Mad Men

Written by Sonny Quinn

My wife and I just started watching a new series called Mad Men. I think it has been out awhile, so we are already behind like 4 seasons. That show is addictive! Every time one ends, I want to watch another! I really want to have a Mad Men marathon this weekend, and I’m wondering how I can get all the episodes cheapest. I went to http://www.ExpertSatellite.com/ to see if that is an option. It looks like it might be, but I’m not sure they have all the seasons available. I saw that Amazon was having a sale, but I don’t really want to own the dvds, just watch them. Another idea would be to check the local video store, but it’s all the way across town. I’m wondering if any of our friends own the dvds already and we could just borrow them. It would feel kinda like mooching to call around and ask, though. I guess I’m going to just have to suck it up and pay one way or another.

Missed Him

I was looking at the photos in my netbook when I came across pictures of Papa and Frankie. All of the sudden, I missed him terribly. I know he is not perfect and he had his own flaws, but who is perfect anyway? Frankie was only over a year old when he came here in 2008. They both celebrated their birthday together that following year. It was Frankie's second birthday, and it was Papa's 60th birthday. It has been a while since I last talked to him. He has been working full time back home and he is not in the house all the time when I call. He asked me to give him a call every once in a while, but I do not know when he is home. We emailed each other though. I guess I just miss him, and I am just glad that he is happy where he is now. Looking forward to seeing him again.

Beautiful Front Yard

I am looking forward to another weekend of fun with friends. We are all invited for a birthday party, but since the baby is still too small to bring to places in this cold weather, Ryan decided that he will just stay with the baby and Frankie while mama and I could go. I love going to this friend’s house. Her house is very spacious and I love how she decorated her house inside and out.

I also love going there during spring/summer too because from the gate, she beautifully added a wooden pergola going to the main entrance of her house. She planted some vines and added some hanging plants on each side too. It actually makes her place very inviting. The wooden benches also added a personal touch of the entire front yard. It is just beautiful, and they surely did a good job putting it together.

Getting Started

Ryan came home from school last night and asked me if I have decided about pursuing my career. I know that I need to decide soon before anything else. I told him that I need to take the state board, and he encouraged me to look into that, so I can take care in applying for a school soon. I did search online today and I was glad I did. First and foremost, I was so happy to come across job openings at the university nearby that I was looking into. They are looking for teachers with the degree that I have. There were actually quiet a few openings. I was hesitant to apply at first because I know I am not fit to work just yet, but Ryan encouraged me to give it a try since it might take a while before they will actually call me for an interview or if they ever will. I am also having second thoughts because I am actually looking forward to going back to work and seeing the people that I miss working with, but if this is going to be full time and something that is related to what I studied then why not.

I have to put together my resume soon. I wished I kept a copy of my resume, and it would have been so much easier to update it. The desktop computer is down and it is in my FIL's house for repair, so I do not have any choice but to redo it again. I was also looking for the different classes that I need to take, and I couldn't help but feel scared. Mama kept telling me that I have gone this far and that I should keep going. She is such an awesome mama. I have to make an appointment to someone soon, so they can answer some of my inquiries. I hope I can make this work this year while my babies are still very young. It would be really awesome when they are bigger to be in school while they are in school and home when they are home.

Riding and Winter Boots

One of my friends has been inviting me to go to the store, so we could check out the different riding boots and winter boots that are on sale or even on clearance right now. I really want to go soon because I could really use a new pair of boots right now.

The pair that I have was before I got pregnant with Branden, and for some strange reasons, it doesn’t fit me anymore. It seems as though my feet grew bigger while I was pregnant and it has not gone back to its original size yet. I also experienced the same thing when I was pregnant with Frankie. I used to wear size 8, and after I gave birth to him, I am now a size 8.5 wearer. Weird isn’t it? I better plan out something before all the good deals disappear.

So Close

"You are very safe now Branden, Frankie's here." Those are the words that my four year old uttered to his little brother every time he starts crying. I couldn't help but laugh sometimes because there is not really much he could do to his little brother. He kept repeating those words that sometimes annoys the little one that makes him cry even more. He loves his little brother so much. There is no doubt about that. My initial fear of jealousy went away when I saw his reaction when Ryan and I told him that he is going to have a baby brother. He was so excited, and he kept telling me that he couldn't wait to see his brother.

My brother's son did not like the idea of having a baby brother. He was very jealous and there were times when he would hurt the baby to show that he was mad. He also wanted everybody's attention and sometimes would act out to get attention. He was only over two years old and did not understand the concept about having a sibling. I knew Frankie was different because he knows the idea about having a sibling because most kids that he know also have their own sibling(s). So instead of being jealous, he was actually looking forward to seeing his brother.

I hope my sons will grow up to be very close just like the relationship that my two elder brothers showed. My brothers Gayfred and Anthony (Tonette) are three years apart, and one of the closest people that I have known. I mean, we are all very close but those two are exceptional. They both have a pet name, and growing up, I never heard call each other with their first name or heard them fight. They had the same hobbies, and they just love each other. Talking about them makes me miss them now. They are the best people I have ever known. Here is a picture of them on the left when they were younger.

Writelonger

Facebook and Twitter are two of the social networking sites that are taking the internet by storm. Since April 2011, there are approximately 200 million Twitter account users and still growing in number. What is great about Twitter is it can be use for both personal and business purposes. I for one have a Facebook account, but I decided not to sign up with Twitter because of its very limited character tweets. I don’t think I can take only limit myself with 140 characters per tweets. I am one of those who liked very detailed posts in my profile. I am afraid that I might make several tweets just to get my point across.

Well, if you are like me who could really use a longer tweet then you might want to check out and use Writelonger mobile twitter. With the use of Writelonger mobile twitter, anyone could update their profile longer than 140 characters each time. You can also learn about Writelonger by visiting their Writelonger blog. I think I now have a reason to get my own Twitter account.

Partnership

Isn't marriage a partnership? I believe so. I grew up seeing it with my parents and to some people that are close to me. That is why it makes me mad whenever husbands do not do share their part on this so called "partnership". I normally do not talk about other people's lives in my blog, but this one is just too good to pass. I have been itching to talk about this anyway because I am very upset with the situation. My aunt had over a dozen of kids, and what did the husband do? Nothing! She takes care of the farm and the family while he sits in the house and do nothing all day.

Over the years, we have helped them out. I had numerous cousins who stayed in the house and went to school with us just to take the burden off my aunt's load. The husband is worthless. All he ever wanted was to have many children. He drinks and smokes and it is my aunt supplying his needs. I don't fully blame the worthless guy because it is also the fault of my aunt. She submits to all his needs. I don't know what would I do if I were in that situation, and I thank God everyday that I am not.

Sometimes I thought Ryan is annoying asking me about school and etc. but I know that he loves me so much and he wants to take care of all my needs. I never have to worry about school because he takes care of it. It is refreshing to get an email from school stating that I have already paid for my tuition fee. My books arrived in the house in time for the start of the school year because he has already checked the books I need and got it online. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have a husband who has always been loving and generous to me and my family even if I admit that there are times when I neglect him. He knows if there is something bothering me or if I just need to talk about things. It is so funny how I can read him like an open book and he does to me.

So, if you have a husband like mine, please do not forget to tell him "thank you" for all the things that he did to you and for the family. We are so blessed that we do not have to deal with irresponsible husbands like other wives do. I hope that one day my uncle will realize how his help and not just his presence would mean a lot to his family.

Redecorating

It is almost a year that we bought our sectional sofa in the living room. We got it in time for Frankie’s 4th birthday last year, and this time we hope to get a dining room set if we have the living room floor done. We still have a lot of things to do in the living room. It still needs to be painted and the windows need molding too. I can’t wait to put up the curtains and hang the picture frames that I took off the wall when Ryan started painting the walls with the first coat.

I love reorganizing the living room. It is always nice to see a different look. In fact, one of my friends living in California got one of those sectional sofas los angeles for her living room. They replaced the old couch that they got. I am so anxious to see what she ended up with her living room because we agreed that we are going to compare after photos as soon as everything is done in each of our living rooms. I can't wait!

Couldn't Ask for a Big Brother

It's been over a week since we got home from the hospital. We are pretty much settled with the sleeping schedule and I realize that it could be really tough raising multiple children. Although Frankie has been a good big brother, he still needs attention. It is so much easier to attend to his needs while mama attends to the little one's needs. I am sure I would have managed it still without mama just like other people managed it, but it would be really hard.

At any rate, he has been a responsible big brother to his baby. I don't even need to pick up anything on the floor because he is on guard to pick up whatever it is and always standing by to help out all the time. Sometimes, I have to say that it could be annoying because he is on the way and sometimes thinks he can do things adults do. I always explain to him that there are things that he couldn't do, and when he is bigger, he can do it himself but not now. One thing I am thankful though is he is not jealous that we are giving the attention to the baby. He is also in an age where he understands about being a big brother and responsibility. His teacher in school also emphasizes how to be a responsible person with little siblings and little kids and how to be a role model.

I hope he continues to be like this to his baby brother. So far, it has been really good. He loves every bit of him and is so over protective. It is nice to see them together, and I can't wait when Branden is big enough to play with him. It would be fun and nice to watch them together. I couldn't ask for a responsible big brother.