Day 2... or should i say #2....

While Flor was confronting white supremacy alongside her team of black and brown intellectual cohorts, Isaac and the kids had a struggle of their own................

Aawwwww!!! Maggie and me where late again. This whole wake-each-other-up thing isn't working out all to well. While i was getting ready i went to check on the boys. i was instantly knocked back by this nasty stink. i look in Andrei's bed and he is laying in his poop.

Andrei woke up like he went to sleep. He had a big stomachache and diarrhea. I took him to shower and i cleaned out the bed. I left the kids with my suegra and headed to work.

While i was driving to work my stomach started feeling weird. About two minutes later i was about to burst! i stopped at the Maverick in Midvale and use the restroom. When i got to work it was a full shop. Randy had called in the troops, which was fine with me cuz i went right to the bathroom. We finished in the shop in like an hour and a half. Since it was still pouring outside our event was cancelled and i got to go home early.

When i got home i got the scoop on how Nati had woke up and ran right to the bathroom and threw up.

I sit down on the couch and our fight against the evil stomach virus was about to begin.

Ima spare you the details of the war but i will skip to what our day consisted of: Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Silver Surfer, and sleeping.

Since it was all rainy outside and we all had some problems we stayed home and had the laziest day in Olivo-Giron history. We started by watching Zack and Cody for like 2 hours. It is a funny show. Then I introduced the kids to Silver Surfer!!! I was happy to instill some nerdiness to the next generation. I was proud at how quickly they picked up the story line and how much they thought that Galactus was a jerk. After a few episodes we went back to Zack and Cody.

We didn't get out of this routine until like 5 when Andrei was the first to get a little hungry. I made him some huevitos. He ate them. Nati had a apple then she puked it all out. Andrei kept all his food down. Lil Adrian was good all day. He was happy just lounging with us. He was all in the mix and crawling between us and playing.

At 6 I knew I had to get up and go buy that fish food. So i got the kids ready. Nati threw up again and so I decided i was just gonna risk it. I dont want our fishies to die. I am still grieving the death of our little chicken, which I had named Cesar Chavez but hadn't told Flor.

Luckily Rica asked to borrow the car so I told him if he could go get the fish food. He agreed and so i got to keep Nati from ruining the back seat and the fish where feed. It was glorious.

At 730 I put the movie, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on. The kids where all into it since they had just learned Silver Surfers history. When Rica had gotten home he told me how they wouldn't take my card without ID at the fish store so he wasn't able to get the fish food. It was cool. Since the kids where entertained I just went to Wal-Mart. When I got home I put the kids to bed and I stayed up late Skyping with my baby.

We survived our encounter with the runs, we passed out till the morning.

We miss you Flor. Cant wait for you to come home. Love you

Day One: May 19th

The love of my life and best friend went off to the Critical Race Studies in Education Association (CRSE) Conference at the University of Texas at San Antonio today. Its a 3 day conference with scholars and educators across the country. I attended the conference last year when it was at the University of Utah and this year it's Flor's turn to listen to Critical Race theorists :)

She will be presenting a workshop along with some of her colleagues from Venceremos. Venceremos is a Chicana/no Newspaper at the University of Utah. She will do great and I am proud of all the great work that she did in order to build this springs Venceremos issue. If you want to read it then let me know, i will gladly send you an issue.

She left at 130. Mi Suegra showed up a bit before and she helped watching Andrei and Adrian as Nati and I went to drop her off at the airport. The whole ride I was already feeling sad she was leaving. We got to the airport and walked her to the security thingy. Nati and me watched her walk away. Nati really missed her mom too.

We got back in the car and Nati says, " I miss mom."

" I miss her too." I reply.

"You miss her alot huh dad?"

"Yeah, she is my best friend."

(Later on my lil girl will ask me, "Hey dad, want me to always remind you of mom so you don't get sad?" lmao)

Right as we leave the airport Nati tells me, "I wanna cut your hair bald again. Ima do it today. Lets go shopping too." I shuddered in fear knowing that now Nati was the woman of the house and was gonna be unchecked by her mama. When we got home mi suegra had made some lentejas and arroz for us to eat. I love all types of beans so i got my munch on quickly. Nati, Andrei and Adrian ate alot too. Then I said to the kids, "Ok, we got some chores to do. Then we can do something fun."

"What we got to do dad?" Andrei asks

"Buy food for the Rabbits, Chickens and Turtle."

"We have a turtle!!" Andrei was so happy.

"No. I meant fish. Sorry."

(P.S. I forgot to buy the fish food now i hope they

survive me getting their food tomorrow.) I got the kids ready (which means all i did was say, "Get your shoes!" like 50 times) and we headed to our favorite corporate fat cat superstore, Wal-Mart. First we went to get lil Adrians milk since he was hungry (again) and we had run out of milk. He was in a good mood today and kept talking to Nati and Andrei. As we kept walking Nati reminds me I had promised her a Justin Beiber shirt. I told her if we found one i would buy it for her. As I was saying that there was a collection of JB shirts on sale on a rack to my left. Nati got herself a cute hoodie T and since i had to buy Andrei a shirt too he got a Cars shirt. We went and got the filters for the fish tank and some other odds and ends.

We then went to CAL Country Stores for the Chicken feed. Apparently one has to feed chicks the Chick Starter feed until they are 12 weeks. Our chicks are only 8 weeks. I got some rabbit food too.

We went home and dropped off all our stuff and we headed to the movies, which is where the kids wanted to go. My homie Jarred is back in town and joined us at Valley Fair. We got tickets to see Diary of A Wimpy Kid (which Andrei pronounces 'Diarrhea of a Limpy Kid' )

Before the movie started we played in the mini arcade and ate some food at a little Hawaiian spot (in which Andrei got a Corn Dog)

The movie was real cool and Natalia loved it. She was all into the Limpy kid's "Hate My Life" moments, as Flor and the Olivo sisters would put it. Andrei was kinda fidgety in some parts. He mentioned he felt kinda bad and went to the bathroom twice. (I know this doesn't sound like something important but it is vital to what happened at the end of the night.)

The movie was over and we said peace to Jarred and headed home. We got home and went to Wal-Mart again. We got some food and things for the next couple of days. I served the lil ones some cereal and they ate. Then they went to bed. They both had this story about how they where scared and so they got to sleep over on the big bed. We said the prayer then goodnight. I tried to get some chores done but to no avail. A few seconds later we hear crying, Maggie and I go to the room. The kids miss their mom :(

Maggie calls Flor. I didn't have my phone with me so I hadn't noticed she had called me a bit earlier. We decide to let the kids and Flor chat it up for a bit on Skype.

As they are all talking Andrei starts to say his stomach hurts. We tell him its ok and it will go way. Out of nowhere it starts to reek and Nati, Maggie and me start looking around for the source of the stench and we find a huge puddle of puke on the floor. Then we take Andrei to the bathroom to clean up then back to bed. A few minutes pass and Andreis bolting to the bathroom and vomiting along the way. We have him take a shower and he lays down. He is still sleeping well.

Right now I am doing laundry as I write this post for the love of my life. I miss you Flor and I hope i was able to share the kids and mine day for you. Have fun tomorrow and dont worry. I learned from the best, you ;) Tomorrow i will spend less time with the kids but i will still let you know what happens. God bless you Flor.

Treasures and Trash

This is the post for last mondays Noche de Hogar. Its a little late but the lesson kinda didn't end till today.

Oracion: Andrei

Right before we started with our pensamiento the kids started saying the first Article of Faith, We believe in God the Eternal Father, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, WORD FOR WORD! What a proud moment.

Pensamiento: Flor
Our family has been trying to be really conscious of our impact on the environment and Flor has really been teaching alot about recycling and turning our house into a more "green" house. Todays pensamiento was on the impacts of just throwing away all our trash. She taught us how to clean the recyclables and also how to make sure we are recycling correctly. Nati and Andrei are both really good at recycling what can be recycled.

Activity 1:
The lil ice breaker this time had us separation into two groups. Andrei and mama, and Nati and Papa. The point was to tell your partner 3 things that they liked about them. It was real cute to hear what the kids thought of us and it was just as cool to hear what they think of us.

Lesson:
The activity lead to our discussion on the lesson. We talked about how words made people feel. We called the good words "Treasures" and the bad ones "Trash".

I made a list of both Treasure and Trash words and cut them out into squares. They went through the words and talked about how those words made them feel.

WORDS:
Treasures

• I love you
• You look nice
• Thank you
• Please
• Your Welcome
• Can I help You?
• I like you
• Your a cool person

Trash

• I hate you
• your ugly
• your dumb
• stupid
• Why?
  
• I don't like you
• your a jerk
• I don't care

The treasure words they kept and used them to make a craft treasure chest to put up in their room in order to remember to be nice all week. The trash they crumbled up and threw away.

Oracion: Natalia

Long Term Activity:
We also had a week long activity. We drew a picture of a trash can and a treasure chest on the white board. Through out the week we would fill in some of the sections of each depending on if we all used treasure words or trash words. The prize was that if at the end of the week we had filled the treasure chest the kids would get something from Barnes and Nobles.

Since Nati, Andrei and Adrian are sweet and kind kids they filled up that treasure chest quick. They got to choose something. Nati got herself a cool kaleidoscope and Andrei got a washable coloring book.

We had a great Noche de Hogar. I liked the way we had a goal to work on throughout the week. I think I'ma do more of those type of activities.

Elder Scott "The Eternal Blessings of Marriage

This was my favorite talk at this years conference. It made me think alot of my eternal companion and our marriage. Being married has been the best experience of my life. I have learned so much from Flor. She is an amazing daughter of our Heavenly Father. She is my example of a great person and the love of my life. Here's a few of the quotes i liked.

"Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered."

"If you are married, are you faithful to your spouse mentally as well as physically? Are you loyal to your marriage covenants by never engaging in conversation with another person that you wouldn’t want your spouse to overhear? Are you kind and supportive of your spouse and children?"

"It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful."

"Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good. Righteous love is the foundation of a successful marriage. It is the primary cause of contented, well-developed children."

I also enjoyed this talk by President Uchtdorf. Your Potential, Your Privilege.

My superhero

Never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought that I would love a girl so much. I always think back at the moment we met. I always remember your questioning eyes and your honest expression. You have a intelligence and strength that far surpass your years and yet your still my baby girl. When I was young I always knew I wanted a daughter. A little girl i could watch over and care for. I had no idea that the Lord would bless me with you. I'm so grateful that I'm your dad. I love you Nati, my daughter, my heart, you have me wrapped around your finger. Even though we didn't meet till u where 4, remember that I will always be there for you, I wont ever let you down and I wont ever let you forget your worth. Always remember you are one of Heavenly Fathers daughters. Love you forever.

Your daddy,

Isaac

Honesty

Since today was a make-up day for our Noche de Hogar I felt the urge (laziness) to keep it light. I knew that Honesty had to be the topic. We have had a problem at the house where Nati and Andrei are starting to think that blatantly lying is acceptable. I mean seriously, they will do something in front of our faces and deny it! lol

Himno: Sigue al Profeta

Andrei dio la primera oracion y oro para que nuestro Padre Celestial ayudara a su mama y a Adrian para que se sintieran mejor. They where both feeling a lil down and it seems to have helped.

Natalia dio el pensamiento. We recently got her a real nice and cute Bible so she wanted to read a scripture from there. She read:

Psalms 19:7- The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

After pensamiento we played a quick game called "2 truths and a lie". The game is that each person has to say 2 truths about themselves and one lie. the others have to guess which is the lie. We played a few rounds. With this game i was able to show them that they knew the difference between the truth and a lie. I told them that honesty was important. I didn't want to bash them over the head with the idea of honesty since this wasn't a time to make them feel bad. I wanted to show them examples of dishonesty. I showed them a short video on youtube called "The boy who cried wolf"



after the video discussed why lying was bad and the consequences of lying.

As our last activity we watched The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! It was a cool lil movie because the Cat in the Hat talked alot about science stuff. He rhymes everything too, if the Cat in the Hat was a rapper he would be up there with Jay Z and Eminem haha

Natalia gave the closing prayer. We had a great time tonight just relaxing and enjoying each others company. I want to find out more cool things in regards to honesty since it is a broad topic. Its more than just lying.

Being Daddy and a few things I've learned along the way

     We had to skip Noche de Hogar today. It wont be skipped till next week but we did have to move it to tomorrow. I felt bad about it. The kids really love FHE. I didn't want to skip out on a chance to blog about my favorite subject though. My lil ones.      


  Being a father is by far my favorite thing in the world. What I love most about Noche de Hogar es que the kids really listen. My heart feels like its about to burst every time they are involved and having fun. Waking up and seeing my wife and kids every day is my constant reminder that my Heavenly Father loves me. I was given the honor to help raise His little ones. To guide them and teach them the best I can.

   I been learning a lot as I stumble my way through fatherhood. I pick up new things here and there. One of the little things I've learned that has changed my way of parenting was that any consequence to a negative action has to be relative to what they did wrong and it also has to be fair in terms of severity. Sometimes as parents we can get all worked up and just yell "go to your room!" In doing this, we have completely missed out on a learning experience. As parents we have to prepare our kids for the real world. I have set up Andrei's room in a way where its fairly easy for him to keep track of his toys. He knows that if he leaves them laying around and doesn't put them back in their place, I'ma take care of them for him. Since I started doing that Andrei has been taking more care of his toys.
   I'm still fairly new to the Church. I'm still learning so much every time I pick up my scriptures or go to church. Flor is a excellent teacher too. I learn a lot from her not only in Church related topics but also about life. She is an great mother and she helps me be a better daddy. Being LDS has changed my life. With all my heart and soul I know the Church is true. The Church has many doctrines that I love. One of the things the Church emphasizes and that has really begun to change my behavior is the focus on free will and personal choice. I try to make sure the kids always have a choice. They can choice whether they make good choices or bad choices. Both have consequences.

On a side note today was fun! I took the kids to play at a playground for a bit. Nati, Andrei and me where running around playing football. Whoever had the ball had to run and not get tackled. We ran up and down the slides, jumped off the stairs and bolted up around the playground. I could still keep up but now I know I got to keep in shape as they get older! I don't want be the old fat dad who can't take the kids hiking cuz he starts wheezing 50 yards into the hike haha Oh and if you are wondering Adrian was chilling watching us run around. He is happy as long as he is included. Lol.

   Well, maybe 30 mins into our football game Andrei puked. So Nati and me said, "Ewww" and the game kinda ended. We just decided to leave since it was windy anyways and Andrei was stinky. As we drove home, Nati reminded us about Guitar Center and we took a detour and went to check out the guitars and drums. Man, some of those guitars are ill. Nati and the boys loved it. They are all really into music, not just listening, but instruments and singing too. Andrei is a natural. He grabbed a Ukelele and started strumming! Nati was fascinated by the electric guitars. She just sat on a stool and kept playing with all the guitars. They loved the drums too. All in all it was fun to window shop at the Guitar store.
   After our adventure, we went back home to pick up mommy. We all went to meet Andrei's new T-ball team. We are the Angels this season. I'ma be assistant coach.

  We didn't have Noche de Hogar, but we always have fun together and are close knit and inseparable. We will have Noche de Hogar tomorrow and I will make sure to post it up here. I just had a few thoughts that i felt like writing down.