Last night I slept like a baby. It was so peaceful and quiet, one candle left burning softly, quite soothing actually. I didn’t have the mami sense turn on to listen for the kids through the night as I was alone, so it was quite a good restful night. I realize my last two post have been serious but life is not all fun and games. But to lighten things up I decided to write today about another one of my “adventures” as I continue to move into this house and make it home.



This morning I woke up at the usual time even though I had no alarm on. Don’t you hate that? I could had slept in, there was no need to get up and start waking sleepy children up, directing their zombie like bodies to the bathroom, preparing breakfast, etc. You know, the usual mayhem of school mornings when you have kids. Yet there I was awake at 6:15 on the dot! I do know God has a sense of humor. Our bodies get so conditioned to routines it forgets to take the weekend off. It wasn’t a typical Sunday morning either where the children might wake me up with a sweet kiss and whisper “mami, I’m hungry’. I guess I forgot to send a memo to my brain that this was a rare opportunity to sleep in and there was no need to wake me up.



Well my dog was happy to see me awake. So I gave in and got out of my nice warm covers, took the dog out and came back in to get ready for the day. I unloaded the rest of the baskets I had in the van and I started to gather the necessities to wash myself and be presentable when I head out. Low and behold I can’t find any of my under ware!!! I find everybody else’s but mine. Granted I am a slender person but I doubt I can wear my 10 yr old under ware. And this is how your well organize unpacking takes a dive and things start getting messy and all over the place.

Yeah that's me rolling my eyes at myself LOL

I do not know why I had this fantasy that I would be able to put everything away before the children got back tomorrow. Despite the fact that I haven’t been able to vacuum the rooms carpets due to the electric power delay, so I cant set up their beds or dressers yet. Or wash all the kitchen stuff etc since I can’t run the water without electricity…. As I look around I realize that, yeah , I am not really super mom ! lol I am just a determined, stubborn woman that is vent on having Christmas going in the house by the end of the week! And this is when we parents need to become realistic. Specially single parents. You can not do everything in a jiffy. You have to prioritize tasks and then go with the flow. Oh yeah, I am still looking for my under ware…..

Ps: Eventually I did find my under ware. I was able to wash myself (with nice water from a 2 gallon store bought jug) and get dressed !

Hmmm I wonder where my Christmas light are????

Finding Enlightenment in the Dark

So here I am , sitting in a very quiet house, by candle light with my little bit of technology….the laptop. There is no internet, no tv, no children here. only me and my dog Verses. You are probably wondering if I am running some kind of social experiment. Not at all. The truth is that due to circumstances out of my control, I couldn’t get the power connected in the house we are moving into yet, but it was time to leave where we were staying. So my children are spending the next few days with their dad, while I camp out at the house.



Some might think this strange, some may say “couldn’t you stay with friends or family”, ‘couldn’t you stay at a hotel”, maybe even with the children dad’s, after all there is always the couch. All valid questions. well here is my situation:

I have no family in town, I have friends but they have their own situations going on so I refuse to impose, staying with the kids dad a possibility but I am not his responsibility, knowing the children are in a warm place, with someone that loves them is enough for me. I can sleep in the dark, under warm covers, in peace knowing my children are safe.



For some this might appear as a horrible situation for me. But lets think about this…. I have a roof over my head (it’s been raining all day), I am dry, I have plenty of thick, comfy blankets. I know my children are being taken care off and that their absence is only temporary. In a few days the house will be full of their laughter, squeals, and non stop chatter. Of the stomping of little feet running around. I have food. might not be a nice hot dinner but food none the less, fresh food at that. I have a bathroom, true no running water but I have a great big pail I can fill with water from the pool out back to flush it and the luxury of privacy when I use it.



So what's so horrible about that? In reality , absolutely nothing! There are many homeless people out there right now. I could be one of them…their roof is maybe a bridge, their blankets if they have any are more than likely thinned out and probably dirty and humid since the weather has been so nasty today. They may or may not have food. To find a bathroom they will have to go into a gas station or a fast food restaurant and withstand the looks of the workers and patrons. Many of this looks will not be full of compassion, they will be full of disgust. There might be a good soul out there who might offer to buy them a hot drink, a bite to eat….but most likely they will turn their eyes away. That’s assuming that they are not told to leave the premises before they can use the restroom.



Is true I can not afford to go stay at a hotel for several days. I am a single mother looking for employment, my income is limited. So the money I have is to get that power connected now that the technicalities have been resolved, to put gas in my vehicle so I can take the children to school , doctors appointments, the school play, for me to go fill out applications. To buy the normal necessities of a household.

Yes this are tough times, I will have to go without internet service for a while, we will not have 150 channels or tv at all for a while, and guess what? It does not matter at all because we are blessed and so rich in all that matters in life. We have each other, we have over all good health, we have our basic necessities met. We do not have to sleep in a car (and that for many would be the greatest thing) or under a bridge, or on a park bench. If I we get hungry we open the pantry and the fridge (or the cooler right now) and we feed ourselves. So what if my children and I do not have the latest big brand tennis shoes, we have shoes. So what if our coats are not from Macy’s, we have coats, nice comfy warm ones. So what if our Christmas tree is not decorated in the latest glamour fashion, we will have a tree. A tree with precious ornaments of which many have special meaning, a tree with precious memories hanging from it, a tree we can call our own and look at every day during Christmas. Do you see my point?



So many focus on what they don’t have based on social standards and forget how much they are so very blessed to have. You don’t have to go far to find those less fortunate than you….



Do I feel at some point I wish I could give my kids more for this Christmas? Of course I have fallen into that for a second or two. But what better present than to have a home, to feel safe, to feel love, to be together and alive! My children are blessed with wonderful family and I am blessed with amazing friends. They will not go without Christmas presents. But I tell you what, when it comes down to it, is not the presents they are going to remember. Is being happy, drinking hot coco in comfy pj’s watching a dvd. Is making cookies together, decorating the tree, singing. And going to sleep in their warm beds with a smile in their faces and a kiss good night.



So as I sit here typing by candlelight, feeling a little cold but not minding because I know when I am ready I have my blankets to snuggle into, I find that this darkness is very welcome and not scary because I am blessed and I am not alone. I do not preach and I do not try to convert others into my beliefs but I am open about what I believe and what my faith is and means to me. Tonight I might be isolated from the world but I am not alone. I know I have amazing friends out there that are thinking of me, that love me and care about me and my children. I know I have family doing the same thing. I know God is with me because I see the miracles he performs in my life daily, Why He blesses me this way and others are in dire need, I do not know. We all have paths to follow and the reasons are not always clear. All I know is that I have so much to be thankful for!



I hope that if you are reading this and you are someone that can help others, that you do so. You never know when it can be you and your children or a love one or a close friend in an extreme difficult situation. Wouldn’t you feel so grateful if someone gave you a hand? Even just a smile, a word of encouragement can make such a big difference in someone's life. Be the light in the darkness, no matter how insignificant you think your light is. I know that is the lesson I am trying to teach my children as we have gone through our tribulations. Always be grateful for what you have, be positive, learn to enjoy what you have and not cry over what you don’t at the moment when you have the most important things you need. As basic as not whining because you wanted pizza and we are having chicken, you have food, others don’t. To share when the opportunity arises (I am so proud of my 10 yr old daughter who has done this with her lunch in more than one occasion) to not complain about sharing a room when others have no place to stay. All this things can be hard at time to do, but even when I have been frustrated with situations I have been grateful because things could had been worst.



I know this won’t be forever, eventually I will be on my feet solidly and will be able to afford those little extras that make our life easier and more entertaining in a way, I wont have to watch every single penny to make sure my bases are covered, but for now I am happy to sit in the dark and enjoy the light in my life. I hope you can too and I hope you can teach your children how to do so because the world is beautiful but also hard unless you know how to find the brightness within. Like I told a friend today, light attracts light and darkness attracts darkness. I rather attract light, don’t you?

And now I need to close my laptop to conserve its battery as obviously I wont be able to charge it, and tomorrow I will drive to the town Mc Donald’s and sit down to have some coffee and use their wi-fi and post this to the blog and hope it touches someone to make it a little brighter in the world

The Power of a Smile

I saw this today, it was done by an 18 yr old kid.  What an amazing inspiration he is.  So many dumb videos go viral, this is one I wish would take over!

http://youtu.be/0dgadTcVu60

With great Power Comes Great Responsability

It is amazing how God has provided me with super powers! No, I am not talking crazy. I have eyes on the back of my head, a lie detector integrated in my brain, lips that provide healing with just one kiss, super hearing that sounds an alarm in my brain when there’s trouble, arms that dissolve fears with just one hug and a super sense and awareness that wakes me up from a dead sleep when my child stops breathing because she is shocking in vomit. Pretty amazing powers if you ask me!

My 3 youngest 5, 4 and 20 months

My oldest daughter 10

My children trust those powers and count on them to protect them, to comfort them, to make them feel safe and loved. They are also annoyed by them because they know they can’t get away with anything lol. But oh, how they try regardless . I love how they will be crying, saying how bad it hurts and one kiss makes them all better. I love seeing that smile and the love in their eyes that says “thank you mami, for making it all better”. I love how their world was about to end and then is all good and off they run ready to face the world again. As frustrating as it is at times when they do the things they know better not to do, it is also comical sometimes to watch them try to get away with it and see that twinkle in their eyes that says “I know what I am doing but look at me, I am so cute!, How can you get upset with me?” LOL Children try and push their boundaries just to keep you on check! Some days I am too tired to find it amusing and “the look” comes out. They know “the look” (another super power, thank you God). That’s when they stop dead in their tracks and say “I love you mami” AKA “please don’t be upset”. But “the look” should not be used in abundance since it is this magnificent power that can help keep them safe in a second. Take for example when the 20 month old is about to stick her finger in the wall outlet that somehow escaped being covered, or when the 4yr old is about to take off running into the street. So do not abuse the power of “the look”. Is a precious tool to be used with discretion in order to keep it’s effectiveness.

My oldest 21

This world we live in is pretty messed up. We, as parents and even other adults need to remember to slow down, and take the time to teach our children about respect, self value, morals, hard work, compassion, empathy, responsibility, consequences to our actions, answering to some higher power. No matter what your faith is or what you believe in they have to know we are accountable for our actions, they need something to look up to, they need inspiration from us, so do what you preach. Not an easy job but one we should aspire to accomplish every day.



I had no idea where I was heading to when I sat down to write this post. There is so much going on in my life right now. Many, including me, are going through difficult times right now due to the economy, but as I look around I see so many things to be thankful for. Me personally I am thankful for God’s love and grace. You don’t have to agree, is what I believe and what gives me strength. I have the best motivation in the world to keep on going….my children. They are precious blessings and for some reason God granted me 7 beautiful souls to care for. I take that very seriously and I love the rewards that come along with it. Even my beautiful angel girl, who I will see one day motivates me. And the six I have here on earth are a constant source of joy, tears too but mostly joy. And the tears are not of their doing, is because of that amazing love I have for them that sometimes I cry when I am frustrated with situations that affect them. I look at my two grown boys and I know they have turned out alright because they had that base growing up. Makes me even more determined to do better with the remaining four.

Second oldest 19

I wish it was a better world but it starts at home. Sounds corny but children ARE our future. So even if you don’t have any keep this in mind. What you do, how you act, what you say at some point touches a child, so be mindful, care.