A Day in the life of........: 2007

Happy Birthday Dami! We are so amazed that youhave grown up so fast. We can't beleive that you are 5 years old!

We love you very much and the boys wanted to sing happy birthday to you the way you sing Happy Birthday to them.

We hope that you had a great day.

Love always, Tio Coco, Tia Jodie, Erico, Elkin y Esai

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

The Changes of Life......

It is amazing how from the moment we are conceived all of the incredible changes that we go through. Having three boys, I know that my life is going to be full of crazy and exciting changes.

Since Erico is the oldest of all the boys, he will get to experience many changes before his brothers. For example, in less than the nineteen days that we have had in the month of June, Erico has transformed. See pictures below.

This picture is from June 5, 2007 (bottom right tooth)

This picture is from June 14, 2007 (top front tooth)

And this last picture is from June 17, 2007 (Father's Day) (The other top front tooth)

I love seeing the changes that losing teeth has on a person's face. But if he looses anymore teeth by the end of the month (which he shouldn't), the "Tooth Fairy" will go broke!

I love you Erico and you are an amazing kid and an awesome son.....

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

My Husband.........

I just wanted to take a minute to say how much I appreciate my husband. Yes, it is true that sometimes he can REALLY drive me crazy as I know I do the same to him, but overall, he is such an AWESOME HUSBAND!

I can run through so many things that make him such an incredible man, husband and dad, but it might bore a few.

Gil, I love you very much and want to thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to us as your family and to our house! We have been through many hurdles over the past ten years and we might have stumbled over a few, but we keep getting up and pushing forward.

Our 7 year anniversary just past on June 6th, and even though we did not go out to do anything special. Just having another year with you is special enough to me.... We have love and that is enough to keep me wanting to stay together forever.

Love,

Jodie

Monday, June 04, 2007

Family Update..

Well, it has been about one month since I have last posted to my blog. A lot has happened since my last post. We are almost finished with our renovations, we only have a few things to complete and then I can say GOODBYE to the dust bunnies. One thing that I have never liked to do is dust and I think I have to clean dust off of everything at least twice a day.

Erico and Elkin had their last soccer game in May, Erico is out of school. He is on his way to the 2nd grade. I am now going to be working for my mom only from the house, unless I have to go into the office. I am so thankful that I can still work from home and bring in some money, and to be able to be home with the boys instead of them having to go to a daycare type place, because right now, it would be too much for our wallets.

As far as the house, we finished putting the rest of the chair rail and crown molding in the formal living and dining room, Roberto and one of his workers painted the two rooms while Gil and I were at our semi final soccer game, which went to penalty kicks and I missed my two shots on goal, so needless to say we did not advance to the finals, but we had a very good season overall. Muchisimas Gracias a Roberto por tu ayuda pintando los dos cuartos durante el partido y tambien muchas gracias a la Abuelita para cuidar a los ninos.

The laminate floors were installed on Wednesday and now we just have to finish the touch up painting and installing the rest of the doors, and then take a break to get ready for Erico's 7th birthday on the 20th of this month!

Also, I am trying to come up with some ideas for a business that I can run from home and I have had some good feed back from the few that I have told, and I will run it by a few more people to get some more ideas and to get some help to get the ball rolling on my ideas.

Here is a slide show of some of our events during this month. Hope you enjoy....

Love always, Jodie

Thursday, April 19, 2007

New Addition to the Barbosa crew

The other day Gil was working on his mom's new house that she bought a while ago, and he came across a dog that was lost. He kept it with him at the house all day and tried to find its owner. So we decided that if the owners could not be found, we would take the dog into our home.
The boys named her Marina and my brother-in-law "Rick" said the she is a Shelti.
Our dog Bianca loves playing with her and so do the boys. she is a very friendly and loving dog. She fits well into our family.

"Marina"

"M.J."

"Bianca"

"Scrappy"

Kitchen Renovation almost complete!

Well, well, well..... We are almost done with our kitchen renovations! We have painted, installed cabinets, had travertine floor installed, had granite counter tops installed. Now we just have to finish installing the bench seating in the kitchen against the window, put knobs on cabinets,. But I am able to cook and bake again!

We did most of the work ourselves, which we are very proud of. But for certain things like the travertine and granite, we had to hire a company!

A Special thank you for those that helped either with the electrical (Rick) or painting (Roberto)or just helping with the kids (Abuelita)!

Please enjoy the slide show below! (you can clik on the + sign to make the slide show go faster)

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Another baby tooth is gone!

Erico has had a loose tooth for at least 3 weeks or so, and we have tried to pull it, but he starts to cry and he complains that it hurts. So last night I finally sat down with him and flossed his teeth. Then I told him that I was going to wiggle the tooth around with the floss tied around it. So I put on a cartoon for him to watch and then I told him that he needed to pull on the floss while I went to put clothes in the dryer. Well, while I was gone, he pulled out his tooth!

He was so excited and he was jumping up and down! So we washed out his mouth a salt water rinse and then he remembered that "Grandma" (my mom) had told him to let her know as soon as his tooth came out. Right away he asked me if he could call her to tell her.

Then as he went to sleep he put his tooth in his Batman pillow my mom bought him a while back when he had another loose tooth, it has a little pocket in the front that can hold the tooth and that can be swapped out for a little surprise from the "Tooth Fairy".

Yes, he believes in the Tooth Fairy. I think that with the way our society is, kids need to hold onto traditions like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. He will eventually learn that all of these things are made up, but it is all worth it when I see the look on his face when he pulled out the surprise that the Tooth Fairy left him!

I will post a picture later........

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Sunday, April 01, 2007

April Fools!

Happy April Fools Day! I was able to pull off the first April Fools trick of the day and it is only 8:21 a.m.!

Gil had to go to Lowes this morning to buy some things so we can paint the ceiling, and other remodeling things. So when he was in the shower, I went with Esai and drove Gil's truck around the corner to the lake that we fish at. Erico and Elkin were my lookout at home.

Then about 40 minutes later, Gil goes outside to leave and he comes in and says in a shocked voice "Jodie, come outside, I have to show you something!" So I went outside and he says, "Jodie, some one took my truck." I opened the door to the house and told Erico and Elkin to come outside, and I told them that Dad thought someone took his truck, and they yelled "APRIL FOOLS!"

I was so glad that we pulled it off, now we have to come up with other things to do during the day!

Happy April Fools Day to everyone and keep an eye out for the tricks"

Kitchen renovation slide show!

Here are some pictures from the kitchen/family room renovations. In about 2 -3 days there should be some BIG changes. I will post more later.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

UPDATES.....

Well, I have about 5 minutes to post some updates on my blog..... so here goes nothin'....

Our kitchen/family room renovations are coming along pretty good. Our kitchen ceiling has been rewired and put back together. We have drilled a path into the floor from the wall to run electric and Internet to the island that will be installed within the next two weeks.

We have knocked down all of the popcorn from the ceiling and have put the crown molding up in the kitchen. (I say we, but I actually mean Gil. There is not much I can do in that area.)

This weekend we will have removed the remaining kitchen cabinets, stove, refrigerator and dishwasher out. and primer the walls, ceiling, install new cabinets and then on Tuesday the granite people will come in to make our template for the counter tops.

After Tuesday, Gil and I will start to install the travertine floor in the kitchen and paint the walls in the kitchen and family room and finish crown molding and chair-rail.

During all of this we start our new season of soccer April 3rd and the boys still have Tuesday and Wednesday practices and games on Fridays.

We are definitely stressed at times, but we know that we are blessed to be busy and to have a schedule full of things to do for our home, the kids and for each other.

I will post a slide show in the next day or so..... unitl then, take care!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Mission Complete!

Well I am proud to say that on Sunday I finished my apron! It was fairly easy, now I need to keep on practicing so I can make the curtains for Erico's room and for our master bedroom.

HAPPY SEWING!

Trip to the zoo

The kids and I went to the Brevard Zoo last Thursday with the Chason family. The Chason's have three kids. The oldest is named Charlie, he has played on Erico's soccer team since they were 4, and the other two are twins Patteson and Casey, which have played with Elkin since they were 3.

They are are very nice family and I was excited that Carolyn (mom Chason) had invited us to do something during Spring Break.

The zoo was great. They had all kinds of animals, and a train ride and a small petting area. The kids loved being there and especially hanging out with their friends. And just because Esai is the smallest, he had just as much fun chasing the kids and walking or I should say "running" around.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Work in Progress

I have been wanting to make an apron for a while, and Lore and I were going to try to get together, but it has been difficult to get the husbands to take care of the kids for us to have our "own" time because of the husband's schedules and our schedules. So, I have tried to start this project on my own.

I have come to the understanding that I do not like to follow such tedious instructions, especially when it does not seem to be so difficult. I think that for certain projects, the instructions seem to take longer. Of course I might get to some sewing projects that I will need to follow all of the instructions.

I enjoy sewing, but I don't enjoy the cutting of the pattern, then pinning the pattern to the fabric, then cutting the fabric, ironing the fabric, pinning the fabric to get ready to sew. Then once I feel like I have done about a million steps, I have to set up my sewing machine at the dining room table. Then I have to admit, so far, I have not followed the exact sewing instructions, because I think that I can figure it out once I start!

I have told Gil before that there is no way that I could be a surgeon, because once I have to spend so much time with something, I just get irritated, and want to stop or just "wing it".

This is my apron in progress. I know that I would have finished, but my thread kept getting caught under the foot thingy that is under the needle and I spent about 40 minutes on and off trying to fix the machine, so I stopped and starting cutting out little apron's for the Barbosa boys and the Sanchez kids to wear while they are either cooking or doing arts and crafts. It will be a little surprise for Dami and Mia. I am hoping to have them done over the weekend, time permitting.

Tackle It Tuesday!

Well, I am posting late, but I am glad that I am getting around to posting it today. Where I have the computer, printer, etc. at right now is not very convenient. There is not a lot of space and I get it clutter of papers from paying bills, printing study papers for the boys and filing taxes for my clients.... So needless to say, it has become a DISASTER AREA! So I cleaned it up. Take a look that the before and after pics. (And yes, there is no carpet, due to our ongoing renovations)

Before

After

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Wisdom teeth!

Now I have one question, why do we have wisdom teeth? Or at least why do they have to show up in your mouth at times, especially since we don't need them? The only thing that mine has done since Thanksgiving was bother me every once in a while. So needless to say, I wanted to wait until after the holidays to get it removed.

Yesterday (Friday) I went to the dentist's office to get the bottom right wisdom tooth pulled. Gil took the day off of work to watch the kids so I can relax. After the surgery, I slept from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. I really needed to rest, the past few night I have stayed up till 2 in the morning, either folding clothes or working on taxes.

Erico and Elkin both had soccer games last night, they both had great games. I was in a little bit of pain, but thanks to Motrin, it wasn't too bad.

I hope that everyone has a nice weekend!

Renovations update

Well, alot has happened since my last post after visiting my dad and step-mom. I painted the doors to the kids room so that Gil put them up. We continued to tear apart the kitchen, actually the ceiling of the kitchen, and we had the drain field to our septic system dug up and replaced so that meant we had to lay down a bunch of new sod. We had help from Mariela, Roberto, Todd and Claudia laying the sod and as a thank you, I made chicken and bought steamed crab legs for lunch! Any excuse to have a crab leg feast!!!

Our house has been so chaotic that I have not had much time to blog on my site,which is fine because I can get side tracked very easy and spend two hours online looking up recipes and craft ideas, and then things around the house don;t get done.

Anyway, I have posted a slide show of our renovations. Hope you enjoy!

Monday, February 26, 2007

Slideshow from Weekend with Abuelo and Nana

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of my dad :(, but please enjoy the slide show....

Weekend with Abuelo and Nana

Friday afternoon, I picked up Erico from school and the boys and I were off to Cape Coral to visit my dad and step-mom. I always try to make the trip every few months, so the kids get to spend time with their Abuelo and Nana.

We had such a fun time, on Saturday I got a great surprise and Diann took me to a belly dancing class (actually two classes in a row). It was alot of fun and a great workout. My dad stayed home with the three boys for almost 3 hours!

Then when we got hom the boys went for a dip in the COLD pool and then we relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, after breakfast and then my Dad and I played baseball with the kids, I was the pitcher and he was the catcher. Erico and Elkin started off missing almost every ball, then after a few minuted they were hitting the balls across the street!

Then Diann came outside and asked if we wanted to go to the park, so while we playing at the park we had a little picnic and the kids sat on the rocks watching the waves with Nana.

Monday, February 19, 2007

In a perfect world!

With kids around and with three growing boys, they are getting to an age where they can help around the house. They see how much I have to do everyday like getting all of there things ready for school, cooking food, putting dishes away and putting them to sleep.

So here is a little something I put together to show what they have learned....... Enjoy!

Remodeling/Demolition resumes!!!

Since the holidays are over and no major holidays are to come, we decided to resume our remodeling and demolition/construction to our house.

Thursday and Friday of this past week we had our roof re-done. We had architectural shingles put on, which are supposed to have a longer roof life.

Then we started to demolish my kitchen, this is going to be hard on me, because I had to box up almost all of my dishes and find space in my pantry for my everyday things like spices and what not, but for a new kitchen, I will make the sacrifice. At the same time we are remodeling the kitchen, we will remodeling the family room. So these projects are pretty complicated and will take a few months.

I will post some pictures during the progress.

Sewing project

Wednesday of last week, I decided to finally start on my sewing project which is a pillow/bed for Scrappy. I cut the pattern and fabric then pinned most of it late in the evening while everyone was asleep.

About a month ago our Scrappy, who will be 10 years old in July, started having seizures. We have had Scrappy since he was 9 weeks old and it saddens us to see that he is now an "old' dog. he has about about 5 seizures in the past month and the vets prescribed him some medication.

Friday evening I was waiting for Elkin to wake up from his late afternoon nap so the boys and I could go on our bowling date, and I decided to just finish my project.

Scrappy seems to love the bed and every once in a while Bianca will sneak and lay down on it, if he gets up. Hopefully, I will have time this week to buy a stronger fabric so I can start on Bianca's pillow/bed.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I want to wish all of my family and friends a Happy Valentine's Day and if you are reading this, then know that I love you and you are very special to me. I figured I would take advantage of this day to express that to each and everyone of my family and friends.

I have been a little under the weather the past few days, that's why I haven't posted anything in the last few days.

Love,
Jodie

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Getting weekly schedules organized!

This week I have concentrated on getting the Barbosa schedule organized. We have more things going on in our daily lives.

My daily things are taking Erico to school and picking him up, my daily household tasks like studying with the boys, reading a book with the boys, cook dinner, pick up house, give baths, play with boys, put boys to bed, spend time with Gil once kids are down and get ready for the next day.

I work Mon 9-2:30, Wed 9-1:30 and Fridays 9-2:30.

Tuesday's - Erico has soccer practice and Gil and I have our co-ed soccer game.

Wednesday's - Erico gets out of school at 1:55, Elkin has soccer practice from 5:00-5:30

Thursday's -Erico has soccer practice from 4:30 - 5:30.

Friday's are soon to become very hectic because I work from 9-2:30 and then starting in March, Erico and Elkin will both have soccer games either at 5:30, 6:00 or 6:30 depending on their schedules, and we are hoping that they will at least play at the same location instead of us having to split up between two different places. At least we have all weekend to study, read books and play. We will see.........

Gil is the coach for Erico and Elkin and thanks to a very good friend of the family, Chris Rivers, we have him as the assistant coach for both boys. Chris Rivers is 20 yrs old (I think). Gil used to be his assistant coach from the age of 10 - 18. So it is awesome that he has known all of the boys since they were in my belly, to now acting as their coach. He is a very AWESOME and responsible kid. He also plays with us on our co-ed team.

Saturday's - The whole family works on house things, like yard work, remodeling house, cleaning, playing, etc.

Sunday's Gil has his soccer game with his over 30 men's division and he is going to play at least 5 games for another premier team, and then I will try to squeeze in practice with the girls from our co-ed team in the afternoon, prepare weekly menu, buy groceries, and get ready for another fun-filled week!

And on top of all that, Tax season is here, so I have started to file taxes for most of my existing clients and now I have some new clients.

I have my personal planner that I update every evening and during the day with new tasks and now I am working on putting a family calendar together of all of our soccer practices, games times and our demolition/remodeling of the house.

At times I want to pull my hair out, but I couldn't ask for anything better. I am just very grateful that I have my days filled with things to do for myself and my family instead of being alone and with no plans.

I guess that is what is going to make me stay feeling young and during times feeling very old. I welcome all the challenges that come my way and I know that I can figure out how to keep everything running as smooth as possible.

Keep me in your thoughts and send good "VIBES" my way.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

NORTH CAROLINA TRIP

We went to North Carolina on our winter family vacation that we have not been able to do in 3 years. We left on Tuesday night about 11:40 p.m., right after our soccer game, which we won 4 to 1! We drove about 4 hours while the kids were sleeping and then checked into a hotel in Savannah Georgia. The hotel was very clean and cozy, we played with the boys for about 30 minutes (at 4:30 a.m.)and then it was lights out for all. Right as Gil and I were falling into that great sleep, Esai, who sleeping in our bed, threw up all over!

Gil ended up sleeping on the bed with no sheets and wrapped up like a hot dog in the comforter and I was in the other bed with all three boys.

We left the hotel Wednesday morning and had breakfast and were on the road by 10:00 am. The ride to N.C. was pretty smooth considering that we had all three boys locked in their chairs for another 6 hours.

When we arrived at Sugar Mountain, N.C., their was snow all over the ground. Our cabin was amazing, the view was overlooking the bottom of the slope where people practice and take skiing lessons. That evening Gil went snowboarding and the boys and I played in the snow in front of the cabin.

Thursday morning when we hit the slopes with the boys it was snowing pretty heavy. We had Erico and Elkin take private skiing lessons first, Esai went to the daycare to stay out of the falling snow, and while the kids were practicing, Gil and I went skiing/snowboarding together! It was awesome! Then we took Erico and Elkin up the slopes the ski. they did very good for as young as they are and being their first time. In the evening we all went tubing, including Esai!

Needless to say, we all had an amazing time while we were there.

Friday morning we checked out and headed for Florida. But on our way home we stopped at the Mystery Hill House. You can stand at a 45 degree angle in a room and watch a ball and water flow up a hill.

Then we stopped by to visit Lisa and family, Gil's cousin. They bought lunch for us and the kids played and had a great time. After that we stopped at a fireworks superstore and bought some REAL fireworks, not like the ones you get in Florida.

We made it home at around 11:50 p.m. or so and put the kids in bed brought some things inside and set off one firework, then off to dreamland we went...

Please look at the slide show below. I will be posting some video clips soon.

North Carolina Trip Slideshow

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Tackle It Tuesday!

Today was a very good day! After we dropped off Erico at school we went to the library to drop off our books and then we went to a dollar store that was HUGE, so I bought some new teaching/learning supplies. Sometimes when the kids see new books, they get excited to work in them.

About 12:00 we finally got home and I knew that I had to do some organizing, so I decided to make it a Tackle It Tuesday. I worked in the kitchen. I know it might not make too much sense because we will be tearing out the cabinets and gutting the kitchen in a few weeks, but I figure why keep procrastinating and just get it organized until we start the remodeling.