Maná!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was A-MA-ZING!!! What more can I say? How do you describe a once in a lifetime experience like seeing Maná in concert? I mean, really? I know most people are like Ma-who? That’s ok. You’re only missing out on the most famous, incredible, amazing, talented, spanish rock band EVER!!!! I still can’t believe we got to go to there concert. I wish soooo badly that I could relive that night.

Now, of course no big exciting event would be complete without me goofing it up in some way so I left my mark on the night in a very devastating way. I’ll tell you how. So, we got a sitter for the kids and had dinner at Olive Garden which was horrible and free:) Then, we drove up to Miami. We parked a couple of blocks from the arena and followed the crowd. The closer we got the more excited I got. I was getting all giggly and giddy as we were walking up the steps of the arena. Seeing as how it was a once in a lifetime experience I wanted to be sure to document every single moment with pictures and about halfway up the steps to the arena I saw the perfect shot. I stopped to get out my camera, flipped the on button and held up my camera…nothing…….panic set in…..no……no….NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I forgot the battery!!! Can you picture me? Standing there? Devastated. I cried. I could not believe that I was at a Maná concert that I had looked forward to for so many months and I was going to be camera-less. Rich was so positive and whipped out his phone, which takes horrible pictures by the way, and became the photographer for the night:)

Sadly, this was the best pic of the night:( Despite the horrid quality of this picture I love it and will treasure it forever. It was an amazing night. Like I said, if I could just relive that night one more time I would be in heaven.

Fher, the lead singer was so freakin’ awesome! As a band they are amazing. I think it’s so incredible that they’ve been famous since the 80’s and their older songs are still popular among the younger generation. There was such a wide age range at the concert, people in their 50’s to teenagers. I will say though, there weren’t too many white guys from Missouri there! hahaha! It’s just one more thing I love about Rich, we can both get excited about spanish music, bands and concerts. It was so much fun sharing something that I love with him. Oh yeah, the matching shirts were his idea…he’s the best!

I don’t know if we'll ever get another opportunity like that again so I’m glad we jumped at the chance to see such a legendary band in concert. One of the greatest experiences of my life!

Don’t Give Up!

I realize I am REALLY REALLY far behind on my blog and I have every intention of writing about the Maná concert that Rich and I went to, which by the way was AMAZING, and our 2 week trip to Missouri. For now, I’m just gonna write about an experience that I’m sure I’ll be laughing about a few years from now.

First of all, let me just mention my incredible 14 hours of sleep that I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of nights ago. I was crashing on the couch at 6:30, when my night in shining armor stepped in and rescued me. “Go to bed.” Were the loving words that he ever so sweetly uttered. I obeyed:) I woke up at 8:30 the next morning and it felt sooooo goooooood. Unfortunately, I’m still fighting a losing battle with depression and the sleep didn’t help the next day. Anyway, to repay Rich for his kindness I though I would let him go running all by himself. With 3 little kids doing anything by yourself is quite the treat. I was also determined to do something good for myself and go to the gym. I loaded up the kids and drove to the gym, leaving behind my cell phone (I will regret this later). So, as I was unloading the kids I hit the lock button out of habit. One by one I unbuckled Aidan, Maya and then I set my wallet and keys down on the seat to take Arabella out her her seat. Then, I closed the door……………………..:(

I realized instantly that I had just locked myself out of the van but made every effort not to panic. I just turned towards the gym and decided that I would go right ahead and get a good work out and then worry about how I was going to get home. Did you know that you can’t check your kids into the kid care at 24 hour fitness without your id? I did. I just didn’t know that they wouldn’t make any acceptions, even if they know you. There I was, with 3 screaming kids that wanted to go play, no keys, no phone, oh and just to make it a little more impossible, Rich JUST changed his cell phone number last week and I didn’t know his new number. Isn’t it horrible to be so dependant on a cell phone that you don’t know anybody’s number in case of emergency. Shame on me.

The 1st thing I did was go to the front desk to ask them to contact one of my friends that I knew had been to the gym before. I was shocked when not one of my friends came up in the computer. Then I sat outside with the kids just to think about other options.

Just to clarify the gravity of the situation: I am at the gym with all 3 kids. I don’t know anybody’s number. Rich is on a run for at least 45 minutes. I live about 3 miles away. What would you do? Start walking? I considered it but there would be several very busy streets to cross with my kids and that was just a risk I wasn’t willing to take. I even contemplated asking some random, nice looking lady if she would be willing to give us a ride home without car seats. It really seemed like my only option until I had an “ah ha moment”. When you register your kids at the kid care you have to fill out a form for each child with your contact info. My friend, Lori, was a member and took her kids there! I rushed in and practically begged the lady to break the rules for me and call my friend. She asked for permission from a manager and then called Lori. She was on a walk near my house and was so nice to swing by and inform Rich of my situation. Hallelujah! About 20 minutes later I was rescued, once again by my hero. Poor guy, he sure does have a lot to deal with, with me as his wife.

I never did get my workout but the next morning I woke up with 1 goal in mind: I was going to go to the gym. I did! I did not give up. Lately, I’m not gonna lie, it feels like the world is against me. I’m sure this has happened to everybody at some point in their lives. If it hasn’t, it probably will but the most important thing to remember is to not give up.

Moral of the story? Get out of the habit of locking the doors before I actually close them. Lesson learned:)

The Potty Game

Guess who’s potty trained…Aidan and almost Maya! Aidan has finally decided that going #2 in the toilet isn’t such a bad thing. Maya has pretty much potty trained herself as far as #2 goes and I guess that means I should probably put some effort into #1 with her. I know I should be jumping up and down at the fact that an 8 month struggle has finally come to an end but I think I’ve been had. I thought that I would be amazing when he was totally potty trained but he’s figured out how to make up for the lack of diapers by playing THE POTTY GAME (dun dun dun). Have you ever been through this one? Every night after changing clothes, brushing teeth and saying prayers we close the door and are home free!!!! So we thought. About 10 minutes later we hear, “Mommy, Daddy I need to go poop!” It’s Aidan. Ugh! Let him out, strip his clothes and sit him on the toilet. 15 minutes later he decides he doesn’t need to go after all. Dress him and put him back to bed. 2 minutes later, “Mommy, Daddy I need to go poop!” Maya’s turn. Some nights it’s just once for each kid and others it’s twice. I hate the potty game. Like every thing else, it’s just a phase. Thank goodness!

Hello Blog. It’s been a while.

I had really good intentions. I have a bunch of pics and stories to tell but just didn’t make the time to blog so here I am 2 weeks later. Lots on my mind. Lots has happened. On father’s day I got a call from someone special. No, not my dad, my little brother! Did you know that I have a little brother? I do! Actually, besides Rudy and Sen I have 3 little brothers and a little sister.  They are my dad’s kids that he had with his 2nd wife after my parents divorce. So anyways, my brother Fernando called me on fathers day and that was the 1st time I’ve ever spoken with him. It was so cool to get to know him and find out more about who he is and about his life. I hope we can build a long distance relationship.

It was really interesting hearing about his childhood and how he had to live the life that me and my siblings escaped. It made me so grateful for a strong and loving mom that always made us the priority. It also made me feel guilty, like I should have been some sort of support for them because they definitely needed it. My life would have been so different had my mom stayed in that marriage. I’m so grateful.

Father’s Day. Well, we celebrated father’s day without Rich this year. He was in California for his Grandpa’s memorial. It was kind of nice though because it gave me a few extra days to finish up his gift:) One thing that I’ve learned about Rich is that it’s impossible to buy him a gift. He is a master researcher and researches for days before buying anything. It’s taken me 5 years to learn this but finally after 5 years I now know that I have to get him “It’s the thought that counts” gifts. So this is what I did for him:

I saw this idea on one of my favorite blogs and kind of made it my own. Instead of just filling the bucket with candy I put a heart note on each one of them with a reason why he is the best dad.

The kids colored for him and I bought him a little gift. He felt special and THAT is what matters, right?

He brought me some goodies from San Francisco. Delicious chocolates and the most divine sourdough bread ever!

Ok, now that I’m somewhat caught up I can keep up and blog about the fun we’ve been having with daddy around!!

Just like Jake

Aidan has a new hero, besides daddy of course. Lately he has been obsessed with Jake and the Neverland Pirates. He wants to be just like Jake! He has been asking me for a treasure chest the past few days and so finally, today I emptied my little jewelry box and gave it to him. I wish I would have gotten his reaction on video because it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. He was beaming and was soooo excited to have his very own treasure chest! I pulled out his pirate halloween costume from last year and he was the happiest kid on earth.

I whipped up a red “pirate bandana” just like Jakes and I’m pretty sure it was the quickest, easiest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever made. Seriously, he LOVES it!

The very 1st thing he asked me was, “Mommy can I have gold doubloon’s?” Of course! How could I forget? Now, Jake doesn’t just get gold doubloon’s for nothing, he has to earn them. I gave him a job, he did it and so I gave him a gold doubloon (quarter) to put in his treasure chest. He was so helpful this morning, cleaning up all of his toys to earn more gold doubloon’s. This is gonna get expensive.

I guess there is an episode where Jake has a necklace in his treasure chest? I haven’t seen it but Aidan kept asking me for a necklace to put in his treasure chest. Yay! Finally, my dream came true! I don’t know why I’ve always wanted my kids to love stringing stuff like cheerios, fruit loops, beads…they’ve just never really been interested. Instead they would eat the goodies and they’ve never been interested in beading:( This time was different. Both Aidan & Maya were so excited to make a necklace to put in their treasure chest. They didn’t want to wear it, they just wanted to put it in their treasure chest.

I think this is my favorite obsession of theirs to date because there is so much we can do with it! Love my little pirates!

Mini Me

Last week my friend, Chelsey came over to finish up her crochet headband that I was teaching her how to make (which by the way are super cute). I walked away from my ball of yarn and crochet hook for 1 second and look what I found! 

My little mini me trying to crochet:) The cutest part was when I tried to take it away from her because she was destroying my ball of yarn, she freaked out! She was really lovin’ it! So, I got her some yarn that I didn’t care about and she was in heaven.

Don’t you love that she is wearing her ear warmers? She wouldn’t wear them in December but come summer time and she’s all about it…stinker;)

Here is a picture of the headband:

The flower is on a clip, so it comes off. I just love how cute it looks on my girls! It’s been my most recent addiction. Pretty sure I’ve made at least 10 of them!

Dear Tiffany,

A woman named Tiffany left a comment on the previous post. She happened upon my blog by googling “g-tube removal” and my blog post about Aidan’s g-tube removal popped up. I’ve actually noticed that a lot of people are led to my blog via that post. I’m grateful to know that it has been helpful to somebody. I don’t know how to contact Tiffany so here’s a post for her, in hopes that she’ll swing by once again and see it:)

Dear Tiffany,

First of all, thank you so much for your kind comment. Like you I feel “not so alone” when I meet people that are going through or have gone through the struggle of g-tubes and trachs. Until you go through it, you just can’t understand the stress and worry that comes with the territory, right? Just want you to know, I understand! There is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if you can’t see it. My heart goes out to you.fff I can’t imagine having 2 with a g-tube at the same time + the trach. Talk about H A R D!!! You are superwoman! I would love to give you more info on the trach removal process but I don’t know how to contact you:( This blog post is for you and I sure hope you wander onto my blog again and read this. E-mail me at jessbaker321@gmail.com so that I can get in contact with you.

Here are a few links to blog posts I made about Aidan’s trach removal process and also a couple to Arabella’s trach removal. Aidan's 2nd pH probe, Aidan's trach removal, Arabella's pH probe, and last but not least (I hope this doesn’t happen to you) Arabella's trach removal...yikes!

Tiffany, I wish you the very best. I know it’s hard but keep it up and yes, you are definitely right, it is all worth it to wake up to their sweet little faces every day. What little miracles and blessings we have!