the house around 5:45 so Juan could run in and get his shorts for basketball. As he went to unlock the deadbolt, the door pushed open. He didn't step foot inside the house and immediately called the police. According to him, they showed up fairly quickly and scanned the house. Luckily no one was inside.

A detective showed up and they started the search for fingerprints. Unfortunately, the effort was futile. They questioned the neighbors and found that a 13 year-old boy saw two men in a red mini-van trying all of the back doors in the alleyway. It's easy to understand why he and his little brother didn't call the police... they were scared of being connected with putting two potentially dangerous criminals in jail. (For some reason, and this is a bit of a frustration, the cops didn't press the boy for any information. Granted, everything was happening very quickly for everyone involved so things were bound to get lost through the cracks.)

Anyway, I ended up taking the trolley home from work because Juan had told me it would be faster. A bit annoyed, I rode home, completely unaware of the events that had passed. When Juan picked me up at the station, the story was revealed and what do you think happened? I completely LOST it. Sobbing, I kept thinking of only two reasons for my sadness: 1. We had just lost every photo (or visual journal, as I call them) on that computer from the last few months or so, as well as the photos taken last Saturday with our camera in NYC with my cousin's "Traveling Flat Stanley" project; and 2. I felt completely exposed, violated and taken-advantage-of.

After I finally got control of my feelings, I went inside to see the damage for myself. It was not worse or better than I had expected, just altogether bad. Our office was the hardest-hit place because it held the computer and all the electronics, as well as the camera. The thieves took the few valuable things there and moved on to the garage; luckily, we are just young whippersnappers so we don't have too many nice things and they didn't take anything else. That didn't stop them from trying, though. They made their way through all 3 floors of the house, searching for money (presumably.) They were not giving up until they found it, too.

Luckily they didn't hit Siena's room because it doesn't look promising in that respect. They did go through Ilse's things, but just lightly and amazingly they didn't find her valuables. I think our room was searched the hardest (judging by the subsequent tornado scene.) Every dresser drawer was open, clothes were strewn everywhere, the bed and mattress were searched and the closet door was ajar. When I looked inside the closet, there was fiberglass everywhere and the crawl-space to the attic had been busted open. I am certain that they thought we had hidden money somewhere. (He he he... little did they know... they had already been through the places where our rainy day fund was and didn't see a cent. So tricky we are- so tricky.)

There are many reasons why you don't want to ever get robbed, but I think one of the biggest reasons is because it is a ROYAL PAIN to change every password and every bank and credit card account and every exposed part of your daily life (aka: blog). So it's been an interesting couple of days as we have had to deal with this, but there are so many good things that we have been able to take from this experience. Acknowledging these things is no attempt to mask the pain and trial that this has been, but to change the memory of this experience into a more positive thing. With that:

We are blessed enough to have had renter's insurance, in the likelihood of this circumstance; so the actual, tangible objects are not of concern to me. (That $500 deductible does stink, though!) ;^)

We are entirely grateful that no one was home at the time. The more we are finding out, the more likely it is that they were armed, or at least prepared to put up a fight.

It is no coincidence that Ilse's belongings were unscathed. Her passport, wallet, IDs, camera and iPod were all in the house, and some in plain sight, at the time of the crime. I really do believe that as she is preparing to go on an LDS mission to Texas in April, the Lord is protecting her from events that would make the paperwork and process more difficult.

And I guess I can say that in a small way, I am grateful this happened to us because we have learned how to prepare better for something like this, or to hopefully prevent it altogether. For example, the mere placement of valuable objects together in one room is not a good idea, unless that room happens to be a vault or a safe. Also, (the obvious) a security system is sounding more and more appealing. During big dips in the economy, crime rates increase as people get more and more desperate for things of value. We also realized that we need to be more strategic with passwords and backing-up files onto DVDs or external harddrives. Lastly, we are now going to be less-trusting of people in the future. I HATE THAT! Trust is a fundamental trait of a human being and if tossed to the wind, I think society would turn robotic. Trust is what helps define the character of a man. It is what has helped wars to be mended. Trust is the difference between a stranger and a friend. It's a sad day when one has to bring it down a notch or two.

Again, we are lucky. The perpetrators must have assumed that the camera they stole was the only camera we had. Unfortunately, it was the most valuable camera, but they passed over our old camera which has been a great help for documenting the crime scene. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

We also have been blessed with good friends who take care of us. When our landlord's handyman (and our close friend) found out about the intrusion, he was more than willing to come over and help us fix the broken door, even though he had put in a full day of work already. He temporarily fixed it yesterday and today he worked on repairing the door frame and deadbolt. We owe him a lot.

Another awesome break we got was that they didn't take Juan's laptop. The reason is probably because it was sitting on the dining room table in shambles. Earlier yesterday morning, Siena had snuck downstairs and had started pulling off all of the keys on the laptop. Juan didn't have time to fix it so when they saw it in a mess on the table, they probably assumed it was broken and of no worth to them. It probably would be of no worth to them, however, it has SAVED us through trying to get this whole situation taken care of... broken keys and all. The Internet is invaluable when it comes to cleaning up a home robbery and possible identity theft. So, THANKS to SIENA for being a sneaky little computer-disassembler.

Okay, I think it is waaayyy too late for me to still be writing this. So anyway, hope everyone is doing well, sincerely, and please forgive me that I haven't commented on your blogs lately. I am about 1/4 of the way through my blog list and am so excited to get to the rest of you, but first things first--we've got to get our life back together around here, starting with cleaning up the fingerprinting powder off of every smooth surface in the office.

Wish us luck!

(And coming up... a day of fame for Marie Read!)

Countdown

The days are now down to hours....

ILSE is coming to visit!!!!!

We can't wait to see her. Siena has been practicing her name and let me tell you, it's not an easy name to say for a 1.5 yr. old. Usually it comes out like "He He".

We'll see if she can improve this week with "He He" here in person.

For Fun

Another contest to win a day of fame on the blog-o. (weak applause, random cheering)

(You know how this goes...)

Question:
What is the name of the hammer on Disney Channel's "Handy Manny"?

First person to answer correctly WINS!!!

Siena calls for "Mi-mi" (Manny) first thing every morning. You see, when we were sick a while back, I depended on Handy Manny to keep Siena occupied enough for me to get some rest. I would set her on our bed next to me, push "POWER" on the remote control, and it was smooth sailing (or sleeping) for 30 minutes... or more, depending on my self-control. ;^)

Little did I know that it would "stick".

What?!

It has been snowing all morning. In fact, last night the meteorologists and their people were going to officially call it a "State of Emergency" for Philadelphia if it was slightly worse than what it has turned out to be.

My poor tulips! They are in for a rough recovery.




On the bright side, I didn't have to go in to work today and Siena and I got to play in the snow while Juan shoveled the walks.

The Search Is Over!

Our amazing friends spread the word and found me a job. I interviewed on Monday for a part-time day care assisting position and started work yesterday. Siena will get to spend some time playing with Olivia, Halle and Lauren; I hope Jen doesn't go crazy with all the drama Nena dishes out sometimes.

Anyway, a big THANK YOU to the Curtis family, Murray family, Parkin family and Johnson family.

Remember This and This and This?

Some things have changed, and some things are just the same as they ever were. Like this:

Still loves chewing on bones (9 mo.)

Still loves taking naps with Papi (10 mo.)

Still loves phones (11 mo.)

But here are some pics of things she has grown to love lately:

Straws


Animals and Dolls


Anything girly


The piano

It's a Start

Last night we started something that we should have done a long time ago. We logged onto the new FamilySearch website and started some genealogy work. My side of the pedigree chart was chock-full of names dating to before 1600 because both of my grandmothers are very good at collecting and submitting family information; however, Juan's side of the pedigree chart was completely empty. We have to figure out how to find his parents first, then somehow have to link them to his mother's parents (whom we did find!) Hopefully by then we will have figured out how to search for more links to the family puzzle. It's kind of like detective work ;^)

Still Not Quite Sure,

but we think our neighbors have been evicted... or are in prison... or have evaded the country. Something bad happened between the end of December and the middle of January. We have not seen them once since we got back from Utah and the last couple of weeks, there have been men throwing the contents of their home into trash cans.

I feel bad. They were brother and sister and her preschool-aged daughter was the sweetest little thing. We don't know enough about them to make an educated guess as to why they are gone, so we decided their story (according to us) is as follows:


Mario and Lakisha* grew up in an orphanage in Chicago in 1973. They were not biologically brother and sister, but they became such good friends that they decided to stay at the orphanage until someone would adopt both of them. They both had optimistic dispositions, although Mario tended to be the shy one of the two, leading people to think he was upset.

Years went on, they got older and left the orphanage. Lakisha started work at three salons, cleaning at night. Mario searched and searched for employment, but found himself standing rejected at every turn. Discouraged for the first real time in his life, he walked to a convenience store one night to buy a lottery ticket with the last of his money, $1.85. He did not feel lucky, he just felt lost.

Lakisha had not heard from Mario in three months and she was starting to really worry. She had told him that he could stay with her in her snug studio apartment until he found a job, but he was too proud to let her support him. She knew he had been searching for jobs in the Meat Packing District, but did not know where he was living or how he was getting by. She made sure she had plenty frozen dinners on hand, just in case he stopped by. Since she worked at night, she kept meals simple and used her free time to sleep, to.........

.....Okay I'm bored with this. The End.

*names have been changed

29 Winter Days Remaining

Spring is showing it's face little by little in our neck of the woods. My bulbs have broken through the ground and there are buds on the tree outside our dining room window. The other day I saw a beautiful, bright red cardinal hopping from branch the branch, like he was claiming his territory.


Today I hung the birdhouse. After the staining, varnishing and assembling of those seven little pieces of wood, it had finally become a semi-recognizable object, and it was a proud moment. Siena just stared during the staining phase, grabbed during the varnishing, and left the room once the hammering began. Ideally, we would have built it together as a family, but Juan was too busy studying and applying for a scholarship, and I got too anxious.

This was also a strategic project. The purpose of the birdhouse was not just for entertainment or aesthetics, but also to keep the birds from pooping on our front walk. Hopefully, now they will just keep it near the tree; this also means near the tulips--there is always a price to pay.

18 Months

...and finally eligible for NURSERY!!!

Oh, and Something More..

(Wow, three blog posts in one day--I feel like a die-hard blogger.)

Juan and I just finished a project. I took up quilting (again) not too long ago, but haven't been able to finish it because I did not have a quilt frame. Well, we are not in the position to spend $80-100 on a kit (two words: dental school,) so we cut out the middle-man and made our own from scratch. Voila!


As you can see, we killed three birds with one stone: 1.) I can finish my quilts, 2.) Siena and her daddy have an awesome "hut", and 3.) It tied the vision of the make-shift front room together with the eye-sore pipe clamps.


Next topic:

Last night was Pizza Night. We made homemade tomato, basil, mozzarella pizza and garlic breadsticks for dinner; then we finished it off with fruit pizza... a Camp family memory I would never wish to erase. I had to post this because it turned out so pretty.

Lit'rature

Anyone who knows me, knows that I prefer reading classic books to contemporary books. It's still very true. I just finished Pride and Prejudice again (hilarious book full of unexpected sarcasm!) and I needed something to occupy my extra time rather than sitting in front of the TV (which is getting more and more annoying as I realize I am more and more dependent on it.) So I picked up a book I bought at a yard sale last summer that is a compilation of 50 great short stories; it is entitled 50 Great Short Stories (shocker!) and they date back to before the book was even published, cerca 1950.

Having read five, I can tell you which short stories I recommend so far:

The Garden Party- Katherine Mansfield
The Standard of Living- Dorothy Parker
The Other Side of the Hedge- E.M. Forster

The reason I even give notice to these is because I never was a huge fan of short stories in high school; now that I have small chunks of time to actually enjoy reading, I realize they have good qualities: they are entertaining, thought-provoking, time-friendly, and educational.

I'm going to finish the other 45 stories in my book, I think.

Wordled

Interesting...

I was in line at the grocery store (yep, it's one of those stories...) and as I was getting ready to pay, the very friendly old man in line behind me pointed out to me that I had cold sores on my upper lip.

Me: "Oh, yeah... I know. Sorry. They look pretty gross, huh?"

Him: in broken English, "You know what you do? You get stuff from you belly-button every morning and put it on you lips. It work! I know this. It work!"

Me: "Wow, that's good to know. Thank you."

Him: "You do this. You lip be fine! Then come tell me at grocery store how it work and say 'Thank You'." (chuckling)

Me: (chuckle, then awkward pause with even more awkward "Trying-to-be-friendly" smile,) "Thanks again! Bye!"


He was just trying to help--and I appreciated that--but I had to tell the story because you don't just leave a crazy old-wives-tale like that go unpublished.
-------------

So, yes I have cold sores covering my upper lip and yes, they are disgusting.

And... no, I will not be trying the belly-button cold-sore-relief lint remedy. I am curious, but I cannot bring myself to do it. And one more thing: Who has enough belly-button lint for that?!

I've Quite Given Up on V-Day

I was really trying to get it together enough to decorate my house for the month of February. This has never been done in the Chavez home, nor does it look like it ever will be done...at least this year.

Pretty much everyone I know out here has a knack for decorating their homes for holidays. It is inspiring. It is depressing.

I can't do it. I've tried and failed TWICE already this year. I decided to start small, but then realized that you can't just have one Valentine's Day decoration. So I gave it away and started again with a red and black color scheme, hoping for inspiration. "Nope" to the new one. Not working. In fact, it's so annoying every time I look at it that I might give that away, too, (not that anyone would want it.) I think the reason for this is because ever since I was a freshman in college, Valentine's Day was not full of chocolate and conversation hearts for me, it was full of flower orders. It is the busiest time of year for florists. So I never had time to decorate and be all-lovey-dovey. Last year was the first Valentine's Day I ever spent with Juan, and I didn't decorate then either; but it hasn't bothered me until now.

Okay, so I'm writing all of this to those who do decorate for the upcoming holidays--I really to stand in awe.

Little Nena, All Grown Up

If you want to read something worthwhile, move on to the next blog on your list...

Sorry I've been M.I.A. lately, Siena and I have been S.I.C.K.

Between coughing and sniffling last night, I tried to take care of little Nena. She woke up at 1:30, then at 3:00, and again at 4:30 because she needed diaper changes. I hated seeing her in pain from the diaper rash covering her little bottom and although my nose was dripping like a faucet and I couldn't see through the tears in my eyes (head cold), I found myself more concerned with getting her cleaned up. This was an "awakening" for me to see what being called "Mother" represents. I am a selfish person when it comes to sleep; I need it like I need air. I always tried to catch up on the sleep I might have missed when it was just Juan and me, but now that I have another person to take care of, that is no longer the case. It's not by my schedule, it's by hers. That's okay--I am grateful to have that role; however, I see that I could have prepared for motherhood better by thinking more about others.

Anyway, enough with my blabbing. I don't know how you other mothers do it (especially my friend, Jen, who has a 3 year-old and twin babies. They were all sick a few weeks ago.) It's hard sometimes!