"They say it's your birthday..."

Today we got to celebrate J-Mac's bday. What a fun day guys..thanks for the good times. Thanks Jose for having a bday so I could have another excuse not to pack.

XO

"It's Going to be an Adventure!"

This is what everyone keeps telling me when I tell them that I'm going to be living in Guadalajara for the next four years. It's mostly funny because what they are really thinking is, "Are you crazy?" I'm not crazy, my husband is. I must be just as crazy to have agreed to this. I could live in Gilbert, Arizona for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.

Right now I should be packing all our stuff but I have been fighting it. I've only packed 3 boxes and it took me like 3 hours to do them. What is my problem?! I'll tell you. I was excited about this til a few days ago. Now I am totally freaked out. Completely. I wish I could go to sleep and wake up there. Having to pack to move to another country is terrifying. Overwhelming to say the least.

There are a lot of places I will miss. I have worked for the GAP for over 10 years. That's a long time! And I LOVE IT!!! and I will miss it terribly. It's so super part time but it's MY time. I don't have to be a wife or a mom. And I get to help people buy clothes. It's so fun.
I will also miss my gym. Lifetime is the best gym. Ever. Best classes. Best childcare. They have everything. It is one thing I refused to give up when J decided to go back to school. There's this class called The Mix and it's so seriously fun. J makes fun of me for going because it's totally a hoochie mama dance class and I'm "old" but whatever. I have fun. My sis does it with me and that makes it even better. And all the girls who come and shake it with me too..such good times.

There are obviously other things that I will miss but so it goes...

I will share a few pics of the wonderful events that have taken place in the past month. My sister and bro in law threw us a going away party and it was amazing. Of course my crazy bro in law went all out and put lights EVERYWHERE. Then he put the Mexican flag up and put on some salsa music. It was good times. I was so happy to see everyone that came to wish us luck and say goodbyes. Thank you to my sis and bro in law for putting it on for us. You guys are the BEST.

We also took the kids to polar express this year. Noah was in heaven. He's sord of obsessed with Santa. Wants to talk to him, sit on his lap. It's funny. We actually got to see some snow. So of course we had to make a little snowman.Or should I say snow-woman.Jaren gave her some, um, enhancements. :)

Christmas came and went..fast. It was great. I'm also glad it's over. We spend an entire month getting ready for it and then it was over in like 5 minutes.

Now I spend the remainder of my days packing and trying to contain my wild emotions. I look forward to spending New Year's with my favorite people in the whole world.

Good for the day: My best friend took my kids so I could come home and pack without them!
Bad: I have to pack :(

xo

La casa de Kottraba

 I thought I'd share some pics of the new place...

Only in Mexico is it appropriate to have a blue toilet.

This is a loft upstairs.

This toilet happens to be gray, although it's hard to tell. I'm kind of bummed that this house has no tubs.

This is the window located in the loft. I love all the panels!

This is the view of the front door from the stairs. This place has great architecture.

This is the family room. Note the door on the right...

This is the dining area. Where else will I ever have orange walls?! The landlord said we could paint, but why would I?

View of the kitchen. Yes. Those are blue countertops.

Patio in the backyard. The fact that we have a backyard is pretty amazing. Most people don't have one. We lucked out!

This is also part of the backyard. This is where our washer and dryer will go. Kind of weird to be outside.

Waterfall in the backyard.

I really love the front of this place. The neighborhood is great too. The streets are made of cobble stone. Annoying to drive on but really pretty.

Remember the door from earlier? This is it. This bathroom is the most random thing. It's located in between the family room and stairs so it is quite decieving. You see it and think it's going to be a linen closet. But when you open the door...there is a very tiny bathroom inside. So random. But kind of convenient anyway.

This place is going to be fun I think. There are 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. I didn't show the pics of the rooms. I will later. They're also funny because one of them is bright blue and another one is purple. There is absolutely no carpet anywhere in this house. None of the houses have it. It gets pretty hot for like one month in the summer and there is no air conditioning. Yikes! Little nervous about that. The landlord lives right across the street and he totally reminds me of  Don Corleone, The Godfather.

I am excited to be moving into this place. All visitors welcome. :)

Positive outlook

I try my best to teach Ava, now 6 yrs. old, to be happy and positive. For instance, if Noah takes a toy from her and she gets upset, I say to her, "Who cares! You don't have to let that make you feel sad. You can be happy and find something else to play with." I suppose I do this with her because it's a constant trait I try to remind myself. Be happy and be positive. No matter what. And I usually say to her "Who cares" quite often.

Today we got the keys to our new place in Mexico. So Ava and I were having a conversation that went something like this:

Me: "Ava, are you going to be sad when we move to Mexico?"
Ava: "Are you?"
Me: "Well, it will be fun but I will be a little sad."
Ava: "Why?"
Me: "Well I will miss my friends and my family. I've lived in Arizona my whole life so I will miss it here. It's my home."
Ava: "Well Mexico will be your new home so who cares!"
Me: "That's right!"

It was amazing.

Thank you Ava for reminding me.

Pouty lips

Ava & Mom.

January 2009.

 I am posting this as a test to see if I can actually post a picture.

Quote of the Day

"Whatever you give a woman, she will make it greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. So if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit."

Forgive the language, but I appreciate this quote.

A Day In The Life

I enjoy journaling. I find that recording one's history to be of significant importance. As life becomes cluttered with the daily activities, I find that journaling gets completely set aside and I find myself realizing there are many events that have gone unwritten. I have debated a blog but find that I just don't make the time for it. I have spent time reading and enjoying other blogs but never wanted to take the time to write my own. I realize this often. However, I have done nothing about it. Until now.
The reason for the sudden sense of urgency has come about for one big reason. I AM MOVING. Ok, I realize I have moved 9 times in the past 8 years. But this time the move is going to be BIG. I am moving to Mexico. No, not NEW Mexico, just Mexico. There is an international medical school there that my husband will be attending for the next four years. So I have made the decision to start this blog. I have decided it's a great way to stay connected with the people I love. And mostly, a great way to remember all the crazy adventures that we will be experiencing together as a family.

I have no idea what this blog will be like. I have no idea how to post pictures or change the templates. In fact, if it weren't for my sister, it wouldn't look the way it does now, and I don't even know how she did it. I have no idea how much I will be committed to this. Only time will tell...

I am a HUGE Beatles fan. One of my favorite Beatles' songs is called, "A Day In The Life." John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote it. I've heard that the part John wrote has to do with newspaper articles he read. And the part that Paul wrote has to do with his childhood. Not sure if that's true, but I thought since I'll be writing about "current events," that is, current events in my life, as well as the events that take place in the lives of my 3 children, I found it appropriate to entitle this blog as such.

I also want to add something else. For myself mostly. I want to share what I found to be the good part of my day and the bad part of my day. So for today...
BAD: Jaren had to work late tonight.
GOOD: I enjoyed brunch at the Coffee Shop with some of my favorite people in the whole wide world.