A Saturday at the Swap Meet

Today we wanted to give mommy a break and let her catch up on work. So I decided to take the little ones to the local swap meet in Sante Fe Springs. Parking can be a problem if you don’t get there early enough. We were lucky enough to get a parking spot near the entrance. Once we got in the entrance, the smell of churros and bacon wrapped hotdogs was in the air. We decided to check out a t-shirt vendor in the front and Duke saw a t-shirt he liked. The shirt had a diamond and said “Cali” on it. I thought it looked pretty cool, so we bought it and he threw it on. We kept it moving and looked around. You wouldn’t believe all the stuff this swap meet carries. They got everything!  Clothes, underwear, music, dvds, house decor, tools, pets, etc. You name it.  Most likely they have it.  Haha. I  was looking for a little Metallica shirt for Omar, but had no luck finding his size. They had some cool ones for toddlers 2T and up though. Duke was whining that he was hungry and hot. So we went to the middle of the swap meet where they have a food court and a shaded area with a live band playing. I was getting Duke some fries, and the security guard was laughing because Omar was dancing to the music. I got myself a beer and then we sat down and watched the band playing. They were called “Strange Days”. They were covering songs by The Doors and they were pretty good!  Omar was jamming out and kept bouncing himself. He loves rock 'n' roll music. Duke and I kept laughing, because he got so into it.  Once we finished up, Duke wanted to go ride the train in the lil amusement area. After that, we walked around some more.  I didn’t realize how long we were there until we saw a lot of vendors packing up and closing. We called it a day, picked up a pizza for dinner, and headed home. It was a fun Saturday with my babies.

-Chris


Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet
13963 Alondra Blvd.‎
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670

My 7 Year Old Googles Me

Duke gets online on his iPod.

He used to only watch toy reviews and music videos on YouTube.  And then he was playing Draw Something with me, his dad and auntie.  He would take pictures and make videos.  He learned to email me from his dad's account.  All so innocent...

...and then he started opening Instagram and trying to find out if I was his Elf on the Shelf!  So nosy!  At first I thought it was funny and cute until he started calling me out on my pictures!

Duke: Mom, You are the Elf!
Me: No, I'm not
Duke: How do you have that picture when I woke up before you?  
Me: I just do
Duke: Yeah cause you took it after you pretended to be the Elf!
Me: Duke I am not the Elf!
Duke: (laughs) Yeah right Mom!

My future detective, I swear!  And then I found out he googled me!  Okay not me but my blog!  I asked him why he googled my blog and he said he wanted to read it.  SO FUNNY!    

I don't have anything to hide... do you?

Duke Was 6.

I don't write letters to my children, I tell them exactly how I feel.  I want them to remember the moments and not through a letter.  I often wonder if I found letters from my parents how it would make me feel.  I do take pictures of them.  So many that they tell me to stop sometimes but I don't!

Duke is smart, funny and patient.
He is a great son, brother and friend.
He loves dancing and making silly songs.
He has a huge, strong personality.
He loves life.

I know Duke's Birthday is tomorrow but I'm in denial that he's turning 7.

He played his little heart out today and got chocolate wasted.

And tomorrow he wants chicken katsu.

(I planned a surprise trip to San Diego and SeaWorld for his birthday but we ended up telling him about it and he was very clear that he didn't want to go which surprised us because he loves staying in hotels and San Diego.  We were a little disappointed but it is his birthday and we taught him to express his feelings to us so we cancelled.  Proud of him!)

I love you so very much Duke!  Happy Birthday my love!

He's always up for funny pictures!

We went to the LA Auto Show and he loved seeing the KIA Soul hamsters!

We did Elf on the Shelf for the first time this Christmas.  He thought our elf, "Snowflake" was me.

We were out thrifting and we found these Buzz and Woody in 2 diff. areas.  Duke was so sad that Ryan Ethan didn't keep his Toy Story buddies.  Duke insists that he's taking Buzz and Woody with him to college.

My Future As A Mommy Rapper...

My husband and I are silly and random.  So when he tells me to bust out a rap, I don't question him - I do it.  Turns out he was recording me with Auto Rap app and this is my song, My Boys Shirts.  Its kinda catchy and makes us all laugh.  I think I sound a little like Kreayshawn.

More proof, I am that Mom!  This app is fun for the whole family!


This post is so not sponsored.

You Are Not Snooki.

Duke: Mom someone is knocking
( I answer the door, it's a box of wine that I have to blog about )
Duke: What is that?
Me: Wine
Duke: What, are you an alcoholic?
Me: What, why?
Duke: When people drink, they turn PSYCHO
Duke: Mom, you have to return it
Me: I have to blog about it
Duke: No. Return it. Daddy is not Pauly D and you are not Snooki
Me: (LAUGHING)
Duke: Serious. If you don't, you will have to leave our home and I'll watch Omie.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'm dying over here.

The funny thing is Chris & I rarely drink.  We babysit drinks. 

We have teenagers and Duke catches on so before you judge us remember how much you knew when you were a kid that you didn't find out from your parents.

Photo: Snooki image found on Tumblr.  ©MTV 

Big Surprise The Day After Election 2012 #NaBloPoMo

Yep, I was bonafide worried that Obama would lose... possibly the cause of my anxiety for the past few months.  But after the networks projected Obama as the winner and Romney finally conceded, I slept so well last night.  And I honestly had no intentions of writing about the election on my blog.  I shared my thoughts on Twitter and my personal Facebook and was going to leave it at that.

And then I found Duke texting Hubby this:  Hi daddy it was awesome last night

Imagine that.  Our 6 year old actually enjoyed the night we had.  It consisted of waiting for Daddy to get home from work at 4:30pm, rush over to our local polling place, head back home to watch the election returns and coverage, wait for Romney's concession speech and finally hear our 44nd President of the United States Barack Obama's victory speech.

Don't underestimate your children.  They have a voice.  Take the time to listen to them.

Hubby and I high-fived.  I got teary eyed.  All parties aside (even though my family is born and bred Democrats to the core.)
I voted for women's rights, healthcare and equality.  

I can not describe how my mom is always worried about her health insurance since she was diagnosed with cancer in 2010.  She stresses so much about not having coverage if she ever decides to transfer jobs or move back to California because of her "pre-existing condition".  Under Obamacare, she is covered NO MATTER WHAT.  I am relieved that this is an option for her now.  

Whoever you voted for and whatever you believe in - let the man do his job these next four years.  

Daddy Weekend

Hey Everybody, This is Xenia's Hubby, Chris.  About a month ago, she came to me with the biggest grin.  So I was like, "What's up babe?"  She told me that she had this big opportunity to go to a conference called Niche Mommy and was chosen to be a brand ambassador for Huggies.  I was happy for her because she seemed so excited to go.  The thing was the conference was going to be in New Orleans which meant she would be away from our six year old and four month old sons for a couple days.  Most often parents would jump at the thought of going on a vacation without their children but I can honestly say my wife & I are not those kind of parents.  We love doing stuff with our kids so I knew it was going to be hard for her to accept the fact she would have to be away from her babies for a couple of days.  So I assured her that the kids would be fine.  I told her that I would take some days off from work to watch them myself and she was much more relieved.  There are times when I tease her about her blogging but it makes me happy knowing that she is doing what she loves to do.

The time she was away in New Orleans, I really enjoyed the time I spent alone with my boys.  We watched movies together, played Legos with Duke, laid around with Omar reading him books, being silly and making him laugh.  We even went on a lunch date at Duke's favorite Japanese restaurant, Niko Niko.  It was kind of weird without Mommy being home and we were all missing her.  Duke would get so excited when she would call on Facetime.  The day she came home, Omar smiled so big, it was great.

It was fun having all that Daddy time with my boys but we were happy having Mommy come back home.

Blogging is a Family Affair

Now that I got to share Hubby's recipe, I have high hopes he'll want to guest blog here.  I'm not asking him to commit to blogging once a week... I'll be happy if he does one post each season!

I used to tweet and update my Facebook status with "Things Duke Says" and even started a tumblr for Duke but that didn't work out.  Now with the help of Chris, we started a blog for our 6 year old called - Days With Duke!  He's excited about it and is asking me to take photos for him!  Most of his posts are about his toys.  He's got a great imagination and we're so proud of him.  Comment, share his posts, show your kids!        

Young Love.

Two of my sons are girl crazy.

The 15 year old has a tall order for his age.


And the 6 year old needs more hands.

Kids' Book Exchange

I'm good friends with one of the Moms at Duke's school and she sent me a letter in March about participating in a Kids' Book Exchange.  I was all for it because my Husband and I are advocates for print.  We've been slowly stockpiling books to save for our future grandchildren.  Not that we're ready for grandchildren yet, just saying!

Duke loves books too and can't stop collecting 'em!  We started taking him to Barnes & Noble when he was a toddler and would read to him in the Children's section.  We've also made it a habit to take him to the local library where we let him choose 10 books to borrow, it's a great lesson in responsibility.  I think my Husband & I enjoy this outing maybe more than he does.  We've been lucky to find great books while out thrifting too.  We need to keep brick & mortar bookstores alive and not let print die!

The book exchange is kinda chain letter-ish and I was skeptical but gave it a go.  You print the letter 12 times - 6 of those letters you fill out and send it with 6 blank letters, you then take those sets and mail 'em to 6 of your friends.  You buy 1 book and send it to the first person on the original letter and then you wait for your 6 books to come in.  Duke received 2 books for only sending 1 out, not bad for being a skeptic, eh?!  Even though we didn't get six books, we're happy we participated.  And it was fun getting mail!  

Some tips:

• Make sure the friends and family you choose to send letters to are the type to participate!  No one likes a flake!
• Ask around on your social networks if you don't know 6 people to do this with you!
• Don't have time but still want to participate? Buy on Amazon!  
• On a budget but still want to participate? Buy from a thrift store or send one of your childrens' gently used books! ( Reuse!)  

I typed up the Kids' Book Exchange letter and you can find it here.  Or you can check out a different letter at Swenson Style.  Enjoy!    

Duke on Omar.

I started to write a post on Omar and our 6 year old Duke saw it, started to read it and this is what he typed:

HE'S SO SWEET.

He's so cute.

He's so beautiful.

I love Omar.

New Generations of Life & The Internet.

I've been on the Internet since 1996. It's amazing that I remember the exact year. I feel super old when I say it but super proud. Card-carrying member of the Internet since 1996. I used to pay for the Internet by the hour. On dial-up slows, not speeds. My sons will never know how slow the Internet was. They'll never know Geocities pages and life before Google and YouTube. We used to have to sit at a desk to use the Internet (or a Computer) and now they can go online anywhere and sometimes, for free.

If you live in the dark ages and think that meeting people on the Internet in 2012 is weird, imagine meeting people back in the 90s. My inner nerd is going to show but I don't care... We used to have crews, cliques, whatever you want to call them and we'd meet up to party, have dinner, catch the newest episode of The Sopranos. It was awesome.

One of the longest Internet friendships I've had is with Noel. We figure we've known each other for about 13 years. He went from growing up in NY to living in LA, meeting his future wife and moving back to NY - got married and had kids. He has a huge circle of family and friends and I've added friends, got to experience NY, expanded my knowledge of photography and music all because of him. He's one of the good dudes and his wife Ana is just as awesome. It's no wonder they have 2 amazing kids.

Ana & Noel were in town last week and we finally got to meet their sons Gabo & Natho. Duke and Gabo warmed up to eachother and were so sad when we had to say bye. When Ana brought up that they could Skype or Facetime eachother, I couldn't help but think, "Damn this is technology, our kids are lucky." We'll be lucky if they remain friends like us. We can hope.

The Internet has evolved, thus is life. Guaranteed for a good time.

The Secret Package.

After a few weeks of unsuccessful attempts at finding our 6 year old Duke a pen pal because he wants mail, we decided to make him a package filled with lots of love and care. This took a lot of thinking on our part... mainly, what types of things would be fun, thoughtful and special to him. This package isn't only because he wants mail but because he's at 190 sight words when he only needed to learn 25 to pass Kindergarten! He's already at 1st Grade level! We are so proud!

We came up with this list:

• Coins from Mexico & The Philippines - He's been learning about coins & Presidents at school and has one of each coin from the US and a couple from Japan. Since he is part Mexican and Filipino, we knew that these coins would be special and important for him to have.
• Postcard from Hawaii - He's a huge Toy Story fan. He has been on a kick where he's always asking to visit Hawaii and finally saw Toy Story Hawaiian Vacation. We're thinking of getting the postcard and having Daddy sign it as Woody & Buzz.
• Chicago Bulls buttons - He loves the Bulls and this would look so cute on one of his hoodies.
• Plastic Ladybug - He came home from school with a plastic frog that he named Mr. Toy Frog and insists that the frog needs a girlfriend.
• Statue of Liberty Lego Minifig - Another subject that has come up in school and he loves Lego.
• Four Leaf Clover - He's been trying to look for one in our yard but no success!
• A book by his favorite Authors: David Shannon or Jonathan London

We started looking for these items on eBay and etsy but some were so pricey that I decided to enlist some friends on Facebook to help. We also found some other random, fun items while out shopping: Ring Pops and Revell Jet Glider. It's taking time to put together, it's not like we can just walk into Walmart and that's it.

The only "Toy Kit" that was similar to what we're trying to make was found on etsy for $15 by ArtyDidact. I think it's super cute but not personal enough for our son.
P.S. Do not Google: Toy Kit

Have you seen any cute "Toy Kits" out there?

Would you make one for your child(ren)?

Ballin' on a Budget.

My husband Chris and I are bargain hunters. Most of the kids clothes were bought on sale, thrifted or found gently used on eBay. We splurge on the good stuff too, don't get me wrong.

A couple weeks ago I got a good look at Duke's Vans that we bought at the beginning of the school year and noticed they were so beat up. We asked him if he wanted a new pair of Vans but of course, he wanted a pair of Jordans just like his Daddy. Chris was all for it but I wondered if he would really allow our 6 year old to go to school in a pair of $65 sneakers. It was also in the back of my head that these Jordans were $65! It was hard to swallow but Duke deserved 'em and the Vans had put in a lot of work during the past 5 months.

Here are some of our tips for ballin' on a budget:

• Shop eBay or Amazon - most items have FREE Shipping and NO Tax. This is our go-to places when shopping for items we can't find in our area or for items that are hard to find.
• Check out your local Thrift Stores once or twice a week! Good thrift stores replenish their stock daily and most people believe in recycling, reusing and repurposing so there are some amazing things to be found!
• Discount Department Stores like Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Ross are great for finding brands names at up to 50% off!

What Duke wore:

Hoodie is Paul Frank - $3.95 at a local thrift store.

Chicago Bulls t-shirt is Old Navy - $3.50 on eBay.

Jeans are Levi's - $12.99 new at Marshalls.

Sneakers are Jordan 3 Retro (Black Cement) - $65 new on eBay. (We went to a local sneaker shop and these were priced at $69 before tax. $65 with free shipping and no tax was a steal!)

There is no reason for your kids to look crappy and for you to break the bank! Hope these tips bring out the smart shopper in you!

The Strangers in Our Lives.

On days Chris has work, I take Duke to school on the city bus. There's a school bus available in our area but we tried that in the 2nd week of school and Duke didn't like it. Duke's school is a little over a mile from our home but being pregnant, there's no way I could make this trip 4x in one day - especially on days that I work too.

As strange as it sounds, I enjoy our little trek. We wake up at 6:15am, get ready and have breakfast before we head out at 7am. Our bus arrives anytime between 7:11am-7:15am. During our wait, we laugh about stuff, snuggle with eachother and Duke yells for no reason. We share the bus stop with a sweet, old lady we call, "Our Old Lady Friend". She only speaks Spanish and makes a cute attempt to play with Duke... he plays shy but lately she'll stick her hand out and he'll shake it. It's a step!

"Bus Driver #1" is our regular morning bus driver, I don't know his name but he's nice. At the first stop, a lady gets off in the back and he leaves the front door open till she walks by and they tell eachother, "Have a good day!". The other morning, he pulled over about 2 blocks before we get off because one of his regulars was running late. Also on our bus is "Man with 3 Kids". We usually just nod at eachother but last week, he started a conversation with me. It was his daughter's 10th Birthday and we talked about our kids. "The Crossing Guard" is another character in our little journey to school, Duke feels comfortable with her and makes sure to tell her, "Good Morning" and "Thank You".

Because we take the bus and have a short walk, we usually arrive at school at 7:24am, I text Chris and let him know "Weez here" and wait near the Kindergarten classrooms till 7:30am when the kids are moved from the wall to the playground. Duke is always impatient and can't wait for his friends to show up. From 7:30-7:45am, the kids play till the bell rings and I just observe the action. Around 7:50am, when all the kids are safely in their classrooms, I head back to the bus stop and this is where I come across more strangers in my life. If I'm lucky, I run into "The Blind Man" who I help cross the street. He usually has to cross another street to catch his bus but "The Crossing Guard" helps him. While I'm waiting the 20 minutes or so to catch my bus I see all kinds of people including, "The Guy on his way to work on his bike", "The Asian kid with a football" and "The 12 year old who's always late". I waste my time on Twitter and "Bus Driver #2" usually pulls up right on time. Inside are "The 2 guys on the way to work" who are always deep in serious conversation with "Bus Driver #2". The other day "Bus Driver #2" asked "The 2 guys on the way to work" what happened to "The Indian Couple" - I actually wondered the same thing, it has been a few weeks since we last saw them.

Good days are when I see our local homeless, John & Rudy. We know their names because we put together care packages over the Holidays and gave it to them. John used to push around 2 Shopping Carts but has upgraded to 4, most mornings he's standing in front of a little plaza. Rudy pushes a stroller with his stuff in it and he's always near the gas station.

I get home around 8:24am and text Chris that I'm home. I work on things at home, take a nap and head out again at 1pm. The buses usually run late so I end up waiting longer than I have to. Some days "The Girl with the Marriott Uniform" is at the bus stop and her hair smells good but it's so strong. She always asks me for change. "My favorite Bus Driver" which is #3 is always so happy. I really enjoy the ride with her and I almost missed my stop once. I'm usually 30 minutes early so I sit under a tree in the park next to Duke's school. The Preschoolers are always in the playground. They are so funny to watch. Duke gets out anywhere from 2:05-2:10pm and we almost always have to race to catch the 2:14pm bus. "Bus Driver #4" doesn't say much and looks mean but everytime we exit the bus, Duke yells to her, "THANK YOU" and she laughs and says, "YOU'RE WELCOME".

At the end of the day, I enjoy spending quality time with Duke on our little expedition from crossing paths with the same faces going to different places. I know this is a good learning experience for Duke to see how people interact, it helps enhance his social skills (manners, patience) and shows him a piece of our little World. The only way you experience life is being around life.

Stuff we've seen on the walk home:

Soda bottle stuffed in a bush. Duke asked me why people leave trash everywhere and I told him because people are foul and don't care!

Abandoned fish tank. In the morning, both fish were dead. In the afternoon, the orange fish was alive!

Stuff I've seen while waiting for Duke:

Tree in the park turning colors, can't wait for the pink blossoms!

Shadows that look like a character

Duke's First Day of Kindergarten

*moved from my old blog*

duke is wearing a paul frank hoodie ($12.99 from tj maxx), lego batman t-shirt ($7 from walmart), H & M denim shorts ($9.99 from H&M) & vans ($23.99 from WSS) - the only thing new are his vans.

that's our boy!  this day was harder for C & i than it was for him.  i'm proud of us though, we didn't cry when he waved bye to us.  in fact, it's like he didn't even want us there - i took out my camera to take pictures of him while waiting with his classmates and he gave me a look and kept waving me off.  it was funny. duke was in a private preschool 2 whole days a week for a year so he is somewhat used to school life.  he's a really picky eater so we packed him a lunch but when we picked him up he told us he ate the cafeteria lunch of nachos, a banana and milk - he was so proud and so were we!!!  this is a huge step! we had a set of rules & reminders that we kept going over with him:

• don't say "crap"
• listen to your teacher
• make sure you eat at lunch because there's no snack time like in preschool
• if you take off your hoodie, put it in your backpack
• don't forget your lunch bag - put it in your backpack
• talk to your classmates, don't do all the talking yourself
• listen to your teacher!

it is going to take some getting used to for all of us.  from what he told us, he likes his teacher and he had a good day... & so did we, C & i had a nice lunch out together.  enjoy parenting & teach your kids to enjoy their little lives! r

disclosure: duke's back to school outfit was purchased entirely with our own money.