Memorial Day Weekend!

Wow, this is the first time in a couple of years that I get to celebrate Memorial Day weekend. First off, thank you to all the troops who are serving our country. My grandfather was a WWII Air Force pilot, so we used to go visit his grave every Memorial Day to pay our respects. He died in 1973 in a car accident, so I never got to know him, but from the stories I have heard, I have a great legacy to live up to.

Leo, Tiago and I are going to Chehalis, Washington tonight for Memorial Day weekend. Chehalis is about 1/2 way between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, about 20 minutes from Olympia and it's a beautiful place. My sister-in-law, Lili lives there with her husband, Mike and their son Christian who is 5 months younger than Tiago.

I'm excited to go meet Christian!!! He was born February 20 of 2008, which puts him at 5 months and 3 days younger than Tiago. The pictures I have seen of him are adorable, and I can't wait for him and Tiago to start being able to play together, and fight together (just like my cousin Meghan and I did when we were little), go on their missions together, go to college together...etc.

Happy Memorial Day to all of you, and be safe! It's a time for vacation, true, but lets not forget (hence the name Memorial) our veterans and troops!

Product Endorsement...Warm Delights Minis

No, I am not getting paid for this...although, all of you who blog regularly are probably aware of sites out there that you can sign up with, receive blogging "assignments" to blog about a certain topic or product for a certain number of words, and receive payment for that blog upon verification. I don't do that.

BUT! I bought something yummy and wonderful from the store last night...Betty Crocker Warm Delights Minis. I saw it in three flavors, Molten Chocolate Cake, Molten Caramel Cake and Raspberry Decadence.

It's cake mix and the topping (fudge, caramel or raspberry) in a plastic container. You dump out the cake mix, mix in 1 Tb plus 1tsp water, stir together, squeeze the fudge over the top and put in the microwave for 30 seconds, let sit for a couple of minutes to cool and voila! You have freshly "baked" cake in a portion-controlled container ready to eat!

The best part is, only 150 calories per container!

Prep time: About 2 minutes
Cook time: 30 seconds plus 2 minutes to cool
Ready to eat in about 5 minutes!

It was $1.92 at WalMart and each container comes with a 75 cents off coupon for two more Warm Delights Minis (each one come in a pack of two, so you would get 4 portions)

I was left wanting more at the end....but makes me wonder, if that much was 150 calories...how many calories are in the slices of cake I would normally cut myself?!?!?! Wow, no wonder why Americans are so overweight in general. We have lost sight of what a portion really is.

Bottom line: Yummy, although with a little prep, and a great tool to learn (or remember!) what a true portion really is!

Weekly update

Leo comes home today!!! It's been 9 days since he left, and while taking care of Tiago was just fine, I don't sleep as well without Leo at home, so I am tired. I don't usually get dark circles under my eyes, but I do now, and my eyes are puffy...which almost never happens!

As for me this week, I spent more time at the gym, trying to work off the baby weight and trying to log in 10,000 steps per day, which is impossible unless I go to the gym or walk to WalMart and then go up and down every single aisle (which gets expensive as you see stuff you want to buy). I've also logged many, many hours watching Home Garden TV, better known as HGTV. I've been getting many ideas of how I want to decorate the interior of my house once we get in!

As I posted before, I spent this week looking up and researching washers/dryers and refrigerators...oh and garage door openers, too. I think I have narrowed it down to a select few. But I am noticing that the washers and dryers are less expensive online, as well as the garage door openers.

Do any of you have experience purchasing appliances online? Of course, I know to research the store selling it to make sure it's real, using my credit card to purchase it for added protection, etc. It's just that even with the 10% off coupons I find for many of the brick and mortar stores, it's still cheaper online (sometimes no sales tax and free shipping).

Tiago has discovered that the crib bumpers are movable, and so in the mornings when I am trying to catch a few more zzz's, I'll look over and he's pulling up the bottom of the bumper so he can look at me through the bars of the crib, then he flashes me his 100 watt smile when I look at him, so it's impossible to ignore him and try to go back to sleep. We are in a 1 bedroom apartment for the time being until we close on the house, that's why he's in our room.

Leo reports that in the middle of the night once, Tiago woke up and started crying...so Leo tried to let him cry it out (BAD IDEA if you are sharing the room with the baby!!!

But he said that Tiago was crying, and he apparently remembered that he could see us if he lifted up the crib bumper, so he did and looked to see if Daddy was going to take care of him. Daddy pretended to be asleep so that he wouldn't encourage Tiago, but then he moved...and Tiago, while holding up the bumper with one hand, started banging on the crib bars with the other while screaming. There was NO way to ignore him after that! Leo said that it reminded him of people in jail banging on the bars of their cells...is that how babies feel? :)

Tiago's favorite tricks:

• Eating his socks. If the socks are on his feet, he takes them off and eats them.
• Opening and closing his hands to say Hi or Bye bye (takes a little bit of coaching)
• Clapping his hands together after waving (probably because I clap after he waves back to me, to praise him)
• Saying "bah bah bah", blowing raspberries (especially while I am feeding him food, much to my chagrin), screaming high pitched noises just for the heck of it.
• Rolling all over the floor, especially to the coffee table or the wall, and then using his feet to push off to another location
• Repositioning himself in his crib...I'll put him down for his nap, and find him a few minutes later on the other side of the crib, facing the other direction...

Of course I know these things are not unique to Tiago....just as my ferret Bueller's antics were not unique to him, but to all ferrets. But that doesn't change the fact that I find them endearing. :)

Speaking of Bueller, he's still in Mexico with our friend Joan. Leo supposed started the paperwork process to import him to the US this week...he had tried to start it before, but the stupid government agency never answers their phone! Hopefully the proces will be complete in time for when Leo's family comes in August so they can bring our first-born "child" with them. :)

More pictures of Tiago!!!

Leo Tiago Espinosa 7.5 months old

Here are more pictures of my adorable, sweet baby! He's finally learning the tricks so that he can start crawling. He's proficient at rolling around on the floor to get where he wants, and pushing himself backwards from room to room...but he hasn't quite gotten the hang of moving forward.


These pictures were taken for Mother's day presents for my mom and mother-in-law. I thought that taking the pictures on Wednesday, I'd get and mail them on Thursday...nooooooo...it takes about 2 weeks to get pictures. I did not know that. Oh well, so I sent some picture frames to my mother-in-law for the pictures that will be coming later. The actual pictures I am sending to my mom and MIL are not posted on here, so if they see this blog, the surprise will not be ruined!

This is one of my favorite pictures, it fills me with such joy looking at this little face.

Tiago's photogenic, which I suppose comes from Leo and I...we've both been told that we're extremely photogenic. Too bad I don't look like my pictures in real life.

Quote about Mothers

A friend of mine posted this on her blog after reading it on another friend's blog. I like it.

Like those "noble and great" women who came before us, we cannot be ordinary women. We cannot be women who seem too much like women of the world. We must speak up for righteousness without apology. We, like Mary, Eve, Sarah, and Emma, are unique. We have ripples to make and water to share. Given our eternal heritage, we must remember how powerfully our simple, righteous actions can ripple through the hearts and homes of those around us. We have such a great opportunity to do so much good, and, most important, we know where and how to "draw water out of the wells of salvation."
---Virginia U. Jensen

Happy Late Mother's Day!

TOOLS!

I wasn't kidding when a few blogs ago, I said to look out for me wearing a tool belt, or maybe that was in an email I sent out to everybody announcing the house.

SO! I may have been a bit premature, we don't actually HAVE the house yet, we just have an accepted offer and we're just waiting on the bank (our bank and the bank that owns the house) to finalize everything. But we know we're going to be approved for the mortgage because we got a preapproval letter from our lender before starting our house shopping. A MUST, why go house shopping, fall in love with a house, only to find out you don't qualify? Plus, you are so much more attractive to sellers when you place a bid, because they know that you are serious!

Anyhow, I digress. The house is in move-in condition, but of course we want to put our touches on it, install new flooring, light fixtures, paint, etc.

To that end, I just bought my first set of power tools! I am now the proud owner of a jigsaw, a 1/3 sheet sander, a cordless screwdriver and a power drill! Black and Decker, 4 piece set from WalMart for $45! Individually, the tools would have been $70. The price is right, the quality is right and now I can begin to tackle my home projects (or at least using the power screwdriver to put together my IKEA furniture or putting up blinds/curtains and what not!)

Brain...blowing...gasket

Sheesh-ka-bobah as my mom would say. What a week.

Leo's been in Mexico for a seminar and the Mexico Convention since last Friday and won't get back until Sunday. I've actually been managing quite well, Tiago being a good baby makes it all easier.

This week we had to do the home inspection, which, thankfully turned up nothing serious about the house. All I have to do is replace the hinges on the garage door leading into the kitchen and service the furnace. Whoo hoo! I used the time while the inspector was there to measure all the spaces and windows so I could start shopping around.

Temporary paper blinds have been bought...hopefully they STAY temporary and don't become permanent! They won't...I won't let it. Necessary window coverings....check.

THEN came what's making my mind blow a gasket. Buying appliances for the house. The stove, microwave and dishwasher are included, we've got to get the fridge, washer and dryer.

Which washer/dryer/refrigerator is right for us? Do I want a front loader or a top loader? Do I go for the matching dryer or do I get a better-rated dryer, even if it doesn't match the washer? Which brands are the most reliable, which models? At which price point does the price I am willing to pay meet the quality I am looking for? Do I want bottom freezer or top freezer or side by side or counter-depth, with ice maker or no? Which ones have the best reviews and once I find the ones with the good review, how come I can't find them in the stores? Which stores have the best prices? What kinds of rebates or coupons can I find to save money? If Lowe's offer to match any competitor's price plus 10%...etc? What about the outlets?

You get the idea.

So! I'm also trying to take at least 10,000 steps each day as part of my weight loss (and general health and improvement of lifestyle). I bought a pedometer on Monday after my Weight Watchers meeting (cool, it was marked down to 7.99 from 24.99 and it only speaks Spanish...it tells you how many steps you've taken, in Spanish, when you push a button!), but I've only managed 3,000, 5,000 or about 7,000 steps each day until today. Because I needed to take my mind off this, I walked to WalMart and then went to the gym, and I'm at 11,000 steps for the day!

So that's all, I'm feeling better and ready to go back to working finding appliances!

Or maybe I'll just try to find a campground on the beach in California for our vacation in July....shoulda done this sooner... :S

We got it!!!

We got the house we were looking at! The house that you'll see just below! It's in South Jordan, Utah and in the Daybreak community!

This was the first house we had put an offer on, and thank goodness the bank accepted it! I had had a good feeling about this house, though, it just felt like it was supposed to belong to us but I also knew there were other homes out there in case we didn't get this one.

Since it was a foreclosure, we couldn't negotiate the price of the house down too much, we could only have the bank pay for our closing costs (which they accepted!), and a non-profit organization is going to pay for our down payment (first time home buyers...it's kinda handy)!!!

It's not officially ours yet, we still have to sign our lives away on the dotted lines of the contract....

So now it's off to Lowe's, Home Depot, and IKEA to get idea and stuff to decorate the house to our liking!

If you are in the area and like painting and laying tile and laminate/hardwood floors, or finishing basements let me know...I could use your help! Haha :)

House Hunting!

Well, since coming back, Leo and I have been looking for a house! We are looking for a home in the Daybreak area of South Jordan.

Daybreak is a master-planned community that is built to take advantage of renewable sources of energy, to be environmentally conscious and also to stand out visually from other communities in Utah. All of the homes are designed to have the garages in the back (I HATE how garages are the main focal points of many homes here), with exteriors designed after classic styles, like Cape Code, Nantucket, Victorian, English romantic, Tudor, Farmhouse, etc.

So with a home purchase in Daybreak, we also get access to TONS of community activites, churches, stores and even a temple within walking distance, 35 miles of walking/jogging trails, an 85-acre lake with free sailboat, paddleboat, and kayak rentals for residents (and fishing, too).
That's just the beginning. So anyhow, Leo and I made an offer on a cute house, 3 bed 2.5 baths with basement...we will find out tomorrow if we got it or not. It is a foreclosure, but since almost ALL the homes in Daybreak are 2006 or newer, and there are strict community rules for the exterior appearances, it wasn't trashed like you hear of in other foreclosures. It's actually in move-in condition, we will just have to do our painting after we get our stuff in.

So here I have posted some pictures of the place...

The exterior of the house, obviously. We love the front porch (another feature at Daybreak, the great majority of the homes have front porches, to encourage sociality and also as a natural neighborhood watch). We obviously would have to do some landscaping here, but my brother-in-law Jake can help as he is a landscape architect (uhhh...Jake, can you help us with this?)

Looking from the living room into the dining room/kitchen area. I love the exposed brick wall in the dining room, and the red wall with the side buffet table is pretty cute!

And of course I love the black.

I'm not so sure about the dual colors on the cabinets, but that can be fixed! But overall, I think it has promise and it is a fairly blank slate that will allow me to do what I want with it

(Helloooo IKEA Design Center!!!!)

Shameless posting of Tiago pics

I thought I'd take this opportunity to shamelessly post some pictures of Tiago, these are mostly for the benefit of my family members. :)

Thank you Grandma Nelson for making this Monkey nap mat for me! I love playing on it and wrapping myself up in it!

He likes to lay underneath the coffee table in our apartment and talk to the bottom of the table and use the legs to push himself around.

Thank goodness one of his favorite "blankets" is actually a cloth diaper (and VERY replaceable if we were to ever lose it!) And also want to thank Aunt Meghan and Diego for the cute clothes! Both the pants and shirt are inherited from Diego!

Tiago napping. This picture is to show Kristin Harris how cute he looks in the green onesie she got for him!!!

One of Tiago's first flights

Finally! I got the internet working on my laptop again, it's time to get a new laptop, perhaps we shall do so soon. HOWEVER! There is MUCH to update you all on, as I haven't posted regularly since...oooh, before our move back to Utah!

So, I just wanted a special blog just so I could post a picture of one of Tiago's first flights. If I would have been sane (long story on that if you really wanna know) when Tiago had his first flight, I would have taken pictures, but I didn't, so here goes.

This was on our flight back to Utah from Mexico and I've included a Sky Magazine just for show. :)