Emergency Door Scare!!!!!

I spread my wings and came back to UT this weekend for my Hillcrest High School 10 year reunion!!! hoo-ray! I am just glad people actually showed up, b/c it would've been a long trip from El Paso with two toddlers in tote for nothing!

One major incident that happened on our way to SLC from El Paso....get ready for laughter! We had a layover in Phoenix, so things were hectic as I was pushing the double stroller around with a carseat strapped on, having Wesley walk alongside me as Austin hung out in front, and racing to get from one terminal to another. This is of course during the late afternoon hours and of course Austin DID NOT take a nap all day long (you get the idea). We started boarding for the second plane, and Wesley was pretty excited about the avion azul y blanco (white and blue plane) and when it was going to go up into the air. As we arrived by the pilot cockpit, the pilots were sweet enough to let Wesley talk into the microphone, push buttons, eat some of their chips and look through the windows. I thought to myself, "what a friendly crew! This will be a great flight!" Think again...

On the previous flight, they asked us to draw the shades down on the windows (who knows why??). Wesley thought that was a pretty important task. We got on the plane and started heading for Aisle 9. I was guiding little Austin into the aisle, trying to be as quick as possible since you know how close people tend to stand behind you and breathe down your neck (as if they are in a hurry themselves). I wasn't even into the aisle when I looked up and saw the EMERGENCY EXIT DOOR completely come OFF!!!! Wesley had scooted over to the panel, where he saw the window and thought he would try "closing" the shade just like we had on the other plane! He pulled down the emergency red handle and the door came toppling on top of him! What the heck! I rushed over to see if he was okay, and he was just crouching underneath the door, as it had half landed on the seat next to him.

The stewardess immediately came running over to where we were and put her body beneath the door to prop it up against the plane. I was mortified by what my innocent three-year-old had done, but at the same time, grateful that he hadn't done this during flight! What a nightmare! People started freaking out, the had to stop boarding the plane, called the pilots, had the mechanics come rushing over to fix it, and everyone kept looking at us to figure out who the naughty little boy was that had done this monstrosity! The ridiculous thing is, is that Wesley is not the rambunctious type at all...he was simply trying to "close" the window. To this day, he still doesn't know that he did anything wrong!

Eventually, things did calm down. But, that is not to say that I had some weird on-lookers give me some stares and I had a stern stewardess come and talk to me later on warning me about what a "million dollar problem" that would've been if the emergency slide had come undone as well. To think that a toddler could pull that door OFF out of the socket though! What a scare.

On a lighter side, I did enjoy flying with the UTAH National Guard troops who were coming back to UT for 4 days (they were training in TX) before heading off to Iraq for a year. It was an emotional ride as we saw them meet up with family members, and received applause individually as they stepped through the airport. I met a super nice soldier named Romeo. Boy do I like that name. Anyone else agree with me???

The Posh Mom Life

Calling out all Posh Moms out there!!! What is a Posh Mom?? Let me give you some info:
The posh mom is the new breed of mother-hip, savvy, and sensational. A sophisticated parent who is not reading books on child-rearing 101, she’s more interested in info that’s geared for her modern ways (juggling lunch dates and play dates, commuting and carpooling, me-time and mommy-and-me time). She is devoted to her kids and her guy but true to herself. She was fabulous before kids—at work, at home, at a cocktail party—and she still is, doing it all with style, smarts, grace, and seemingly without effort. She is all about “the best” in everything for herself and her family. And every mom wants to be her. The Posh Mom Life is the fun, fabulous, and fashionable place for her—to live, love, laugh, and learn with style.

Does this sound interesting to you hot mama's out there??? It definitely caught my attention yesterday. It was a non-typical Sunday afternoon where I was not interested in spending time with my kids (again!!!). I seem to be spending TOO much "Quality one on one" time with them these days as a single mom stuck in a small apartment. So, I checked myself out and headed over to the Barnes 'N Noble across the street. This is not something I would normally do, but I needed to just get some fresh air...boy was it a treat for me to escape into books, educating myself once again on things I enjoy (cooking, pictures of far away places and self help stuff)...and just feeling the freedom that comes from being amongst strangers and frappacinos! I discovered this book: The Posh Mom Life and instantly loved it!! It comes from two mamas that are hip and fresh, at the same time realistic with things they want for their families and kids. It is the opposite of anything Frumpy or Boring.

I read about 60 pages (will go and buy it later this week), and the info it gave me motivated me to be a better (cuter) and energetic mother for my boys. I want to be the one to take care of myself (even if it means wearing dangly earing and bangle bracelets to Wal-Mart), wear cute jeans (instead of throwing on a pair of pajama bottoms when running out the door), and actually apply some pefume just for fun! Afterall, who else can enjoy the beauty of treating yourself to a little "dazzle" if you can't? I want to take a bubble bath with peach scent candles and warm fuzzy towels just for kicks, not b/c I am trying to romance anyone:) I want to be an energetic and bubbly mother who looks strives for inner and outer beauty. Can anyone relate to these goals??

So, all you mamas out there, check out the book, as well as the website:http://blog.poshmom.com/articles/home and let me know what you think about it! Tell me your posh mom goals!

DirectBuy is open!!!

Today is the GRAND OPENING of our store, DirectBuy of El Paso, TX. Finally, a year and a 1/2 later, we have put together a beautiful showroom and it is full of not only gorgeous furnishings, but we had a lot of people show up for their tours. We are very excited to be making this step! Jared is working 9am-10pm these days, so we don't see much of him. I try to keep the boys busy with swimming, walks, going shopping (Wes is going to preschool and conveniently needed some school clothes), and of course just being cooped up in our apartment...

More will come as soon as we get our computer up and I can download some of the pics....but, even the break room for employees has a custom designed kitchen full of stainless steel appliances and cream colored custom cabinets...nicer than anything we have in our apartment by far.

I will be going to my 10 year anniversary next week in my homeland of Utah...I look forward to driving down my streets where I used to play and hopefully reuniting with some of my old friends.

Anyway...
'Til next time

THE ONLY WHITE GIRL AROUND

Now that I have been here in El Paso for two weeks, I definitely feel like I know the area better. I still don't feel like I am actually in "Texas" though. I suppose my images and thoughts of TX used to be somewhat altered b/c I have always envisioned lots of cowboys, BBQ sauce and beans, the large TX state flag being flown everywhere and perhaps a few tumbleweeds blowing along the road. As far aw El Paso is concerned, those stereotypes of TX are simply not true.

Thus I can begin to explain what my feelings are about the diversity here. I knew a border town would bring in a lot of Mexicans, but I suppose I just wasn't prepared for my latest experience at the local YMCA. (Not to mention that last night I went to the mall to go shopping and relax from a long babysitting day...7 kids to be exact...and I bought a dress that will go with some black leggings that I am so excited about! Anyway, every store I went into, they had Spanish music playing and granted it was a Friday night, but the place was packed with ENTIRE Mexican families taking strolls, novios besando and just lots of Mexcian teeny boppers everywhere. I was the minority).

So, the YMCA....most of you know that my aerobic teaching instruction goes back to my roots at the Chandler,AZ YMCA where I got started with cycling, water aerobics, etc. There are so few facilities here for exercise, that the EL Paso YMCA seemed very inviting. I figured I could get a job there part time teaching classes a few days a week, enjoy the membership perks and still get a good work out. My first impressions can be summed up in one word, "ghetto." I don't feel like I am one to judge anyone or any place to be a certain standard, but this YMCA was very old in design (way too many hallways connecting from room to room), and even the cardio room seemed to be inside a closet. Not too motivating to go sweat off a few pounds!

I was still feeling optimistic though...wanting to take a tour and see what I can offer as an instructor. I was told to come back that evening for a class and to talk to the main aerobic instructor during her class.

"Rhythmic Step." That name alone should have told me I was in trouble. I guess I was too cocky b/c I figured I could keep up with whatever the class was to offer. I have taken so many step classes, that I feel very comfortable with whatever rocking horse/ L Step/ Around the World/ Turn Step pattern that she'd give me. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!!

I walked into the class, running to be on time. But, this is El Paso (Mexico) where everything is always a few minutes late. That gave me some time to check out the other gals taking the class. One thing that I love about Mexicans is their sense of style. Whether they are going out to eat, shopping at the store, or working out...they are dressed to impress! We are talking about full make up, hair done right, bright colors and shoes/accessories to match it all. I saw hot pink shirts, one gal was dressed completely in a peach toned top/bottom, and one Abuela had on a lime green headband to match her lime green scrunch socks and lime green Nike Shox!!

The class got started with Margarita (the aerobic director whom I was to meet afterwards) talking to everyone in Spanish and moving her hips like she was at a club. Before I knew it, everyone was joining along with her "Arriba!" and "Vamanos!" cheers. I was still optimistic....that soon left me...

I immediately recognized that I was the ONLY WHITE GIRL in the class of 20. Not only that, but I was the ONLY WHITE GIRL not singing along to whatever Spanish boy band was now accompanying us on our workout! Talk about feeling out of place!

Margarita obviously did not think to take her steps slow b/c she was off and dancing away with her "rhythmic" step faster than I can say "hot tamale." I could not keep up with her if I had sat down and taken notes. She was dancing her step class away with moves and steps I had never even heard of. The problem was, was that I was the ONLY WHITE GIRL that was NOT keeping up!!! Everyone else had the moves down like they were a second language to them. I kept fumbling, tripping, jumping and spinning at the wrong time. I was completely mortified of my results. So much for being an aerobic instructor! I kept thinking of my past co-workers at the gym and if they would've been able to keep up with Margarita.

I tried not to look too much like a fool, but I had already been spotted by all and I knew that it was no use in trying anymore. Margarita made the mistake to NEVER TEACH THE STEPS, but instead showed them one time to remind the members of the move...and then left her step to walk around the room and watch everyone else! I didn't know who to even follow! At that point, I just did a lot of knee lifts to keep my heart rate up, even though everyone else was doing mambos and crazy jumps (don't forget that they are all still singing along!).

Margarita kept on yelling out, "Eva Eva!" I figured it was a girl from the class who obviously knew her stuff and she was cheering her on.I kept looking for Eva, but never could spot her out.Was it the lime green grannie or the hot pink mamacita? Turns out, Eva Eva was a dance/step move! I just had to laugh at myself b/c I was so ignorant with this whole experience. I wanted to just put my step away and leave.

I couldn't leave though, especially b/c Margarita might be my future boss??? What would her first impressions be of an instructor like myself who can't even keep up? Not only that, but do I speak Spanish or English to her? That seems to be one of my main issues here as well. I can't assume all speak English here b/c they don't! I think it will be a variety of Spanglish while I am here and hopefully not too many people will question why I have such a foreign accent. It is fun to hear it so often, especially amongst the little ninos... A lot of Mexcians also look fair skinned and blond, so you never really know!

Back to Margarita (unfortunately!). We did talk after the class, in English. She didn't seem too interested in my past experience, but wanted to know my availability and if I was certified. At this point though, I have yet to hear from her (it's been several days), and now that I think of my Y experience, it was nothing like I had hoped for like in AZ. I guess it's hard b/c I have high expectations (coming from such great facilities), and I don't want to settle for what is such a big thing to me.

I have gone running a few times here, huffing and puffing up the mountainsides. I love the weather here (anything is better than a Phoenix summer), but I know that I need to start getting things figured out so I can feel normal again! There is one more place to check out...EP Fitness...I will let you know how it goes!

For now, I am staying away from Margarita...

Rainy Day

`Monsoon season is here and it is hit and miss with the weather. Yesterday I had been bribing Wes all day about going swimming. He had to eat all his lunch, take a good nap, behave, etc. Well, we headed out to go swimming around 4pm. It was overcast, but that is typical these days. Just as we were crossing the lawn to the pool, it started to trickle rain. Wes doesn't understand too well why we can't go swimming with the rain. But, I told him as soon as it stopped, we would hop in.

Keep in mind that this was after a long preparation of goggles, towels, lotion, sandals, water, toys, cups, keys, etc...and getting both boys to follow me to the pool in the apartment complex. We arrived at the pool and it started to rain pretty hard. We waited under the gazebo area and my instinct told me it would be a bad day if we waited any longer.

Before I knew it, it suddenly was POURING SHEETS OF RAIN!!! Both boys started to cry and I tried to cover up Austin's bare back with my bag as we RACED towards our apartment. Poor Wes had a hard time keeping up and just started crying. We arrived at our door and waited there for a good 10 min to see if it would let up. Of course it did not. We opted to play with our toys in the bathtub instead. The boys were good sports, although I was looking forward to swimming to get some of their cabin fever energy released!

Better luck next time. Still no internet access (I am on the floor of my neighbor's house) and no access to my camera downloads...but, will post pics soon.

home sweet home

We are officially here in El Paso, TX now....as of 5 days ago. The drive over here went well...Austin fell off of the bed in Tucson where we stayed the night, and between Jared and I, we averaged about 5 hours of sleep. My in-laws Carol and Glenn helped out a lot with the moving of boxes and loading up a storage shed. We didn't unpack hardly anything so that we can just load up quickly and move into another house (what's another move anyway? I am so used to living out of boxes~). We are hoping to find a house here in the next week...I will keep you posted.

El Paso is great! It has the small town feel, but with the shopping centers and freeways of a larger city. I discovered the El Paso zoo today with the boys and it was delightful. Just enough animals (bears, tigers, birds, etc) to keep the boys entertained, but definitely not crowded or packed to be annoying. It is humid here with the monsoon season, but the animals came out anyway.

I am checking out the local libraries soon, I looked at a gym facility here as well (good enough, but not what I want in their child care services), and I am signing up Wesley for a preschool starting end of August. I feel like such an old mama~ Signing up her boy for preschool...let the tears come now as I see my boy grow up. I want to establish a life here asap so I can feel comfortable.

I don't have access to internet yet, but I wanted to just update ya'll (like that southern drawl? Truth is, haven't heard much of it yet...El Paso doesn't seem to be like the other Texas cities...feels very low key here).

I am off to take the boys swimming here in the apartment complex pool. Anything to get out of the house~ The weather is great, but the pool is definitely NOT warm for my AZ skin~ Wesley still jumps in and enjoys it though...it's all about the boys~

Hasta la proxima

Light at the end of this week!

We will be moving this week! We are NOT buying the house that I posted about a few weeks back. Surprise surprise! Since we have not been able to sell our current home here in AZ, we decided that two mortages would be too much for our pocketbook, especially with the business just taking off. I haven't been this excited about a move since we left our last bordertown of Nogales, AZ and went back to Provo, UT.

Even then, I was nervous b/c we lived in a terrible basement apartment with no windows and couldn’t fit a couch down there! But, I just am so excited to stay put for a while, set up my home, and hopefully buy a piano. Not to mention that I am excited for Jared to get out and be busy every single day. He has been struggling to find purpose to his daily life now for over a year ½, with his job transitions. So, to be able to send him off to work everyday, look forward to lunch time with him, go and visit him at work and support him…I am excited! I want a routine to live by, including him being at work and me doing my thing at home. It’s stability that I crave. Remind me of these goals when I feel the monotony of being a homemaker, feel frustrated with the boredom and crave excitement and commotion. Hopefully I can look from within to branch out and make good friends, like I have here in AZ. It will be an adjustment for sure, and it will be a lot harder than I can even expect. But, because we have moved now 11 times, I sorta know the in and outs of moving and how to pace myself.

My hubby is back for the week and it is good to share the responsibilities with him of raising our children! Wesley is a full bloomed preschooler with so much energy, many questions and is constantly wanting new entertainment. He LOVES being with me. I need to just enjoy it, but sometimes mama needs he space too! He wants to paint nails with me, wants me to sit with him for “tiempo quieto” (quiet time) with his DVD, “quiero vos” (I want you) when it is time to sleep, and is constantly just following me around the house. I try to get him involved in a game, puzzle, activity and then sneak out, but he quickly finds me. I think he and I are similar where we love to be around people and don’t like to be alone. I am afraid though that he is not learning how to entertain himself and be satisfied with what he has. He is constantly asking when we are going to go visit his friends, and the first thing he said to me this morning was, “quiero nadar.” I want to swim (which was different than his usual, “quiero chicle” I want gum). Jared is adjusting to his new energy level as well. I had them set up a car “raceway” in our bedroom so that he could be involved…it only lasted maybe 20 minutes with not much out of it except a messy room!

I have been reading my toddler activity book at every chance I get and so far the activities I have used (including playing with soapy water in the kitchen) has been successful. They are just short lived. I look forward to getting onto a routine this month….where we go to the gym in the mornings, go run errands (library, free movie, grocery shopping, etc) and then go home for naps. In the afternoon I will have playtime with the boys, we will do some chores, watch tv and get dinner ready. When they get older, I hope that we can do chores together in the morning. I want Wesley to be able to make his own bed soon too. He is getting very independent b/c he can now get himself 100% dressed all alone, he just learned how to swim (can take a breath for air) on his own this week, and is learning how to put puzzles together and recognize numbers! It is amazing how fast he is catching onto things. I struggle with my internal chaos with Spanish vs. English and feel so inadequate trying to teach him Spanish, but I am doing my best. I do switch to English when I react to him out of frustration and he usually responds to me in English too! He hates it when I, “hablar fuerte” (yell) and so that has been a good form of discipline. I don’t hablar fuerte, but if I threaten to do so, it makes him move! He will call Jared on it too, which is a good thing and good for us to NOT do.

So, drop me a line and wish me good luck with this week! We are already packed up, from four months ago...and just now moving from one empty house to an empty apartment! I am just looking forward to some stability and yummy tacos!