So she doesn’t know we’re coming.  And the boys REALLY want to see her while we’re there.  But I don’t know where she is.

Then, at around 2:00, I got word that the airline we booked to get there is no longer flying.

So I’ve spent the evening looking for good rates with other airlines, rather than getting anything else accomplished.

For a trip that looks like – while it’ll be great site-seeing – will not include the #1 most important thing to the twins: seeing Xiomara again.

Really?

(Yeah, they just walked back inside and sat down.  Guess that’s a little anti-climactic, huh?)

Birthday Dinner at Pachanga Cocina Mexicana

We redeemed their free birthday meals at Pachanga the Sunday before their birthday.  Sorry for the grainy pictures; I only had my cell phone camera.

Yes, the icecream dessert is about the size of José’s head:

Diving in:

Fortunately, only Bear likes maraschino cherries, so there’s no debate who gets it:

See those two blurs?  Those are their maracas.  No, it was not a quiet dinner. 

Una Fiesta

Later that day, the Hispanic ministry of which we are part threw a joint birthday pool party for the twins and for their friend Nicole whose birthday just happens to be the day after theirs.  Piñata and all!

Everyone got in on the action, from the littlest to the adults…

… well, except for this one.  But she gets a pass; she’s only one month old.

Birthday Mamas – Ana (right) and me – and our friend Reyna.  I would like to point out that despite my appearance  (and actual heritage), I am NOT the one “shakin’ my shamrock.” 

Birthday at the Fair

For their actual birthday on the 19th, the boys wanted to have their Tío Steven over for a sleepover and then go someplace fun, so we hit a local county fair with some friends, bought the all-you-can-ride wristbands, and stayed till 10 p.m.! 

And then the Actual, Official Birthday Party We Planned

… was another pool party.  And I have a thing about putting kids online in swimwear, so I won’t.  But I do have one shot I’m happy to show you:  the other mamarazzi – my mother-in-law.  We love her.

Oh, and the enormous pile of gifts (that’s me trying desperately to write down who gave what for thank-you note purposes).

So, yeah, that’s where I’ve been for the last week and a half.  The boys are officially 6 years old!  And it OUGHTA be official… what with all this celebrating…

Feliz Cumpleaños, Mis Hijos.

Happy Wednesday readers!

’cause you think I’m craay…

… stay alone (yes, all by myself – no kids!) in a fancy Marriott Renaissance Hotel…

Did I mention “no kids?”

Here’s my room:

Ah, yes.

And it happens to be my birthday tomorrow, coincidentally.  So I ask you (especially you other moms of young children!) – Who among you would not opt for the free (Delta paid for everything!) getaway for 2 days if all it cost you was a couple of blog posts?!  This mamacita thinks it’s more than a fair trade.

For any of you that actually are interested in Delta Faucet and their products, I’ll be posting on One Project Closer, since that’s who they were inviting (not American Mamacita, as it turns out).  But I hope the rest of you can understand the secret other motivation for being here.

‘Course if you don’t, I’m not leaving anyway.  Not till my flight out on Thursday, anyway.  So there.

This tradition started almost seven years ago when Fred and I got married.  It wasn’t our house that got it.  It was Fred’s car.  Aside from the usual painted messages and cans tied to the back…

…the interior of the car was TOTALLY trashed.  We tried to clean it up quickly for our final pictures, but we didn’t quite get everything.  Wanna see my “getaway picture” from the back of our (professional/cost-us-mucho-$$$) wedding album?

Cute, right?  ‘cept look at the door handle.  Here, I’ll help.

Oh yes, and a lubricated one at that.  One day my grandchildren will see this picture…

And apparently Fred had never heard of this kind of pranking being done at a wedding before ’cause he was totally ticked!! a little off-put by it.  However, after weeks a short time of reflexion, he realized that because we were the first to get married, we would have plenty of time for annihilating retribution good-natured pay-backs.

And oh have we had some fun.

We started with our close friends, Jocie and Ethan.  They write with us (read “usually Ethan and Fred do most of the work”) on our other blog, and we’re really close.  Good thing, given what we did to their house while they were gone.

1. What can YOU do with 4800 post-it notes?

We even personalized it.  Jocie had been having some trouble all through their relationship saying the actual words for who Ethan was to her.  So see?  We helped.  ‘Cause we’re sweet like that.  You’re welcome, E.

2.  Lockin’ in the Freshness:  We MAY have individually wrapped every item in their kitchen in foil.  Utensils too.  Oh, and me.

3. But the Very Best Gift of All…

We rounded up a posse of our closest friends and blew up (by mouth, no less!) enough balloons to fill up their entire dining room.  Now I should point out the couple in the middle balloon picture.  They are Pam and Bob.  They’ve been married longer than the rest of us, but they DID happen to take a vacation for her “25th” birthday not long thereafter.  And they WERE involved in both our car trashing decoration and this house prank.  So they are featured in our next prank series.

Pam’s and Bob’s Prank Series:

1. Moving?

Bob’s a realtor, so we put his house on the market while he was gone… sign in the yard, a couple inquiring voicemails left on his phone…  oh, and those white things sticking up in the yard?  Plasticware.  Not so hard for 5 people to stick in there together – but there’s only one way to get them back up.  By hand.  And they’re older than we are.  Heehee.  Ahem.  Yes, well on to the interior.

2.  Home Renovation Assistance

We happened to know that they were planning some major renovations, so we helped a little:

Yes, those are toothpicks.  And again, only one way to get those up…

3.  Sleep Tight!

We shrink-wrapped their bed, pillows and all.  And the pennies?  Well, those weren’t in the original plan, but there was this perfectly good penny jar sitting in the corner of their room, just begging to be part of the action…

4.  Artists’ Signatures

We knew this wallpaper was on their list of things to replace (and whole-heartedly agreed with that decision – whew!), so we left them little notes.  In black paint.  And then we signed the wall.  They loved it.  We know they did.

There have been more couples on our hit list since these, but that’s all for my pictures tonight. 

If you look back, though, there’s one face in there that keeps recurring.  And let me assure you she was behind our car 7 years ago as well.

Amy.

She’s been along for every prank, and so we know she and Chris expect to be hit this week while they’re on their cruise.  And tonight was the night.  And we got them quite thoroughly.

I don’t want to reveal their place before they find it, though.  It’s their final wedding “gift” from all of us. 

So I’ll show ya early next week after they get back.  Stay tuned!

But as tiring as the day was, it was a fantastic one.  Spent most of it in close quarters with Amy, our youngest sister Lori and our friend Jocie – assembling centerpieces and bouteniers, getting Amy all ready for the ceremony, and then celebrating a marriage I, personally, have been hoping for since around the time of my own.  Yeah, a pretty great day.

Meanwhile, the little guys got to spend the whole day with their Papa and the men.  They were thrilled.

I crashed the man-cave for a bit right before the ceremony and managed to get a quick pic with the Best Man - theirs for the day, mine till death do us part:

And one of the best parts, of course, is that I have a new brother!  He’s been one of Fred’s best friends since college and therefore ”Tío Chris” to our kids all along but now it’s legal!

Huzzah!

A real sacrifice in their minds.

On the other hand, they’ve been totally diggin’ the attention they’ve gotten while getting measured for tuxes and then picking them up.  So this afternoon, we had a photo shoot.  They were totally into it, and even asked me to take “a video clip” (as they call them) of them just walking around our deck all dressed up.  So cute.  And also great for getting them jazzed for an event that they don’t totally understand and which will most definitely be boring to them at parts.  At least they’ll be going IN excited tomorrow – even if it’s for a slightly less obvious reason than the marriage of their Tía Amy and Tío Chris.

Our first summer with them, they were terrified of getting IN (they “came with” an enormous water phobia when we adopted them), so we spent a lot of time on the stairs at first.

The majority of Summer #2 was spent in the baby pool.  At least once each visit I’d make them join me in the big pool with their swimmies on.  But then it was back to the baby pool with us.

Last summer, I broke it to them that they were getting too big for a) the baby pool, and b) their swimmies (hey – they say “up to 40 pounds” on them, and the boys were at least a good 38!).  I’m a tough mom, I know.  But after much cajoling the first time, they came all the way into the shallow end of the pool, realized they could stand with their heads above water, and turned into little fish.  A half hour in on their first day, they were diving for rings off the bottom of the pool!  (Didn’t see that one coming!)  The rest of last summer pretty much looked like this:

So I couldn’t wait to see what they’d do this year.  And, as each year before, they have surpassed my expectations.  (Yes, even my ridiculously over-achieving ones).

So darned proud of those boys.

Don’t for the life of me know what’s left to teach them next summer, though!  (This Mamacita doesn’t know how to DO front flips, as it turns out… but shhh, don’t tell THEM that!)

Well last night after our service, the Hispanic church headed over to visit Manuel, Ana, big sister Nicole, Tío (Uncle) Noe and the new baby, Alisson.  What a cutie!

Her middle name is Sohat (pronounced “soe-ahht,” the “h” is silent) which means “joy” or “blessing.”  Which, of course, the whole experience of getting to be friends with her family has been for me and mine!