Halloween 2011

Today is a) the last day of the month, so that means that it is also b) Halloween.  But more importantly, Laura is tWeNtY-oNe today!!  I wrote her a birthday letter earlier today...remember? (:
Well, those of you that read this blog (thank you) know that Laura's birthday also marks the final event in our family's very eventful Octobers.  So eventful, in fact, we have renamed the month.  It's officially called Broketober in our household (: 

A recap of our "normal" Octobers:
Oct. 1: The hubs' and my anniversary;
Oct. 2: Ivan's birthday
Oct. 27: Marko's birthday
Oct. 31: Laura's birthday AND Halloween.  This, of course, means I have to make the kids' costumes....Yeah.  I'm one of THOSE moms (:

I haven't written of the fact that we just moved.  We did.  (And that will certainly have a post soon.)  And let me tell you what a HUGE job that was.  Wow.
And since our life is crazy, (Have I told you how it was very easy to come up with the blog name?).... not only did we move, but.....Can you guess which month we chose to move??  Can you?
Yep....Of course, only we would choose to uproot our family In OCTOBER!  That's Life Silva style...I'm tellin' ya! 

Well, this year's October was somewhat easier, as in less sTrEsSfUlL.  And that would be because now that Marko and Tita are both in middle school, this is the first year in many, many years that I didn't have 2 Halloween parties to buy or bake for and attend and make costumes for(!)  I remember spending the first half of the school party in one classroom with about 40 sugar-induced kids (!) (I'm counting the classroom + smaller siblings of said classroom!) and then immediately going down the hall to my other child's classroom party for the second half and do it all over again.  I used to leave so frazzled.  I wonder why....
(With the kids growing up, can I admit that I actually miss those days?? ) (sigh..)

As I mentioned above, today is Laura's birthday...as in, she's all grown up now.  But that's not all:
I was excited that the hubs was getting out of work early today so he could join the kids and I in trick-or-treating.  But sadly, Marko and Tita are also growing up.  Marko refused to wear a costume this year and we gave him permission to go with a couple friends here:

Yep, a corn maze.  I just talked to him on the phone and he said he had a BLAST!

Tita also was not home tonight.  She left right after school with her BFF Claire to trick-or-treat.

 So that left us old people at home with John Wayne, aka Peditos:


It makes me sad that Marko decided that since he's 13 now, he was not going to wear a costume.  Since I make the kids their costumes each year, it means a lot to me.  These are just a few of the costumes I've made the kids:
(There are more, but after the month we've had, I'm just too tired to search my computer for them.)

Tita as Dorothy (3rd grade):
 Marko as Indiana Jones (4th grade):
 Tita as Cleopatra (5th grade):
Tita as the flapper girl from the 20s (this year):
I love making their costumes.  I'm cheap when it comes to spending on stuff like costumes, so I never spend more than $10 on fabric or some cheap accessory.  I'm too cheap to even spend on the pattern, so these were made completely pattern-free. (:  And the kids always love the results.

 I remember some years back, it was the day before Halloween and Marko had just turned 4.  He was sitting in his car seat in the backseat.  He was telling someone I was giving a ride to how excited he was to go trick-or-treating the next day.  She asked him what his costume was-- and he told her she had to guess.  He told her he would give her one clue: the first letter of what his costume was, but she had to figure it out.  So the guessing game began and it went something like this:

Marko: "My costume starts with a B."
Woman: "Are you going to be Batman?
Marko: "No." (and he giggles so sweetly..)

Woman: "Are you going to be a Bronco football player?"
Marko: "No." (more giggles.)

Woman: "Are you going to be a Bumblebee?"
Marko: "No."  (He couldn't contain his laughter by now.)

Woman: "Are you going to be a Buffalo?"
Marko: "No." (giggle some more.)

Woman: "I give up, Marko!...I can't figure it out!  I've guessed all the B words I can think of!"
Marko: "Ok, ok.....I'll tell you now.....
I'm going to be a BAMPIRE!" (vampire!)

I laughed so hard!!  That was the cutest thing in the whole world!  I love my boy (:

So there you have my recap of our whirlwind of a month.  Whew...it's enough to make your head spin, right?!

Guess what??!! I just realized that when I wake up tomorrow morning, it'll be NOVEMBER!!!! That means the hubs and I can take a breather before we do it all again for Christmas! (:

So, are you cheap like me and do you make your costumes?  If so, what costumes did you make?  Oh, and do you have an absolutely crazy month like we do? Or is that just life, Silva style?

Happy Halloween!!
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Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday Deeear Lauraaaa..

Disclaimer:  I need it known that I am NOT some craZy lady that sits at her computer every day writing birthday letters!! HA!
(:

October 31, 2011

Dear Laura,

Today is a HUGE day for you!  Yes, it is your birthday, but not just any ‘ol birthday…it is your 21st
Yesterday was your final day as a teenager.  And you made me realize last night that now with this birthday, your driver’s license will forever be horizontal and not the minor version where it's vertical!
That is c-r-a-z-y to me!
 It boggles my mind to think of you as a 21-year-old.  I’m sorry, but I remember clearly when I met you and you looked like this:

 And I will probably always see you as a little girl, rather than a grown woman.  Whoa...that is weird writing woman while writing about you.  You were supposed to stay little! 

Let’s take a little trip down memory lane, shall we ?
 
You are such an awesome sister..







 
Sorry about letting everyone on the world-wide web know that yes, at one time, you actually asked for a Britney Spears CD for Christmas....and I have proof! HA!

 
Love this pic!


And this one..

 
This one too!



I have had the privilege of watching you become a mama..

 
And a great one, at that!



Ok, you may have noticed that these pics are in no particular order...


I want to wish you a very, very happy birthday.  May God bless you today and always...
I am very proud of you.  I need you to know that and also that you are an awesome daughter, step-daughter, friend, sister and mommy and I really can’t think of anyone else so deserving of a great day today.
Love ya!
XOxxOOooX

Oh, and As you know, you are now able to do lots of things if you so choose
….and I trust you will make your decisions wisely. (:
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Snowstorm 2011

Remember the snow storm we were blasted with on Wednesday?  Our city was dumped with thirteen inches of snow!!  Yeah.  It was bad.  Schools everywhere in the area were cancelled (well, THAT part wasn't bad :), but half of the city was without power for quite a long time.  My mom's house being one of them, so she and my brother spend the night here at our house. 

Everywhere in the city there were massive trees split in half with the weight of the wet snow and unfortunately, some of those humongous branches fell onto houses and cars (!)  The trees that didn't split down the middle were literally draped over fences and left hanging on for dear life. (see the photos below).   Had the fence not been there to support the trees, they would have been laying on the ground!  It was a mess.


But at Casa Silva, Gabriella and Peditos braved the bitter cold to go outside to play...  I KNOW!
Here's Tita starting her masterpiece:
What masterpiece you ask?  Well...
13" of snow + one feisty 11-year-old with tons of energy = a SNOWMAN! (:
 She had lots of fun and I may or may not have helped her lift the huge snowballs..

 Love that girl!



 Peditos had CLUMPS of snow stuck to his legs, but he would not go inside!!  Are you kidding?  He was having too much fun in the snow too.


Peditos had a nice warm bath after coming indoors and Tita snuggled under a blanket to watch a movie.
Thank you Mother Nature! (:
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A birthday letter to my handsome son, Marko (:

October 27, 2011


Dear Marko,


Today is such a wonderful day for many reasons.  For example, today marks the most beautiful and meaningful day of my entire life.  That's right!  Thirteen years ago, after such an incredibly hard, difficult labor--so hard, in fact, that you and I almost didn't make it -- Your dad and I finally welcomed you into this world at 10:55 a.m.
My labor was so hard on you and I because you got stuck in the birth canal for hours, and you were born completely black because you didn't have any oxygen.  I almost lost you.  But God is so good.  The doctors performed an emergency C-section and were able to free you and get you out.  Your being stuck caused you to be born with an epic cone-head.  Like massive.  In my eyes, you were the most beautiful baby in the whole world.  They immediately wisked away because of all of the problems you had being born, but before they took you, the nurse brought you to me so I could introduce myself to you, kiss you and tell you I loved you so very much.  I think you already knew, because I told you "I Love You" every single day of my pregnancy.  I loved you from the second I knew you existed! 

Within a few hours of your birth, your color returned to normal and your head shrunk to a normal size as well.  You were brought to my room and I never let you go back to the nursery.  You were my baby and you belonged with me.  It was hard moving around with just having the C-section done, but having you near me made me forget the pain.  I didn't get much sleep at the hospital because the only thing I wanted to do was stare at you, take your pictures and love on you.  I just couldn't get enough of you  (:








Of course, every "first" baby memory is with you.  The first time I felt you hiccup, or the time I felt your foot when you stretched real hard while in my womb.  The firt time I breastfed, the first time I bathed a newborn, the first time I loved another human being more than my life, the first time I cheered on with all of my heart when you learned to roll-over, crawl and finally walk.  The first time anyone called me mama.  The first time I dropped you off at pre-school. And I cried all the way home.  My first plumpkin plie blizzard was with you too (:

You were such a good baby and everyone loved you so much!
 I was pregnant with Tita soon after (!), and you were an awesome little brother to Ivan, Laura & Lynette, and a great big brother to Tita.
















Here we are 13 years later and I really can't believe it.  The time really has flown by.  You have grown into such a fine young man and your talent blows me away.

My birthday wishes for you today are that you are always immensly happy, healthy and successful--in whatever you decide to become.  I also wish that you never forget the morals I have taught you.  To always work very hard, say please and thank-you and to always respect yourself first, and to always respect your elders and women.  Always.
My wish is also that you fiercely follow your dreams.  And to dream BIG.
One more wish--that you stay a kid as long as possible.  You have plenty of time to be an adult.  Enjoy your childhood now that you are still a child.
Oh, and just so you know: You weren't the only one born on this beautiful day.  A mama was also born on October 27, 1998:

Me!


hApPy BiRtHdAy mArKo!!!!!!!  I love you to the moon and back a million times over.

May God bless you and protect you today and always.

Sincerely,
Honey (mom)  (:
 
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