Quinten is 4

Quinten's birthday party was a success. We rented a water slide/bounce house and about 10 kids came over and jumped and slid until their little hearts were content. We had a pinata, cake and presents to follow. It was quick, fun and exhausting-for me at least. Friends came from church and Visalia to help us celebrate.
Quinten has been wearing his Tranformer Bumble Bee costume for, oh, the last 24 hours. He loves it. He also received books, GI Joe stuff and more Transformer toys. He had a really good time and missed all his friends today when he realized that everyone had left. When he woke up today, he told me that it was "...still his birthday". Unfortunately, this wish did not come true for him. He did, however, get me out of bed at 7am to help him get his Bumble Bee costume.
I am so glad that he had such a great party. I am sure there will be may many more where that came from.

almost over.....

I can't believe that summer vacation is almost over. I remember that when I was a kid, summer vacation was almost too long. I was more then ready to go back to school, but now I am not ready to give up my kids yet. Yes, I will admit that I yell at them a lot and I loose my temper with them, but this house is gonna be so quiet. There won't be any over dramatic "Shh", to remind the kids that David is still sleeping. There won't be any cuddling on the couch and watching Diego or Dora in the morning. These are some of the things that I enjoy during the summer.
Since I am going to school in the evening, my parents have been taking the boys to the golf course and swimming. They have really improved. Gavin is now swimming on his own and can swim to the deep end and back. He also enjoys diving to the bottom of the pool in the deep end with my Dad and waving underwater. It is fun to see that my Dad does the same things with him that he used to do with me. He throws the boys as high as he can and they splash into the water with huge smiles. Quinten still wears his life vest, but has ventured to the stairs in the pool without it, putting his face in the water and kicking. It is really cute. He also slides off the edge of the pool like a "seal with a broken arm". Don't ask me, but I laughed so hard when he did it, I almost peed my pants.
Now the next things are Quinten's birthday party and school starting. I also want to take the boys on a little vacation. Where is yet to be determined. I really thought it would be fun to take them to Vegas for a couple days. We can stay somewhere with a really nice pool and just relax and enjoy family time. Oh yeah and eat on all the buffets...mmmm.

graduation from the freshman room

It has finally happened. I have officially "graduated" to the floor. This means that I am in the main area where people get procedures done. It is no longer a free service, if and when you come it to see me. You will be paying. If you think it's worth it, is yet to be decided.
The funny part of all this is....at 400 hours you are supposed to gradute to the floor. I have almost 500 hours. I was being asked daily when I was coming out and helping out the seniors. I would have gone out ealier, but the freshman room was doing color again and I wouldn't want to miss out on that! Plus, I have a cool teacher and friends in the freshman room.
So, if you are daring or just have the same idea as me-hair grows back-come in and get a haircut, color and your nails done. I will hook you up!

Camping

A lot of you out there are good campers. I have found that I am really not that person. I hate dirt, I hate uncomfortable chairs and I hate smoke. So let's start from the beginning.
I bought my wonderful husband a tent for Father's Day so we could "travel" cheaper and so the boys could do a "manly" thing. We planned this trip so we could go with our friends to Morro Bay. Everything was fine until I walked out onto the beach and Audrey told me to sit down. All I could think about was the sand getting all over me and my clothes. The boys, obviously, were enjoying it. They were rolling around and getting sand where the sun don't shine.
That night we had bomb dinner, thanks to Mike, who provided all the cooking during the trip. We finished the night with smores, that apparently I didn't make right, and a camp fire. The night itself was another story. The boys had never slept in a tent or a sleeping bag, so it was a night of little sleep and lots of stress. I was able to get a good 4 hours, if that tells you anything.
The net day we spent the entire day at the beach and had another really good dinner, with steak and seafood. I was able to shower during the afternoon so I didn't feel as grouchy, but was still feeling a little gritty.
The next morning, Audrey and I were able to go to town after she made homemade cinnamon rolls. They were the best cinnamon rolls ever! We had fun walking around and window shopping. Later the boys met up with us and we ate at a restaurant overlooking the water. I ate so much I thought I was gonna throw up for the first half of the ride home. The second half I had to pee so bad I had to hold my seatbelt away from my stomach. It was painful.
The trip was nice because we were with our friends. I can't tell you that I was the happiest I have ever been due to the circumstances. I guess there were more compromises than I expected. I am gonna have to suck it up and be more manly with my brood.

Growing up

Almost every night, Quinten sneaks into my room and climbs in bed with me. Last night was no exception. I heard his little footsteps at about 2am and felt him crawl over me to get to David's side of the bed. Since David wasn't home, it worked out for him. When David gets home he shoves Quinten over to me and gets in bed too.
This morning, as Quinten was running his fingers through my hair, I thought how sad it was that my little one is almost 4! He is getting so big and becoming more and more independant. I watched him as he slept and thought about how lucky I am. Both of my little boys have been healthy and haven't had any problems. A lot of times I feel like I am loosing my mind, but all in all my kids are good.

Silly Games and Judgements

You know how on Facebook there is a game you can play by answering questions about your "friends"? Well, I logged on to it today and found that under the question "Do you think Melissa Lomeli has a good work ethic?" the person answered "No". Seriously? I have a bad work ethic? I work all day taking care of my kids, cleaning and running errands. I feel as though I keep this family together and then every night I go to school to learn a new trade and I don't have a good work ethic? I am so mad right now that I can't put it into words.
I was friends with this person in high school and re-connected when I went to police academy with her husband. I hardly see this person and I have never worked with this person. How would she ever know about how I work and isn't it nicer to skip the question that could piss someone off (that is an option).
Needless to say, since I don't have time in my life for petty remarks and negativity, she is erased. I no longer want to deal with having a "friend" make me feel like I am a complete looser.

Fun Stuff in Store

I am so jazzed about the next couple weekends. David was lucky enough to get the
4th of July off so we can chill at home and BBQ. One street over the neighbors get together and swim and there is going to be a waterslide thing and other kids for Gavin and Quinten to hang out with. I love to see my kids socialize and interact with others. When the sun goes down they all bring out their fireworks and have a show. I am really looking forward to this. Hopefully there is no drama and we can have a peaceful time.
The weekend after, we are going to go camping at Morro Bay in David's Father's day present, a tent! I am not a tenting kind of girl...if you couldn't figure that out. I am always up for a challange though so this will be no exception. We are meeting my best friends family and will be spending one night, or maybe two if someone cancels. It will be a great time getting out of the heat and relaxing near the beach. I think the boys will really like it. I am glad that the Morro Dunes campground has nice showers because that is very important!
So I have a lot to look forward to over the next couple weeks. I am so happy that I can have some quality time with my family. David has been working a lot of overtime and I know he needs it just as much as I do. It's just what the Dr ordered!