Post-grad style livin'...

Since the happy day of graduation has come and gone, one may think, "what does a snazzy, hip, fun-lovin', cool-beyond-all-doubt mommy do now that homework is no longer a priority?" Well, I'll tell ya! 

Whatever I feel like doing!

Since my new found freedom, I've been taking overly long showers during Carter's nap time, rewatching recorded shows, and engaging myself in text-picture-wars with various friends. I have to say, it's the life. In response to this carefree attitude, Carter has been giving me humongous bear hugs and precious little kisses whenever he feels like it, just out of the blue! 

I'm sure my post-graduate glow will soon wear off, but in the meantime, I'm going to just soak it in and enjoy myself! Hallelujah!

Graduation!

Yesterday was the day we have all waiting for: Graduation! 

It was literally one of the best days of all time, and I couldn't help but feel emotional for the majority of the day. I kept thinking about how Chad has rooted me on, and how Carter's high school graduation is going to rush up on me quicker than I think, then he will be heading off to college, then four years later I will be sitting in the stands at some University (Yale, Harvard, USC... we haven't decided yet), surely to be bawling my eyes out, remember how I was sitting where he will be sitting, just about twenty years prior! Honestly all of that was going through my head as the speeches rolled along!

After the ceremony we had a little party at our place with just our two families, and during Chad's toast I almost burst into tears because of all the hard work that had built up to that day. It was thoroughly wonderful, and I wish I could upload a picture of me in my full regalia, but sadly my camera broke a few days ago, and I have yet to ask my mom for her SIM card. 

Today, however, I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach due to pure exhaustion, so I've been laying around like the world's laziest human being. Chad, thank goodness, is coming home early from work and will hopefully be making dinner for the two of us, as Carter is at Grandma Cisneros's for the night (she convinced me that I needed a break and that I should enjoy the solitude of an empty, clean -!!!- apartment). Honestly though, I felt legitimately sick, so much so that I couldn't even go into work. Just writing about it is making my stomach turn, so that's enough of that!

Anyway, I'm glad I went through with the ceremony, even though I had to wake up at 5:45 am and was STARVING by the time it was all over. It truly gave me a sense of accomplishment, and I can not WAIT until we get to celebrate Chadly's graduation (I fully plan to have the world's largest party for him, complete with acrobatics and flame-throwers. Seriously. Oh, and everyone under the face of the sun is invited. Mark your calendars!). But more than anything, it made me think of Carter and how time whooshes by, and how proud I will be of him when we celebrate any one of his many graduations (pre-school -a full cap and gown will be made, kindergarten -another cap and gown will be presented, sixth grade, eighth grade, and oh yeah, high school).  

So congrats to my fellow graduates, good luck to all y'all who are working on those degrees, and good job to everyone who has already finished. Woohooo!

A little Carter time

A couple of weeks ago we set up a family photo session with one of the best photographers, Kim from 1CliCk 2 CliCk Photography! She's relatively new to the game, but her pictures are insanely beautiful, giving away no hint that she's only been snapping away since her two year old was born! Anyway, we were super excited about a much needed family photo shoot, only to find out that apparently Chad and I are now the world's most unphotogenic human beings, and that our son outshines us in literally every single picture. There was not ONE picture that looked good of the three of us! Either I'm looking like a crazy cat woman, or Chad's looking like Chester-the-molester, or we're both looking like we'd rather eat Carter up like cannibals! Basically, we looked terrible; Carter looked fabulous. So here are a few pictures of our little man looking as precious as ever:

My model baby <3

Peek-a-boo!

So precious <3

"Hello, my name is Carter, and I'm a top model."- Okay, that was a little much....but seriously.....

Oh my gosh, I could just squeeze off his cheeks right here!

My baby :)

As you can see, we have a good lookin' dude on our hands. I'm a little scared for the teenage years when I'm going to have to beat off the ladies with a broom. 

As we go on...

Does anyone remember that Vitamin C song?! "As we go on, we remember, all the times we, had together!" Well, it's stuck in my head because I'm reminiscing upon all of my previous graduations, none of which hold as much weight as what is coming up: CSUF graduation! 

Anyway, that Vitamin C song came out right before my sixth grade graduation, where all of us pre-teens hugged and cried and acted like we were losing our phalanges as we left each other to take on middle school. To say the least, it was a bit dramatic, but ever so hilarious looking back upon! My eighth grade graduation was cute because we all felt so sophisticated in our knee length skirts and straightened hair, but for the life of me I can't remember what the heck we did the day of in celebration. Lastly, high school graduation was of course a riot, even though I felt like I was about to lose my mind due to exhaustion around 4:30 am at Grad Night. So, it's great to say that all graduations are in fact a great excuse for families to gather, people to act like fools, and for the graduates to sing that Vitamin C song at the top of their lungs.

What have I done in preparation for this coming graduation so far? Well, here's how far I've gotten:

*Last night I rhinestoned my cap with one of my best lady friends, Whitney! It was so much fun, and was actually quite stressful! I mean, how do you sum up your entire college experience on a cap?! It's madness! But it looks great :)

*Since we're having our families over for a little celebratory get together on Sunday, I decided to cut a few corners and just hire a maid for tomorrow to clean up after us messy Cisneros's. That's right, you heard me. I'm hiring a maid. I've decided to throw in the towel when it comes to cleaning the baseboards, toilets, tops of fans, blinds, the grime on the top of the stove, etc., etc., etc. It's just gotten to be a little bit too much for me to handle in one weekend, so I'm taking the easy way out. I'm justifying it by telling myself that "peace of mind is priceless, so don't feel bad, damnit!" 

*I still might need to get myself a new grad dress, as the one I'm planning on wearing might come up a little bit too high in the ol' front area. There's nothing worse than having a perfectly cute dress and having it show with your cap and gown on! Horrendous! So I'll be trying that on in the next couple of minutes to decide. Wish me luck!

Anyway, there have been other things that I have prepared for, but nothing's coming to mind, and I need to now call the Maid Brigade. Believe me, I'll be taking pictures of my immaculately clean dwelling as soon as my maid has done the job! 

Woohooo!

I'm DONE!

So, the day has finally arrived: I am fully, completely, utterly, simply, all-consumingly, masterfully (?), DONE WITH COLLEGE! My good old days as an undergrad have come to a close, and I can think of no better way to celebrate than to lie on my beautiful couch and watch Gossip Girl for the second time, binge-eat, and let the laundry go for a few days (it's pretty disastrous). 

But in all seriousness, I have to say that I'm super proud of this accomplishment. The first three years of college whooshed by, full of sorority insanity, staying up late, and a few too many ridiculous nights with a few of my best lady friends and then-boyfriend, Chad, where we "studied" until about 6:30 am. The latter year-and-a-half of college, went by a little bit more slowly, as my interests involved a wonderfully amazing marriage and a precious little infant :) 

So, what can I say about finally being done? Well, first of all, this week will be an entire new experience for me, one filled with NO deadlines, NO papers, NO discussion board posts, and lastly, NO checking grades! On Sunday I'm going to walk, and then afterwards we're having a little partay with our families! It's going to be so much fun, and I'm just so excited about everything :)

Busy busy busy

Yep, we've been busy around here lately. My weeks have revolved around Purebarre Mondays and Wednesdays, Mommy and Me Tuesdays, and watching my precious niece on Thursdays and Fridays! So, as you can see, it's a good busy, but it all basically leaves me exhausted by the end of the week. I'll post soon about Mother's Day and other fun things that have been going on, but as of right now, I've been trading in blogging for couch-sitting. 

:)

What a fabulous couple of weeks coming up

First of all, ew, I hate that I made a typo in my last post's title! It keeps staring at me saying, "yep, look at me! I'm a typo!" Jerk.

Anyway, on to more sane topics! Words literally can not express the excitement I feel about the next couple of weeks. I feel like my heart is going to burst just thinking about it all! Here's what we will be up to:

* Mother's Day! Yep, that's right, the day which every husband has the obligation to pamper their wives endlessly and say it was all the kids' idea. My plans for this glorious day? Sleeping in! That's the only thing on the agenda. THAT'S. ALL. THAT'S. ON. THE. AGENDA. What a concept!

* My final final final final FINAL project is due this coming Tuesday. AND. THEN. I'M. DONE. What will I do to fill my babe's nap hours? Oh yeah, whatever I feel like doing! Woohooo!

* I need to buy myself a graduation dress along with some fabulous heels (this will not be apart of my two week present because it's quite obviously a necessity). Obviously.

* Graduation is almost here! I could not be more thankful to my supportive, fabulous, wonderful husband for getting me through the last year-and-a-half! (Oh yes, and a shout out to Carter for listening to me as I read to him American Studies materials as an infant. You were the best listener!)

* Last but not least, super excited to continue our little Mommy and Me class called Jump, Shout, Get your Wiggles Out! Last week (our first time), we met another little guy who's birthday is December 23 as well! The same as Carter's! It was a great way to start out our new-found Tuesday morning activity!

Does it get much better? I think not!

A day full of possibilities

Wednesdays are always great because I have work in the morning for a few short hours (I teach three classes, but with an hour-and-a-half break in between my second and third), so Chad and the little man have some quality man time together. At first I was bummed to have to be apart from my dynamic duo on one of Chad's days off, but once I realized that the alone time was good for the two of them, I switched gears and started to think of my work time as "me" time. Anyway, every Wednesday I'm off work at 1:00, so we always have the rest of the day free to do whatever we want! Plus, it's awesome that I'm able to get a few hours of work out time during the morning as well (why is my job so perfect?).

Here's my dynamic duo spending some man time together :)

So, what are we to do on this most beautiful of Wednesdays? Go to the beach? Visit D-Land? Bask in the glory of the sun (albeit an extremely hot sun!)? The options are endless! Either way, though, I will be taking plenty of pictures and will report upon our day later on!

Oh yes, and I pulled out a trusty $20 bill for my two week present! What shall I get this time around...?

At the beach (and overdressed...)

Since yesterday was one of the most beautiful days of the year thus far, we decided to take a trip down to Laguna Beach. It was purely an impulsive decision, made as we were driving home from Target, so needless to say we were ill-prepared at best. I was wearing closed-toed shoes, so Chad said it wouldn't be too much trouble for us to stop by the ol' apartment for me to put on some sandals before heading down, which I should have taken advantage of and changed into a full on bathing suit. 

So, there we were, fully dressed from head to toe, navigating our way through the insanely beautiful beach at the Montage. Everyone else on the beach was dressed appropriately in close to nothing, and we were sweating. Oh yes, and did I mention that we forgot sun screen? In the end, we only stayed perched on our towel for about 45 minutes, while I tried to shade Carter with my body. We probably looked like a mess, but it was nice to see the ocean!

There's my man (notice the shadow of myself?)!

Ah, the beach!

My munchkin :) He was only interested in eating Chex Mix while taking refuge in the shade provided by yours truly.

Carter tried to make a run for it!

I think it goes without saying that beach-going with a little one takes a lot more preparation than a quick sandal change :) Lesson learned!

Duckies!

The new schedule around here on Thursdays and Fridays is to watch my precious niece, Tessa, while my sister is at work! One would think that handling two toddlers would be quite the handful, but it's actually the opposite! Carter loves playing with Tessa, so they keep each other occupied. It seems weird to say, but I think two kiddos are easier than one! So, in order to fill some time with the little ones, I decided to give duck-feeding another go. (The first time we tried, the ducks literally mobbed us and scared the heck out of me!) Anyway, it was so cute to watch! Here are a few of the photos:

Look at those good kids, holding hands and everything! (I may or may not have been pushing for a sweet little hand-hold...but we can pretend they did it on their own!)

Making their way to the duckies :)

The two duckies who were interested in us :)

My little man <3

The goods!

The little area where they were free to run around like wild animals...

Look at those well behaved little children!

Anyway, it was quite a fun little outing. The only down side was that after our fun little photo shoot Carter fell down and scraped his knee big time, which eventually covered my new shirt in blood :( It was a small price to pay for a great day!