crossrhodes

We were supposed to meet Don for dinner last night, but his evening got hectic and my cell phone suddenly crashed.  (I don’t know how people managed before the advent of wireless, but I was just not comfortable leaving home with the baby without a phone.)  Don is sort of away on a business trip.  He and his team are burning the midnight oil on a new government proposal.  Instead of commuting 3 hours a day round trip, coming home at midnight and leaving at the break of dawn everyday for the next 2 weeks, he towed the camper to a park near the office.  He’s not actually “camping” (or so he says *grin*); just using the bed and shower inside.  There’s no point of packing up Layla and I to join him since he’s in the office until the wee hours of the night anyway.  So, baby and mommy are flying solo for a while.

I’ve realized that I can totally do the single mom gig… if I did not have to work! LOL!  Of course, if I was a single mom, I wouldn’t be able to stay home with Layla.  So, even though we’re not spending more time with daddy than we’d like, I suppose it’s better for him to have more work than he can handle than to have no work at all.

Meanwhile, I was supposed to take out the trash and recycling which are usually Don’s chores.  But the recycling can had crickets and other unknown jumping critters all around and inside it.  Needless to say, the recycling can never made it to the curb.  I ran back inside the house as fast as I could! Sorry, honey, it just wasn’t meant to be… the bugs and me! =)

Now I know why all kids with long hair have bangs!  She learned to pull her ponytail off and her hair is always covering her face.  It gets in the way of food, sticks to her snot, etc.  She only gave my mom one chance to snip and then she wouldn’t sit still anymore, which is why the bangs are uneven =)  I’ll straighten it out one of these days while she’s asleep.

When Don came home from Chicago, we went pasyal (on an outing) to the Adventure Aquarium.  Layla loved it so we went ahead with the annual membership.  Good place to spend an afternoon.  I’ll have to ask when their off-peak hours are because today was packed with class trips and group events.  Kind of annoying when you’re pushing a stroller and they all park their little hinies in the middle of the halls.

Click on thumbnails to view the album.

Speaking of annoying, I commented out loud that I couldn’t get a good picture in the shark tunnel.  What I did not say out loud is that it was because the sharks won’t sit still and the tunnel was too dim for shutter priority.  But some lady replied, “I never get good pictures in here!”  Lady, that’s because you keep using the flash on your point and shoot camera against the reflective glass.  What did you expect?  Everyone with a point and shoot was flashing everywhere!  Finally, I told a young boy (maybe 12 or 13 y/o) that he’d get better pictures of the fish if he turned his flash off and kept his hands still.  He turned to me and snapped, “You can’t turn the flash off!  It’s a digital camera!”  As if I was so old, I’d have no idea how digital cameras work!  In my head (and only in my head), I stooped down to his level, grabbed his camera, pushed the flash button off, and said, “Told you so!” to his face!  Ugh!  I hate know-it-all brats!

Anyway, I got a few interesting pictures.  I found it so amusing that some of the fish seemed to be posing.  These two (above) literally stopped swimming, faced the lens, and held still for the shot.  The angel fish (left) looks like he was even waving hello!  Or maybe it’s the auto-focus lamp on my camera that mesmerized them.

On our way back to the car, we cooled off a bit at the water fountain and then headed to our favorite Jersey diner for an early dinner.  It was a fun afternoon!  Daddy should go away more often so we would have more reasons to go pasyal =)

• I took a sewing 101 class at Joann’s.  The machine they rented to me (for $1) was an $8,000 computerized embroidery machine.  I was so scared I was going to break a tiny but expensive piece of it.  Next time, I’m hauling my cheap Singer sewing machine from home.

• While I was sewing away, daddy and Layla hung out on the back porch.  The proof?  The mosquito bite smack in the middle of her forehead… and on her nose, left hand, right leg, and her neckline.  She’s sweet like her mommy… to insects, at least.
• And what a girly-girl she is!  Ever since I got my first pedicure of 2009 this weekend, she hasn’t stopped admiring mommy’s pink toes!  She watched the process with such intensity!  When the nail lady massaged my feet, Layla massaged her own feet.  And her mouth dropped when the polish first touched my toes.  She was so funny!
• Don studied all weekend for a program management certification.  He works. He studies.  Blah.

It’s official: We have more trailers than homes, cars, or kids!  Fortunately, our development has a community parking lot where no one really knows who owns what.  As of today, we have 2 camping trailers, 2 flat bed trailers, and 1 storage trailer in the lot.

Don scored a newer, bigger, nicer camping trailer (above) than the one we purchased only 2 years ago.  Therefore, that trailer is now for sale.  I’m afraid to get attached to the newer one in case husband is going to make a habit of buying new trailers every other year =)  I am loving the microwave!  I can smell the popcorn already!  The bathroom is also a nicer setup than the older one; more storage and the toilet is not in the way of the shower.  The couch is cool, too.  We don’t have to squeeze our big bellies around the table anymore to sit on the benches.  No bunkbeds like the older one (we’re too old and too young for bunkbeds now that James is on his own).  Instead, it has 2 full (or double?) beds, one on each side.  I wouldn’t mind sleeping on a bunkbed again if it were, say, on a cruise ship to the Mediterranean =)  Now THAT is something I can get attached to!

I’ll take and post my own pics when we’re done setting it up or when we’re already camping at the shore in a couple of weeks.  We’re still in the process of “moving” from one trailer to the other.  Yee-haw!

• Attended a very full Sunday Easter Service, the 5th and last service of the weekend, and even the balcony was packed.  I love what the speaker said during his welcome speech, “We’re here every weekend, too, not just on Easter.”  LOL!!!
• Even the nursery was full so Layla stayed with us.  No, we were not late for church.  We keep Layla in the service until the sermon, then daddy takes her to the nursery.
• She wouldn’t keep her hat on, unless she can see herself in the mirror.  Then it was stare and point at the pretty baby.
• I gave her a little mirror to play with and she just made out with herself.  LOL!!!  “Kiss the pretty baby!”

Layla’s 1st Easter
1. Top Left, 2. Bottom Left, 3. Top Right, 4. Bottom Right.

• We met Lolo & Lola (my parents) after the service for lunch at one of our favorite Jersey diners, Mastori’s.  The men had roasted leg of lamb and prime rib; mom and I had fish.
• Lola brought homemade lugaw (Filipino version of porridge or congee) for Layla.  Chicken and brown rice in a savory ginger broth… yum!  I’ve been picking on it myself.  Ssshhh… don’t tell Layla =)

First set of cards donated to Gilda’s Club Westchester.
1. dsc_9594, 2. dsc_9596, 3. dsc_9609, 4. dsc_9603.

• 5 Easter cards, 3 thank you cards, 1 birthday card, 20 invitations, 12 sympathy cards, 5 Easter treat bags, and 3 decorated gift bags later, I finally cleaned my scrap desk!  Aaahhh… so gratifying!
• Don worked on the cars all day Saturday, in the rain and after the rain.  I was majorly PMSing so he made sure he was busy outside until dark =)
• James called and I listened to him gab and gab for almost an hour.  I forgot how much James can talk!  Oh yeah, we’re driving down to see him at the end of this week.

We hope you all had a blessed Easter!  He Lives!