I Know I Shouldn't

I needed to get all 3 bathrooms cleaned. I always put it off. But with Aunt Pam coming for the day on Friday and my Dad and Suzy coming for a visit this weekend, I had no choice. I grabbed all my gear and got to work.

Emily wanted to help me. My initial thought was, "Great, this will take 2 hours now instead of 1." Then I realized if I ever want her to do this by herself one day, I need to encourage her cleaning not discourage it. I gave her some kid friend solution of water and vinegar in a squirt bottle and a towel and told her to clean the bathtub and shower.

This means that Ben was relatively unsupervised for an hour or so. I'd respond if I heard crying, screaming or the sound of something breaking.

I heard nothing, so I decided I should check on him. This is what he was doing:



What? He was using his imagination and acting like a bird.

I know, I know, I should not encourage this sort of thing, but I did make him do just one more time for the camera.

Then, his sister got in on the action.


All flights have been cancelled, at least until the next time something needs to be cleaned.

Thank God we don't have bunk beds!

Funny Car

Our kids are a mix of different nationalities. David's Mom (and David) are from Canada. David's Dad is from Mexico. My Mom was born in the USA, and my Dad was born in Italy. So, the kids have 4 grandparents from 4 different countries.

My brother got Ben this truck for Christmas that is just hysterical. As Ben would say, "It's a funny car!" This is kind of taking our Mexican heritage over the top, but I can't help but laugh whenever this low rider goes stomping by.

Too much?

It's definitely time to pack up Christmas...

The other day Ben said, "There's a candy cane on that fwag!"
He was pointing to the American flag.

We've got all the decorations down from inside the house. I just need to do the outside and we'll be done. It's always sad to pack up Christmas. But, I must say, my house looks so empty and uncluttered. It feels so clean. I love it!

Until next year...

Christmas Day

On the way home from my Dad's, Emily fell asleep. Ben watched Jungle Book. Ten minutes before home, Emily wakes up. Crap. This is our child with sleep issues. An hour nap at 8:30 at night is not a good idea.

We put both kids to sleep and all seems to be going well. It's about 10:15 and David and I are watching TV in our room. I think I hear Santa come. About 10:30, Emily comes in our room. Whew...she just missed Santa. She can't sleep. We put her back in her room. She comes back into our room. Finally, I go into her room alone. At least one of us (me) can get some sleep. David said she didn't fall asleep until after 1:00.

Sometime in the shuffle she managed to see the presents under the tree that Santa left. It's a good thing he wrapped everything. I imagine she spent hours awake that night wondering what Santa had left her.

David was up early, like always. The rest of us were up within 10 minutes of each other.

Here's Ben when he saw all the presents for the first time.


Emily tearing into her first present.


Ben ripping open a truck.


Ben got a new game from Grammie for his new VTech.


Emily looks cute here, but what I love is Ben's tushie in the background. He's looking for more presents for himself. Um, he can't read.


The unwrapping was done in 30 minutes. Now came the hard part. The disassembling of all of those gifts. Here's my arsenal. I was armed and ready with AAA, AA, C and D batteries. A razor. Scissors. Wire cutters. And, Mr. 7 hands which is 7 screwdrivers in one, an essential Christmas tool.


It took 6 hours. Yes, 6! To unclip, unwind, put batteries in, screw in, add stickers and assemble all of their toys. I almost long for the days when all they want is an Ipod. Open the box. The end.

Here's Emily in her glasses from her Doctor set.


Emily got a new Smart Cycle from Papa and Grandma Suzy. It's a video game, but you have to pedal your way through it. Look at my house in the background!


Here's Ben in a sugar coma from too many lifesavers and Reese's.


Emily got a new kid friendly camera from Papa and Grandma Suzy. She was lining up all her new dolls for their first picture.


Here's Emily and Ben playing doctor.


Emily giving Ben a shot in his mouth!


After all was said and done, I was ready for a shot in my mouth, of vodka! :o)

It was a long, exhausting day. Nobody got out of their pajamas. The house was a complete mess. David made a delicious pork roast dinner. The kids played the entire day. They were ridiculously happy.

I wouldn't change a second of it.

Our Chirstmas Eve

First, I have to say that I have the sweetest husband EVER. Read the post below and you'll understand. It's nice to know that I'm loved and appreciated. We all need to hear it from time to time.

Okay...now, on to our Christmas Eve. We always go to my Dad's in Phoenix for the day. My whole family goes there. My Mom even comes which is great since they are divorced. My Mom and my Dad's wife, Suzy, get along really well. It certainly makes life a lot easier on all of us kids. We aren't running from Dad's house to Mom's on holidays like so many people out there. Just another reason we are so blessed.

We get to my Dad's early per his request. When we lived in Phoenix, we'd see my Dad and Suzy 3-4 times a week. It was hard moving up here and seeing them maybe once a month. So, we always arrive early to get in a little quality time before everyone else. Suzy let the kids open one present before hand. Which was good as Emily was chomping at the bit.





It was a roller coaster. Yes, a roller coaster. The kids love it.





Then, the kids played outside for a while before everyone showed up.





We had some delicious lasagna. Then, we all opened gifts.


They got so much stuff. Toys, games, trucks...

Then, my Dad and Suzy hand out the gifts for the older kids, my nieces and nephews. They are all in their teen years and only want money. They get what they want with it, so that's good, but it's rather boring. This year, my Dad and Suzy put their money in a little ceramic gingerbread house the size of a Christmas ornament. It makes the gift at least fun to open. So, the kids open their houses and are thrilled with $100. Then, my Dad throws out, "If you bring these houses back to me in 20 years, I'll give you $10,000." What? How much has my Dad been drinking? My kids got gifts, not money in a gingerbread house. Then, Suzy runs over to her Christmas village and hands me these 2 deer. The deer are now their $10,000 ticket in 20 years. They might not look like much right now, but I'm locking them up in my fire proof safe.


Then, my Dad throws out that anybody to finish college and present him with a 4 year degree will get $20,000. Seriously, what has my Dad been drinking? If that isn't incentive for my nephew to get his butt in gear, I don't know what is.

On the way home, I called my Dad and asked if I could be grandfathered into that college deal since I only got an associates degree? He laughed, of course, and said, "sure, sure." And, that's my Dad....happy and broke!

My Christmas Blessing

As all who read this blog can attest, Gina chronicles everything that goes on in the lives of the Galeana’s. Though our lives are quite routine and sedentary in many ways, there is always enough excitement to go around in our little corner of the world worthy of noting for our children to read and reflect on years down the road, as they grow older. I trust that Gina has already documented enough to this point that when Emily & Benjamin one day show the interest, and take the time to review these stories, they will be extremely grateful to their mother, as I am; these days and memories of ours are priceless.

I wanted to spend sometime blogging about my wife, since so much of what is blogged about casts Benjamin and Emily into the spotlight. I woke this morning, and the first thing I thought of is Gina and what she means to me. I really have no words or manner of expression to draw upon that would describe how much she has shaped my life, surely for the better. I often do a rather poor job of expressing that to her, since I tend to get hunkered down under the mental burdens or perceived burdens of my own anxieties, be they work related or otherwise. In truth, I owe Gina everything. When I first met her, I was searching for a life partner, and really had nothing to offer that I was really confident would add anything to her life. I remember the first time walking into her home, learning what she did for a living and of the responsibility that came with her work, realizing she was a very mature and put together woman, and thought to myself, there’s no way this was going to work. “She’ll quickly see through my façade”, is what I thought. Very fortunately for me though, we hit it off from the beginning, and from that day until the present time, I have never looked back, except to fondly reflect upon the past years we've spent together.

Gina has always been easy to be with. She adds no stress to my life, only peace, calm, and much joy. Now I know Gina will read this and say to herself, “Yeah right. How about all the times you roll your eyes at me, turn and walk away, or flat out argue with me? Am I adding joy to your life in those moments?” First off, we are not perfect; not that that even needs clarifying. We have our ups and downs as is the case with any couple; but when I reflect upon my less than positive responses to her, I realize that my responses are often borne out of a reluctance to be anything more or to do anything more than what I prefer at that moment. Truth be told, I have a proclivity for laziness, I prefer to stay close to home, and to not socialize. A lot of my eye rolling, or sarcasm, or flat out arguing is an attempt to resist Gina getting me or us to do something that would break me out of my complacency. I do thank God quite literally that she is generally the opposite of what I am in that sense. Our life would not be as it is, if she had not been as adept as she is at coaxing me out of my shell. I owe her so much. Certainly, the fact that we have 2 beautiful children would not be possible.

I look around our house, at our children, I remember where we were, where we’ve gone, what we’ve done, and where we are now. There is nothing I can think of or see, that would have ever been without Gina. She manages our finances, pays all the bills, she does our grocery shopping, she does our laundry, she was the one who made sure Emily attended pre-school this year and last, and makes sure she gets there on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She helps Emily with her numbers and letters. She joined a few Mom groups, certainly not because she needed more friends, but to ensure our children had some playmates their own age. She takes all our family pictures, knowing full well I am terrible at focusing. She fixes Emily’s hair everyday, a skill I have yet to acquire; she makes sure the kids have snacks and something to drink before we head out anywhere, as she knows that will make them and their tummy's happy. She prepares close to 100% of all our dinners, and with nearly equal percentage, she is the last one to sit down to dinner, making sure that everyone, including yours truly, first has something to eat and drink. She potty trained both our kids, sees to it that their routine medical appointments are made and kept, takes care of them at home, and generally waits on them hand and foot, no matter how she feels. When I jokingly ask her how the “job” is going, she tells me the pay is lousy. Of course, I know her love for me and the children, regardless of the personal sacrifice to her, is something she would never want to give up. She knows what love is and what it looks like. It is not a feeling, but a willing decision to give, self-sacrificially, followed by action. She does this exceedingly well. During the wintertime, she refuses to turn on the heat in the home, except at night; when I shiver, she tells me to throw on a jacket, to suck it up, and assures me that “roughing it” will only build my character. Ha! If ever I lose or can’t find something, I can always rely on Gina to know where it is--always. I sometimes tell myself, “she’ll never find it; I’ve looked all over the house.” Of course, I am always amazed when she does what I generally consider to be the impossible. I would also add that it is a good thing she’s as an intelligent and sharp minded woman as she is, because unfortunately for her, as every year goes by, she is forced to do more of my thinking and remembering, in addition to her own. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that she is still the most beautiful woman in the world to me. She was a fox when I met her, and she remains so today.

On a very personal note, I have to say thank-you Gina for still looking at me with genuine love and desire, for always having a kiss and hug for me, for making me feel that I am the center of your life. You have always been true to your marriage vows to me, never casting doubt in my mind of your loyalty and devotion to us as a married couple. At this time of the year, this season of giving, I just want to thank-you Gina for giving me, our children, and our family everything you have, and on most days, probably more than you thought you had. I appreciate you always giving 100%, even when your “tank” is running on fumes. I love you Sweetheart, and Merry Christmas.

Out to Lunch

Everyone always says, and I believed, that dogs from an animal shelter are always the best. Somehow, they seem grateful that you rescued them. I've heard this time and time again. I've had no experience getting a dog from a shelter until Roxie.

I don't know if she was out to lunch or on a walk when talk about being grateful was passed around the shelter, but she definitely missed the memo.

Before my Aunt's party on Sunday, David had taken Roxie for 2 walks in 2 hours. He wanted to make sure her bladder was empty and she was thoroughly tired before we left.

She's had issues with peeing on our carpet. We can't put her outside because she escapes. We can't put her in a kennel as that experience cost $100 at the vet. She's also been known to get destructive in the house. The gingerbread house, going through trash and knocking over chairs are examples of her bad behavior.

The good news is she did not pee on our carpet while we were gone.

The bad news is she ate 4 presents.

Well, she nibbled on 3 boxes until she found what she was looking for.

David's chocolate covered cherries. She ate the entire box. Literally, I think she ate the entire box.

David was panicked that she would die because of the chocolate and was ready to rush her to the vet. I thought the dog will probably just go into sugar shock for a few hours and maybe get diarrhea. We were both wrong. She didn't show a single sign of downing a dozen sugar balls.

I guess life really is like a box of chocolates, at least with this dog.

You never know what you're going to get.