Disneyland!!

We went to California for our vacation this year. Here are some pictures from Disneyland, which was so fun! It was mine and Jade's first time so it was definitely very exciting to see and do everything!

Juan's mom traveled with us and that was a HUGE help with the kids and especially when we wanted to go on a "big kid ride".
Meeting the characters was so cool! They seem almost real...
We were locked in the cage for the train ride:
Because we were so wild!
Only a few pictures with all of us together; that is always so hard to get.
I think Jade's favorite was Micky and Minnie mouse.
He was quite enchanting and even kissed Jade's autograph book for her!

Why? Well he's just nuts.

The princesses were so beautiful!! I want to be a princess one day :)


I made an autograph book for Jade on a friend's suggestion. I just used scrapbook paper that we had in the house and it was such a great idea. I plan to now make a scrapbook for her using the signed pages and more scrapbook paper. I will just add the pictures of her and the characters and put it in sheet protectors. Easy!
In the evening they did a water show and fireworks. I think we were so exhausted that I don't really remember that part. But it was such a fun and exciting day!!

The next day we went to universal studios and there were a lot of monsters there (Frankenstein, Dracula, mummies, etc) so Juan told Jade that they were just monsters so she wouldn't be afraid. So then she asked if all the characters were in costumes. He said yes. "Even micky, and minnie, and goofy?" He absentmindedly told her yes. I had to kick him under the table to get him to correct himself!! I didn't think that she would believe that but I didn't want him to ruin the magic!

Work, work, work!

I started working again about 6 weeks ago, but I didn't like that job much so I kept looking for a new one and last week I was offered a job in hospice which is exactly what I wanted! It is a good company and I have been training for 4 days now and so far I am loving it. Then I got a call today and was offered another job (no interview or anything) at another hospice! (where my hubby works!) They are both part time and so I will be working both, one in the mornings and one in the afternoons! (For now) So we are very busy! Here are some baby pics, he is what keeps me going!




I don't think life is ever going to slow down... maybe when we are in the retirement home!

Stepfamilies

I read today that one-third of marriages today create stepfamilies, and that stepfamilies are soon expected to outnumber traditional families. I think thats a little sad. The world sure is different than 40 years ago. We are a stepfamily ourselves and I think that it is very different than a traditional marriage. Its more difficult from the start. Dealing with the ex, the custody arrangement, and parenting a child that isn't yours adds a lot of stress to a marriage. The report also stated that one-third of step-family marriages end in divorce. Of course, I'm hoping that we will not be those statistics :)
Jade has been having a harder time adjusting lately. I feel bad because the situation she is in is not her choice or her fault. She has a hard time getting used to the two different houses and I don't blame her. I think it would be so confusing. At first I thought that because she was so young, she would have an easier time. She was just barely three years old when I married her dad. I thought that she would always remember her family like this: her mom and dad living separately and me living with her dad. But it is still affecting her more than I thought.
Has anyone been in Jade's position that has some advice for us?
We try to pay alot of attention to Jade when she is with us and we go out and do lots of fun things with her. But her mom tells us that when she goes home she tells her mom that nobody loves her over here and nobody plays with her.
I'm not sure if she is just trying to please her mom and not make her mom feel like she has fun without her? Or if its the birth of her baby brother and she's not the baby anymore like she has been for the past five years?
There are some step-family classes here that I have been wanting to take since we first got married and I finally got us signed up for them. They start in June and they are supposed to help us learn how to deal with the issues specific to stepfamilies. Hopefully we will learn alot and it will help us make one big, happy family!

My little man

He is just too dang cute!He has a doting big sis...

An exhausted, hardworking papa...

An amazed mama...

We just can't get enough of this little guy!

Meet....

Juan Daniel Ibarra
Born Feb. 11, 2011
7 lbs 11oz. 19 inches