What Really Matters Is Family – Almost Wordless Wednesday

    There is nothing like watching my boys and nephews frolicking in the pool as the Summer draws to a close...  As you can see from the expressions on their faces, they do not have a care in the world which is exactly as it should be.  I love watching them together and seeing them bond and grow up together.  Hopefully, they will take these familial bonds into adulthood and always be this close with one another.     I can still recall the way that my cousins and I used to play together back in Spain when we were kids.  There are so many fond memories and stories to recant that we never run out of things to talk about when we are together.  Unfortunately, that is not very often these days because we live so far apart but, those memories of our childhood, will always be there between us and allow us to have a special love and understanding between us that will forever transcend time and space.     Life has its own unique way of reminding us what is really important and family is … [Read more...]

Your Cheek Is Hairy, Mom…

    My nine year old son kissed me on the cheek this evening and told me that my cheek was hairy.  Now, don't go getting the wrong idea, he was referring to that peach fuzz that we all have on our faces.  We do all have it, right?  Well, I'm Spanish and it's no secret that we Latinas are blessed with tons of hair.  Yes, even hair on places it's not supposed to be is a blessing.     Anyhow, I commented about what he said on Facebook and an old school friend of mine answered that he will learn soon enough about women.  She is absolutely right, before you know it, he will be noticing everything about the opposite sex and he won't need me to state the obvious about them.  It's funny how children rely on us during these elementary school years to answer their questions and to address their curiosity.     Once they get to be the age of my students in middle school, they couldn't care less what us parents have to say about anything.  At that point, the authorities on everything are their … [Read more...]

Happy Birthday Pumpkin!

    February 22nd is my son's seventh birthday and I am at a complete loss as to where the last seven years have gone.  I can still remember the day he was born like it was yesterday.  Every single day since his birth has been filled with joy and the warmth of his love.     We never really knew whether we wanted to have a second child or not.  Our older son's birth had already made us feel complete and we weren't really in a rush to have another baby.  It was already a lot of work managing two full-time careers between the two of us, parenting, and running a home.  I guess we just figured that, if it was meant to be, it would happen.     On my older son's second birthday, we had a birthday party at our house and hosted a barbecue  for all our close friends and family.  During the party, my husband's grandfather suffered a massive heart attack and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.     We were all devastated and, that night, in our grief we decided that we had to … [Read more...]

Can Women Raise Men?

            I was just having a conversation with my brother yesterday about how there are certain things that boys have to learn when they are growing up about being men and about defending themselves.  It was interesting to see how our points of view differed on certain points because of our gender differences and it really made me think about the fact that it is extremely important for male children to have positive male role models in their lives.  As good as our intentions are in raising our boys to be good men,  he stated that there are just certain things that only a man can teach another man.     This became apparent when our conversation turned to the topic of bullying and self defense.  As a mother, my first reaction if my sons have issues like this in school is to alert the school authorities and to try to talk through the problem.  My brother argued that this path does not always lead to a solution and that male children need to know how to defend themselves … [Read more...]

Momma’s Boy

         As I am writing this post, my youngest son is hovering nearby coming over from time to time to see what I am doing. Little does he know that I am writing about him. You see, as far as he is concerned, the sun rises and sets on my head. It's quite a big responsibility to be looked up to that much by another human being. His love and attention is something that humbles me on a daily basis. We have been partners for a long time, him and I.   A little over four years, to be exact...     He was born in one of the coldest months of the year, February. His entrance was a grand one with screaming and fussing to mark his arrival and his presence. I was shocked to see his red skin and his head of pitch black straight hair. My husband and I jokingly referred to him as our Little Papoose. Unfortunately, when we left the hospital with him, he already had a cold. This was no ordinary cold and, due to the negligence of a pediatrician who is no longer our pediatrician, it turned … [Read more...]