WARNING: This video clip is pretty vulgar, but I had to post it because, frankly, who hasn't thought the same thing while watching this infomercial???

http://www.hulu.com/watch/143264/saturday-night-live-shake-weight-dvd

Sometimes I feel bad because I post a lot about Quinton on Facebook, but talk very little about Roman. It is not that Roman is any less important to me, it is just that he doesn't really talk yet, so I don't have all of the funny stories like I do for Quinton. Not only that, but Roman is a pretty mellow kid and therefore less likely to do something "post worthy." This is certainly a good thing since "post worthy" often means writing all over the walls or flooding the bathroom. So in honor of Roman's cuteness and general sweetness, here is a video!



Happy Domenic!




Quinton's graffiti. As you can see, Dad was on the good list, and Mom was not.



Roman playing in the sandbox.




We took the kids to Day Out With Thomas in North Carolina a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful drive, if not a particularly pleasant drive (three boys sitting in close proximity for 3 hours each way). They had a blast and didn't seem to notice that it was over 100 degrees outside with the heat index.

Here they are waiting to be called on to board Thomas.



Boarded and waiting for departure.



Strategically, you entered the Thomas area through a big tent full of Thomas toys. The great thing, though, is that they had all these different stations set up with activities and train tables that were free for the kids to play.




Happy boys on the ride home. You'll notice that Roman is definitely my son. I rarely get a picture of him with his eyes fully open.



Quinton holding Domenic.



Here is Quinton holding Domenic again, but a few weeks after the previous picture. Coincidentally they are wearing the same color shirts. You'll notice that Domenic is significantly chubbier. He certainly is a chunk!



"Doctor" Quinton



Happy boys!



Me holding Domenic. Quinton loves taking pictures. Unfortunately, most all of them are terrible of me. This is in part to 3 things: a - I am not particularly photogenic to begin with, b - I am really heavy right now so any picture of me is not my favorite, and c - the worst angle to take a picture of me is from below, and of course, every picture Quinton takes of me is from below since he is shorter than me. All that said and done, I had to post this picture because Domenic looks so cute!!

Not sure they know where babies come from...

While we were in the hospital after Domenic was born, I watched TLC's 19 kids and counting. Talk about putting my situation in perspective!!!

I really enjoyed the episodes that I watched, and the kids seemed kind and happy, and the parents seemed much calmer than I am with only 3!

However, the reason for this post is because of a pet peeve that I have regarding people who say that the number of children they have is "up to God" - making the case that each of their children came to being because it was the will of God. This idea is ridiculous from my viewpoint. I thought that God had created natural laws the govern this world, one of which is that children are a consequence of having unprotected sex. I will make it even more clear: if you do not have sex, you will not have children. If you do have sex (unprotected), you will very likely have children.

By the logic of the Duggars and others who use this argument, every child born on this earth is the result of God's will. Meaning children born to teenage mothers, children born to drug addicts, rape victims, etc.. etc...

Additionally, it means that if a couple cannot have children, it is the express wish of God that they not have them!!!

Really??? I would hope that anyone with a little common sense would realize that as miraculous as the birth of a child is, it is only made possible by biological means!

Okay, I think I am done with my soapbox now.

Follow-up on Avocado Trees

Yep, I haven't forgotten that I was going to update on how my little avocado tree experiment was going. Well, they are thriving, after Quinton's very diligent watering of them all winter long (we over-wintered them in the jacuzzi tub in my bathroom!)

Unfortunately, my cursory research of them when I first rooted the pits was that with two plants, they would cross-pollinate each other and I would have avocado fruit!! Upon more in-depth research, I have learned that almost no plants rooted from the pits will actually develop fruit - you have to graft in a branch from a producing plant. Plus they take at least 7 years to fruit, and they are a very large tree.

Hmmm... problem is, Antonio is very pro-tree, so he is determined that we should plant them, whether they fruit or not. I'm not sure we have the space for it (actually, I AM sure that we don't!) We'll see if we can come up with a compromise, assuming they can even survive a winter outside.

Fun with the kids

This is a project from my favorite magazine: Family Fun. I had been wanting to do something cute for plant markers, and then this idea was on the cover of their spring issue. I started saving the milk caps, and when I had enough, Quinton and I made them one afternoon. I love how the flies are "saying" what each plant is!



Roman showing off his great smile while eating his lunch.


Domenic at about 1 month.


Roman(pre-haircut) and Abuela.


Quinton and Roman playing "Piano Lessons."


Abuela keeping a close watch on Roman. She adores this little fellow and is very protective of him.



Quinton showing off his "big boy bike" skills!!! Way to go, Quinton!








Quinton frequently asks me how to write a number or a letter. After countless scraps of paper with the numbers on them, I decided that we needed a more permanent solution. I remembered that I used to put my piano music in sheet protectors so that I could write notes on the page protectors instead of the actual sheet music. I used this same idea for Quinton: I printed out free pages that I found on-line for all the letters and the numbers. Then I bought a zippered binder pouch for some dry erase markers. Now he can practice his numbers and letters as much as he wants. When he wants to start over, he simply wipes off the page protector and starts over!




This is a little project that I had been wanting to do with Quinton for a long time, but I didn't have the right container. Then one day we finished off the pretzels, and I said to myself - this would make a perfect piggy bank! So we raided my craft room and Quinton made the little bank with some help from Daddy.



Enjoying a well-deserved lunch after completing the bank. Miraculously, it is still in great shape (miraculous because you should see what that little piggy had been through!)




Roman and Quinton enjoying their water and sand table (I didn't put sand in it - I just put more water in the sand part). Antonio and I wanted to get them a toy as a special surprise after Domenic was born.

Recent Addition

I have already posted most of these on my Facebook page, but for those who don't do facebook, or you want to see little Domenic's adorable face up close, here you go:



About to leave for the hospital. Since I was being induced, we knew exactly when we were heading to the hospital. We were scheduled to show up at 7PM on April 27th. They were going to administer a cervix ripening agent (I was only between 1 and 2 centimeters dialated, and they don't like to start pitocin until you are dialated a little more than that). It was a pretty simple procedure: swallow a teeny pill (actually, it was only a portion of a teeny pill!!!) They gave me some ambien as well to help me sleep because anyone who has spent some time on one of the delivery room beds knows it is not that comfortable!



Domenic Duarte Quesada right after delivery. Domenic's middle name is Antonio's mother's maiden name - both Quinton and Roman have meaningful middle names (Antonio and Joel, respectively), so we wanted to make sure that Domenic also had a middle name with some family history.

He weighed 8lbs, 13 oz (which my mom tells me is exactly what I weighed when I was born!), 21 1/4 inches long. As you can see, he was born with a lot of hair, and six weeks later, it looks like he is going to keep it. Interestingly, he is our biggest baby, but I believe he has the smallest head - thank heavens!!!



Here is Domenic waiting for us to be discharged. The outfit he is wearing was a little big on him, but now he has almost outgrown it, and he is only 7 weeks old!





These pictures were taken a week after he was born. He is a really wonderful baby - adorable, good sleeper, good eater, and only fusses for an hour or two a day for a little extra attention.

It was only a matter of time....

So last night I saw a commercial for Gillette - heralding a new advancement in razors to be announced on June 6 (aka 6/6). Gee, could this be a razor with SIX blades????? Because we all know that 5 is better than 4, 4 better than 3, etc. etc... I am waiting for them to come out with a razor that is so big, it only takes one swipe for a man to shave his entire face!!!

Made me think of a hilarious clip from SNL I saw years ago titled PLATINUM MACH 14: 14-blade razor gives you the closest (and most dangerous) shave there is. (Ferrell). I can't figure out how to find a clip of this spoof, so if anyone knows where to find one, I would love to link it to this post.