MnM Returns

Okay, so it's been almost three weeks since my last update- so sue me! (Did I ever mention that for my two weeks there, I was without a car, without Internet access, and without a dvd player??? Man oh man!, but let's not go there....) I am now back in the good ole' Midwest after enjoying a much needed California trip. My two week stay in da Bay was good for me and my soul. It sure did seem like a God-awful long time since I've been back and to be around family did wonders for me.

As I mentioned in one of my last posts, my mom had intestinal surgery. She'd doing much better, thank goodness, but in the time that she was still in the hospital and to the time that she was released to go home, her recovery was not an easy one...on anyone. Let's just say that my mom is a tough patient to please. I can say that she was back to her normal nagging-tell-everyone-what-to-do self, but add the frustration of not being able to eat solid food and the limited mobilization on her part, well, let's just say that MnM was not a happy camper for much of her stay at home. Don't get me wrong, I was glad to be of service, to be there to help out with whatever needed to be done, but I think I honestly had "mom-overload" too soon.

Back in 1991, she had to have a total hysterectomy due to menapause. Although this type of surgery is common to many women my mom's age, the fact that her womanhood was taken out, it was a traumatizing and depressing time for her. It didn't come to me until I was already terribly frustrated being home, but I do believe that I was experiencing some flashbacks of my own of her '91 surgery. I want to say that my dad was just laid off from work, my sister had already graduated and was working full-time, and I was a senior in high school. Because everyone was either working or looking for work, I was the only one left at home to deal with my mom. Let me tell you...it wasn't pretty. There was a lot of bitterness on my part because I was the only one to deal with her moods, I was the only one to nag and bitch to, I was made to do everything and though I did it, she was never pleased. Add to that the typical teenager pressures of a high school senior, in hindsight I will say that I must've thought that it wasn't fair for me to deal with what I was dealing with. All of bitterness built up for a while, but for the life of me, I don't recall how it ever subsided. Somehow during my recent stay, it all came flooding back to me and my tolerance level was totally shot to the ground.

In any case, Mom got stronger with each passing day and she was soon able to eat solid food once again. In the following days that we were in San Diego, my frustrations dissipated and by the time I got back, she was no longer the patient from hell (sorry Mom!). In fact, on the day that we were to return back to MN, we spent a lot of time just hanging out and reminiscing. 'Twas pleasant and a very nice way to end my stay.

Shamu and Carne Asada Burritos Rock!
(two separate entities, mind you...)

On Mother's Day, hubby and I took our handy dandy lil' rent-a-car and headed to San Diego. This trip was of major importance because it would be the first time that I would meet the in-laws! Hahah, yes, on all days, it had to be Mother's Day...no pressure! We arrived just before dinner time and had time to buy some flowers. Turns up that we're meeting the family at an Italian restaurant. As we were pulling into the parking lot, I noticed a group of people standing outside. "That's them," hubby said. Surprisingly enough, my heart didn't do any flip flops as I was expecting. Aurora, girl #2, came running across the parking lot and gave me a huge hug- it was so great to see her! Kuya G, hubby's oldest bro, headed our way with lil' Noelle. She's such a tiny lil' thing with long black hair and the biggest brown eyes ever! She obediently gave me a hug, but it wasn't until later on that we really got to talking...then she couldn't keep her mouth shut! LOL! The meeting with the fam went fine. For the most part, it was awkward, but for the times when I couldn't quite find an "in" into the conversation, I turned my attention to the kids.

The following day, hubby and I took the two younger girls outta school- ha, played hookey- and spent the day at Sea World. I haven't been there in ages and so I was looking forward to it. As soon as we got into the car, lil' Noelle was off talking 100 miles a minute. If she wasn't talking and asking questions, she was singing...and boy can she sing! It must be in her genes 'cuz all of the girls have some type of musical talent. It was so adorable 'cuz she wasn't belting out the kindergarten tunes that I would've expected. No "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" for her! She was singing ballads left and right- hella clear and with the correct words! She totally blew my mind! I mean, sure, hubby joked that she was "pitchy" in some parts, but man, if she continued using that voice, I can easily see it developing into a very strong, natural singing voice.

When we got to Sea World, she automatically latched onto my hand. We basically had a lot of fun together- her new best friend for the day! The four of us walked through a lot of the exhibits, took hella pictures, and watched some shows. The biggie was, of course, Shamu. Hubby and Aurora were already heading to the "soak zone," but Noelle was tugging at my hand saying that she didn't want to get wet. We were trying to convince her that it would be fun and she finally agreed. We ended up in the 4th row- prime seats to get wet! On that day, there were lots of schools on field trips- bunches of kids ready to get wet and whatnot. There were even a few lil' kids in bathing suits and towels all prepared, too! The show started and whoa, that killer whale was H-U-G-E! I did take a couple of pics before we got wet, no wait, soaked to the bone! I had even tried to block Noelle, but apparently there was just no way. Oh, and don't ask about how we smelled afterwards...ugh, I don't even want to know what was in that tank water!

After that, we went on a water ride...as if we weren't wet already! Again, we got soaked and I think it was too much for Noelle. Since the lines were short, Aurora and hubby decided to go at it two more times. While we waited, Noelle and I hung out. We talked, she sang, we walked, we took pictures...it was cool. She does like to talk about her mom a lot, but I didn't mind at all. Later on I would find out that Noelle talked about me a lot after she got home...so we're even! LOL!

Our stay and visit with the girls was too short. In fact, we didn't even get to hang out with Lina. Turns out that her friend had passed away from cancer the day before we arrived and she really needed some time to herself. Plus, we couldn't take the kids outta school for another day either, although that would've been fun. We'll just have to look forward to their visit here to Minnesota in the summer.

For the remainder of our time in S.D., we did get to watch a beautiful sunset at the beach in La Jolla. We also got to eat the most yummiest carne asada burritos ever! Man, my mouth is just watering at the thought of them! Forget this Chipotle crap that we have out here, S.D. burritos are the bomb!

Last Days in the Bay

One of the reasons we went to the Bay in the first place was 'cuz my niece Sabrina was receiving her 1st Communion. Everytime I leave home and come back again, I'm blown away at how tall her and Nico have gotten, how smart they've become, and egads, how more talkative they are- lol! The ceremony itself was too cute- all these lil' girls dressed up in white dresses, most had veils, flowers, or tiaras on their head, and all the boys were decked out in lil' suits. I did have a moment during the ceremony where I looked at Sabrina and thought, wow, this kid is growing up. Made me feel old.

We had a lil' reception back at my sister's house with some family from both sides. Near the end of the night when it was just our side, everyone was hanging out in the sitting room and we decided to have a talent show. By my urging and chanting, we tried to get each person to do something for all- play the piano, sing, do pirouettes, do cartwheels and flips, do flips with a martial arts stance, do the worm, and breakdance. At one point, we even chanted Lolo's name, too! (note: my Lolo is 90 years old!) It turned out to the most hilarious part of the evening ever- my abs and cheeks were hurting from too much laughing!

On another day, Keyopes and the Weekender, along with their respective families and significant others, came by my sister's for dinner. It's always great to hang with the girls, although Mrs. Voodoo couldn't make due it due to a prior engagement. We had fun just catching up, watching the kids play, and munching on pizza and ice cream. I always go into reminiscing mode when I'm around them because in so many ways, I see them as the gals I went to college with, the gals I partied with, and so on. Now, Keyopes is happily married with two rugrats AND who just recently bought a house. The Weekender is a physical therapist aide and busily planning her upcoming wedding. Lastly, there's Mrs. Voodoo who just got married to her Mango last December. I'll forever see us hanging out at the PACE office, having coffee and talking smack, and just being together. Now that we're all in a different phase in our lives, it's just cool to see how far we've come. Damn, I feel old now!

On the day that we drove back from San Diego, we got to meet up with the Lapids. We haven't seen them in over a year, but just like great friendships, when we saw them, it was as if we just saw them the week before. There was just so much to talk about and catch up on. We had some L&L Hawaiian barbeque and though we were totally craving it, the mac salad didn't do it for me. We ended up going to Starbucks in Westlake afterwards and hung out and talked in the car until about midnight. Our time was too short with them, but still great nonetheless.

Although hubby did get a chance to meet up with Eastbay and Mister J, there were a lot of folks that we didn't get to see- Firemarshall J and Rho, the Hernandez fam, my Cornerstone peeps, lil' bro Phil, the newly married Gee's, Mrs. Voodoo, and so many more. Hopefully we'll be back in August...or maybe sooner for Aurora's graduation. All I gotta say is that the trip back home was one of the best. Lots of things got resolved, lots of things got squared away, and even though there's so much more, it was a great trip.

I miss the Bay already and can't wait to go back.

Birthday Shout-Out

Just wanted to send my Ate love on her birthday yesterday. She celebrated her 38th- egads! LoL! It was so great to be able to hang out with my sis- believe it or not, we practically call each other 3-4 times a week! That was actually normal for us when I was still living in the Bay anyways, but still. We did have our chance to have our sister-to-sister chats, but I think, just like everything else on the trip, it was cut too short. I would've loved to have spent more time just chillin'...in fact, I was hoping that we could've gone shopping for her birthday! Aiya! Next time, okay Ate? I hope that you had a great birthday- love and miss you!