Yesterday was my birthday, and it was pretty non-eventful. Before, I was a little freaked out about getting older, but now, it’s like, “Dude, I’ve got so much other stuff going on right now I had even forgotten my birthday was coming up!” I had a pretty packed work day yesterday (enough to make me grumpy and whine inside, “Why do I have to work so hard on my birthday!?!?”) and afterwards just chilled at the in-laws. As much as I don’t want my birthday to be a big deal, I still think it’s a special day and that I shouldn’t stress too much. Note to self: take off on my birthday next year!

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this thingamajig with some real content. Let’s see what’s been going on with me lately…

• Still working. Had a lot of people leave the company, a lot of good people, some who I’ve been with for a long time. It was pretty sad and I’m definitely going to miss them, not just professionally but just having them around every day. This is definitely a new chapter in my professional life, and if I ever thought I was busy before, I had no idea what I was talking about! There’s a lot of changes going on at work, and I’m just trying take everything as it comes and not worry about the future.
• Ben is potty trained. I would never have thought that would be a major milestone in my life, but seriously, I’m so happy I don’t have to carry around a massive diaperbag anymore. However, I now have to deal with the occasional, “I HAVE TO POO!!!” outburst in public.
• I’d like to have another kid. So no need to ask (because EVERYONE asks). We’re working on it. A girl would be ideal, but I’ll be happy with just having another child. People go out and get drunk and get knocked up with no problem, but for us, it takes a little more time. I’m sure work stress isn’t helping, but we’ll see what happens. Ben’s starting to get a little bossy, so I’d like to give him a sibling to boss around instead of me.
• Our house is still up for sale. I love our house, so I’m in no hurry to move anyway. But what I don’t like is living in this half moved/half not life. When people are interested to come and check out the house, we have this massive cleaning binge which is stressful. A lot of my stuff is in boxes, so when I need to get something I need to rearrange boxes to get what I want (if I even remember WHICH box I’ve put it into!) Also, the house that we really liked, that had been on the market FOREVER, was sold last month. We were kind of counting on the fact that no one wanted it and that it would still be available after we sold our house. Such a shame…Ben had even picked out which room would be his. Oh well, at least we’re not paying two mortgages.

Hmm…I think that’s all for now. I really miss my blog…but there are just so many things going on I don’t have a lot of time to devote to it. Poor yanowhatimean!

Anyone still out there?!?

Tags: Whine and Cheese by Yano
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A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little sister, Fatima. I don’t see her as much as I’d like, but when I do, it’s tons of fun. Can’t wait for sushi tomorrow!

Tags: Quickies by Yano
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Work has been pretty tough lately, which has left me in a pretty sour mood. The weather has been pretty bad here as well, which hasn’t helped. Years ago I bought a cheap Elmo kite at Target, but we never got a chance to use it. Ben found it again earlier this week, and has constantly been asking to go fly it. I’ve told him that the weather was bad, or it was too late.

But today was a gorgeous, breezy day, so Dave took Ben to the parking lot by our house which had a nice field next to it. The kite flew nice and high, and I was surprised how well it worked considering the fact that I only spent fifty cents on it. We even let Ben hold on to the kite, and he took the job very seriously. It was some nice outdoor family time, just what I needed after the last couple weeks!

Here’s a couple pictures of our adventure.

Tags: Ben, Stories by Yano
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Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommies out there. Before having Ben, I would never would have realized that motherhood would be such a wonderful thing, and worth every little challenge. I got this great thing from the wonderful Chariya, thought I’d share, with my commentary.

———————

Before I was a Mom,I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. (i just tripped out of bars)
I didn ‘ t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. (well, i never had any plants, period!)
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. (actually, I did…in college. those crazy college days!)
Pooped on.
Chewed on. (by a human, that is)
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. (though it’s debatable if I ever had control of them!)
I slept all night. (if you can call sleeping 4-5 hours a night “sleeping”)

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. (let me tell you, your heart breaks when you have to do that)
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. (it’s incredible how much his smile can light up my day!)
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep. (even now, I still check him at night to make sure he’s breathing)

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put him down. (because you know, as soon as you put them down they start crying and want to stay with you anyway)
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the hurt. (kisses can’t fix everything!)
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much…
I never knew that I could love someone so much. (sometimes i feel like my heart will burst with love when i watch him sleep)
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body..
I didn’ t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn’ t know that bond between a mother and her child. (he’s my little best friend!)
I didn’ t know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy. (for the first time in my life, i’m taking responsibility seriously)

Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes
to make sure all was okay. (seriously, if i couldn’t tell if he’s breathing, i poke him)
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. (even now, it’s so hard for me to comprehend that these being grew inside of me and grows physically and mentally every day!)
I didn ‘ t know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom

————————-

Have a great day, ladies! Hope your family treats you like queens today!

Tags: Funnies by Yano
1 Comment »

So did anyone catch the Pacquiao/Hatton fight yesterday? I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t…I mean, if you went to the bathroom, tied your shoe, or even blinked right after the fight started you probably missed it. It was an excellent fight, even though it was short - shorter than it took to sing the 3 national anthems, that is. Well, if they didn’t draw out the Philippine national anthem maybe that wouldn’t have been the case.

Anyway, I’d been watching the Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7 shows on HBO, so I was interested to see how Hatton would do against Pacquiao. Unlike the Dela Hoya version, they didn’t show a lot of Hatton sparring, so I didn’t know what to expect. But Floyd Mayweather Sr. was a big talker, and I almost believed him. Hatton looked like a guy who could punch - HARD. Could his hard punches negate Manny’s quickness? Manny was the same…working out, living with his entourage, loving every moment…he didn’t seem too worried, and I wasn’t worried.

The fight was AWESOME…for the first round, that is. Many knocked him on the floor twice, and Hatton seemed a little stunned at Manny’s quickness and the hurricane of punches that were flying at him. The second round was more even, with Manny getting a little sloppy and Hatton getting in some good punches. But right before the round was over, *BLAM* Manny throws in a left hook that drops Hatton to the floor. We were screaming and cheering, until we were concerned by Hatton’s wooziness. Once he started moving again, things were all good and we were rejoicing again.

Go Manny! Pound for pound best fighter in the world!

On a side note, one of our friends in California got Ben the AWESOMEST present - a pair of boxing gloves, signed by Manny Pacquiao. Not only that, but it said, “To Benjamin, “What’s that smell?!?”" Anyone who knows Ben knows that he says that all the time, sometimes when it’s a little embarrassing (like when he’s talking to people).

Tags: I Like Sports, Ben by Yano
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