First off, my kids are all grown up...well, somewhat! Esmeralda will be going to the FOURTH grade!! I KNOW!! I'm shocked just writing it down! Diego, my little man, will be in FIRST...another shock!!
And the BIGGEST news...
we had ourselves another baby! How 'bout that?! Lianna Sofia:
I couldn't believe it myself. But our family feels complete now...well, for now ha! Ok. So, Esmeralda is 9, Diego is 6, and Lianna is 5 months old. That's a pretty decent update on the kiddos.
Now, an update on life:
After Lianna was born, I got PPD really bad. So bad they wanted to admit me to the hospital and I lost a friend along the way. I was told journaling was therapeutic so that's what I'm doing now ;-). To make matters worse, March 2nd rolled around. Now, you may or may not know what March 2nd means to us in these small towns of Southern Indiana, so I will spell it out for you:
In the days leading up to March 2nd, 2012, local weather and news stations were warning people that a strong storm system was due to hit the area that day. As usual, we went about our business like it would miss us. As the day drew closer, I started to worry because of all the media attention the impending storm was getting. That morning, Friday March 2, 2012, I was well aware of the storm that was heading our way. I woke up at 6:am like any normal day, got the kids ready, watched the news (the latest on the storm), then sent them off to school. I woke Lianna, got her ready and went to visit a friend (went to visit her basement actually!). We were getting constant storm updates on our phones so we could be prepared for whatever rolled our way. We found out that Storm Chasers and Jim Cantore were in the area so we pretty much knew then how serious the situation really was. I had an uneasy feeling so I called my kids' school, Henryville Elementary School, in Henryville, Indiana. Several schools in the area were letting kids out early and I just wanted to check if we were too. Turned out we weren't but I decided to go get them anyway. It was noon and half of Esmeralda's classmates had already been picked up.
We had lunch then went back to my dear friend Renee's house (beautiful house by the way)! It started getting ugly outside so we all went to the basement. We played with the kids, letting them run around, all the while keeping an eye on the sky. Around 3pm, the sky turned green. I know this green as I had seen it when I was a kid. It's an eerie green that you never forget. It's the green the sky turns when there is a tornado in the area. When I saw this I told Renee that we should all go to the back room of her basement. We were still getting updates on our phones via facebook and weather alerts. Then it hit...a massive EF4 tornado ripped through Henryville destroying the school only minutes after the buses had left. I found out later that they had let students out 15 minutes early and the kids on the bus Esmeralda and Diego usually ride actually SAW the tornado! How absolutely terrifying!! While we were in the basement, Renee told me that the school had been hit and I just about lost it! I couldn't breathe, but I couldn't cry. It was such an intense feeling of fear, sorrow, pain, worry, and despair all rolled into one. At that point, we still didn't know if kids were there or not. Turned out there were a few along with teachers and staff members and amazingly, no one was hurt.
 |
| Front of the Henryville Jr Sr High School Building |
 |
| Henryville High School Gym |
 |
| Front of the Henryville School Building |
Now ANY time there is some sort of warning, we take it very seriously. I may overreact to these situations according to some people but this hit home for me.
The kids missed two weeks of school because they didn't have anywhere to go. They were finally sent to Graceland Baptist Church in New Albany. We will forever be grateful!! They finished out the school year with NO make-up days! Thank you DoE!! Now we're on summer break and hoping we can start our school year at our "home": HES!
Ok...the heavy updates are out of the way. Ozzie and I are fabulous (as a couple that is). I guess 8 years of struggles have paid off! Anyway, everything is great...no really, it is! I've also made a new(ish) friend. I say new(ISH) because I've known her for about a year just never really talked to her till after the tornado ordeal.
yeah, she's awesome lol.
Oh, back to my adventures of sorts. I've found some great hairstyles, courtesy of this website and this one, and I've been trying them out on Esmeralda lately. Once I started doing her hair for school in the mornings not once did she have a duplicate style. I've made up my own along the way as well. So, my blogs will fall into several categories: hair/hairstyles, make-up, CUPCAKES, home cleaning/organization.
Now, are you wondering why "cupcakes" is in caps?
Not only do I absolutely LOVE cupcakes...I mean come ON what's not to love? You CAN have your cupcake and eat it too! haha, I am also venturing out into the entrepreneurial world! That's right: Ozzie has finally talked me into turning my hobby into a money-maker. So we're currently in the process of starting up a cupcake business from home: DOLCE Sensations.
Dolce means sweet/dessert in Italian and the letters each represent one of us:
Diego Ozzie Lianna Cristina Esmeralda
How sweet is that!!?
Wish me/us luck!!
