House Update...

The Inspection on Margaret took place monday. A few minor things need to be done (GFI outlets in the bathroom and bedroom, and the gas line to the stove needs to be changed to stainless steel or something). The house inspection on Huntington will be Monday at 3. We can't wait to go back cause we forget what some things are like in the house. We were there about 30 minutes when we knew it was the best house in our price range and best neighborhood by far. Sofia will come too so she can get to know the new place that we will call home on May 28th. Happy May Everybody!!!

New Zip Code

S: Yep... we're moving. That's pretty much all we talk about now. I packed this morning as planned and tomorrow I'll do the same. We are asking for all to save their newspapers so we can use them to wrap breakables. I will have plenty of boxes, I think, since the cafeteria is always getting food and the janitor's are always getting supplies. As far as the title of our blog... we went from our zip code ending in 04 to 14. The zero changed to a one and that is a BIG DEAL people. We are moving up in the world. Feels good. We also looked at paint swatches thanks to our current WONDERFUL neighbor who we will REALLY miss: Georgia. She collects those paint samples at Lowes, Menard's, Walmart, etc. and keeps them in a book about painting rooms. We think we will paint the kitchen "guacamole". Yummy! I feel it is fitting for a kitchen to be painted in a "food" color. We will have to take out the wall paper to do this. BTW- this is just "Sandra is bored stuff". We won't be able to do this project for a while after we move in. As stated in previous posts, there are bigger priorities than painting the kitchen "guacamole". When you all come over you will all just have to deal with the ugly wall paper in the kitchen, the RED carpet in the dining/living room and hallway (yes... it's red carpet...dark red), and other minor stuff. This shall be another adventure.

In other news, Sofia is learning some fun words. Next time you talk to her ask her who is her favorite Cubs player. She will answer Fukudome (those non-baseball fans out there- he is a new guy we picked up this season from Japan). Vince just smiles ear to ear when she says it. Too cute to miss (Sofia and Vince). Also, she is also asking "Why?" these days. Love it! And the other day I hit a pothole and she said, "be careful mami, slow down". Don't you just love 2 year old backseat drivers???

We are no longer homeless!!!!!

Check out our new "crib"

S: Ok, so we made an offer.. right you read that already. We were told that the agent would be meeting the owner at 3:30pm. The clock ticked and ticked and it became almost 6 o'clock without a phone call. PANIC!! We thought, this can't be good. The seller must have gotten other offers (we were told earlier in the day that the house had multiple showings yesterday and today). Finally, Vince had to call because we were ready to pull our hair out. Turns out that the owner's daughter had somekind of meeting and had rescheduled their appointment. Thanks for notifying us Mr. Seller's Realtor. We finally got a phone call. We had to do a counter offer from what they offered, but were thrilled!! They even included an AWESOME antique piano that we asked for that is sitting in the basement (there is no way they wanted to move it anyway) AND a bonus.. a ping pong table. SWEET!!! I also asked for the patio furniture for a low price, but we have not settled for that yet. The seller's daughter was so thrilled about the piano and the furniture because none of the kids wanted the furniture and they didn't know what they were going to do with it. She kept saying, "this was meant to be." I think so too!!

Here is the best part... our house closes on May 28th and to be honest I didn't think that this new house would be able to close on the same date. GUESS WHAT?? They agreed for the closing date of May 28th!!! Hooray!! So we are moving in 5 weeks. We are packing the basement this weekend and whatever else we find that we don't really need. It will go fast, but we can do it. I'll be up at 6am tomorrow morning to start us off and stop when Sofia wakes up around 8am. Fun!! We will need to do a couple of things to the house right away... put up a fence along the back of the house for the ravine, change the electrical to a 200amp service, and buy a new refrigerator (can't wait to see our economic stimulus check). We are so happy and can't wait to have a BIG party at the new house in the middle of summer. You're all invited!!

We put in an Offer!!!

Thursday night we put in an offer on the Huntington House. We looked at the house last night and liked what we saw. It needs a little updating into the 21st century, but it's the best house in the best area in our price range. We love the neighborhood and fell in love with the screened porch that overlooks the wooded ravine behind the house. The immediate upgrades needed are the electrical box and a fence in the backyard to keep Sofia from going down the ravine. Hopefully we can get the offer accepted this weekend and we won't be homeless come May 28th.

Things are looking up!

S: The house we looked at yesterday for the second time is definitely out. Our dining room table would be too small... and overall I just didn't feel like home. I know I know, you can't always rely on that "feeling", but honestly... it just didn't seem right.

On a good note, Vince found another house for us to look at. This one is in Sherwood Forrest, which for those of you who are not from the area should know is one of the nice areas of Peoria. The house we are looking at tomorrow is situated among some NICE "pimp" homes. It is one of the smaller ones on the block and it has some good stuff for us. It's cute...

3 bedroom 1.5 bath Ranch Vaulted living room/dining room combo with exposed beams. Full basement that needs to be finished. Master bedroom has a walk-in closet. Corner fireplace in living room. 25 X 12 screened porch. Pretty cool.

Sounds good, but just like other houses we have looked at, this could be bad one once we see it. Paul the builder (Vince's step-dad) will be going with us tomorrow to check it out. At this point in the game, I want all the help we can get on the first showing. We don't have time if it's a good buy to make another showing, someone might snatch it from us. Anyhow... maybe it's this one... maybe it's not. If not, I'll probably post the next picture of the next house we look at.

Good game and good house....

S: Hello to all! Yesterday we had our second game of the season. Once again we went to extra innings, but were defeated by a run. DARN IT! We had a great game though. Vince had a single AND a double. I hit my first hit of the season (thanks to the first baseman who got an error!) and I had an AMAZING double play that had most of my team with their mouth open (They of little faith).


Before the game we took a look at a cute house in Rolling Acres. Here is a picture and below are some are some stats...


Year Built: 1960, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Style: Ranch Walk-out basement with a WET bar (in awesome family room in the basement) Family room is 26 X 24 One Car Garage. Master Bedroom Bathroom, Eat-In Kitchen, Dishwasher, Garbage Disposal, Range/Oven, Refrigerator, Utility Sink, and more. The minuses... it is sitting next to what I call a HUGE ravine. The backyard NEEDS a fence or else we could lose someone. There is a wall in the basement that has a crack that has been filled and has somewhat of a bent in it. It looks like it could work. I think that even though I ruled it out because of the ravine, I wouldn't mind a second and third opinion (Paul the builder and Jose Villa?). Vince made a good point, it has everything we need and in our price range. I don't' know, I mean we did sell our house so we kind of need a new one.....

Cubs win 13-1

V: We went to the Cubs game yesterday and the cubs beat the pirates 13-1. Sofia did not go with us because she had a fever that she was just getting over.














We found our brick paver at Wrigley that is about 7 feet from the Ernie Banks statue. A picture of me impersonating Ernie's swing is below. (Where I am standing is where the paver is located)

It was also Dora the Explorer day at Wrigley. All kids 7 and under get a dora plush doll wearing a cubs uniform. Since Sofia wasn't with us it was doubtful we were getting one. Sandra asked the usher for a doll and explained how our daughter couldn't come because she was sick, but the lady didn't care and denied us. We walk with our heads down and go find our seats. Dora is on the field and throws out the first pitch, WOW. Sofia would of loved it.

I leave to use the restroom before the game starts, and also secretly in pursuit of a dora doll for Sofia. I head to the nearest entrance into Wrigley where people are still filing in. I watch as people head in and see 2 dads with 2 young boys around 6 years old or so. I see one boy make a face, like what am I gonna do with this doll. I jump in and tell the kid and dad how my daughter is sick and couldn't come. I offer to buy it from him for the $1 i had in my wallet. The dad refused the money and said just take it. The kid of course was willing to take the dollar. I gave the kid the buck and had the dora doll for Sofia. That's right Father of the Year.

S: We did have a great time yesterday and I can tell you that Vince does deserve father of the year. I was tearing up and everything because Vince went to get the doll and Sofia would have loved to see Dora with the Cubbies. The only thing Vince didn't say is that they have COTTON CANDY at Wrigley and I got to have some. $5 for the bag was TOTALLY worth it!!

GO CUBBIES!!

It's official, we're homeless....

Here is a picture of us from Monday night before our game. Don't we look adorable?? BTW- I took this picture with the timer mode on the camera. The camera was sitting on TV tray. Yeah, check out Sofia. She's just smiling at the camera. What a photogenic kid!!

As the title states, we signed all the paper work last night for the house. Our closing date is May 28th or before. We saw a for sale by owner yesterday that needed a lot of work, but we'll keep looking. Also, the producer job will probably not occur.. it seems that the station is cutting back in every department. Well, ONWARD!! Like I stated in a previous email, Vince (Mr. Positive) is taking everything in such a good way. Good for him because I'm breaking down by the second. He truly is the rock of this family versus right now I'm a total wreck (imagine that). I guess it could always be worse.

In better news, last night we invested in the Cha Cha slide song for our Ipod (thanks to Tom and Laura for their gift card). So I will leave you with this picture... Vince, Sandra, and Sofia dancing the Cha Cha slide in the living room of our newly sold house with the music blaring. Sofia singing along, "two hops two hops" "right foot stomp" and the best.... Sofia with her hands on her knees laughing hysterically.

We got an Offer !!!

V: Its a verbal offer right now, but we will get it in writing later this afternoon. Now we have to see if I can get this producer job. We will decide what kind of house we can afford based on if I get the job or not. It's great news, but also kind of scary at the same time.

S: Yeah, scary. I have to change the subject because I can't even begin to think what God's plan is on this. I keep praying, "What are you doing up there? We sell the house and Vince??" So, on a different note, we had a great home opener!!! We went into extra innings and got beat by one or two runs!! 13-11 i think. It was awesome!!! Next game Monday 6pm at the Peoria Stadium. I got a line drive, but the pitcher was 6'2ish and could jump and got my ball that SHOULD HAVE gone over his head. The evening was a blast and even though we were playing against a team that definitely had baseball/softball experience, it that didn't stop us from having a great ball game with freezing-like temperatures (to a person that thinks anything below 65 is freezing) and actually had a chance to beat them. We play until mid July so there will be some good warm weather games to attend. MARK YOUR CALENDARS for Monday nights!!! Also, if you have a couple of minutes to say a prayer for Vince to get this producer job that would be GREATLY appreciated. We sold the house, HOLY COW!!

Vince's job is being automated.

V: What does that mean? Well, at the TV station (WHOI) and many tv stations in the country, master control is going to be run by a machine. Not 24/7 but enough that it will eliminate some jobs and since I am at the bottom of the seniority list, that means me. WHOI is investing in a system that will air programs when they need to air and it will insert the local commercials where needed. Somebody still has to record feeds, dub in commercials, and put in commercials for shows that are live and don't have a set time for a commercial break(like sports) so the people that have been here 20+ years will still have a job in order to do those jobs.

So I have been told layoffs will not happen until June but nobody knows for sure how long it will take to get this new system up and running smoothly (Some think October). So what do i do now? Sandra mentioned nursing. A 2 year program to be an RN and a guaranteed job afterwards. I don't think I'm smart enough and it is a female dominated line of work. I just can't see myself telling people I'm a nurse. I might be able to stay with WHOI and become a producer. They need producers for the news and it doesn't really say you need prior producing experience. I have a degree in TV Broadcasting and they know I'm a good worker so that is a definite possibility. The bigger house and possible 2nd child will be put on hold until we know what will happen. I can still do real estate for some money as well, but that is really unpredictable right now with the slumping market.

S: Yep, life sucks sometimes. The "funny" thing is... this has occurred to Vince twice now at HOI. They automated the first job he had with them and gave him notice that there would be layoffs. This whole thing really chaps my tushie (thanks Tom for teaching me that one). Since this has happened to us in the past, we are ready to battle it again. I will support Vince with whatever career he chooses to continue with or pursue. I suggested the nursing thing because I know that in the paper every Sunday there is at least 2.5 pages of nursing opportunities AND I don't think someone will create an "automated whatever" to replace nurses. And for the RECORD, Vince is smart... he just underestimates himself. Plus, don't you think Vince would look AWESOME in some Cubs scrubs? Yeah, that rhymes!

I think whatever Vince does he will be great at it. Vince the producer. Sounds pretty pretty pretty cool. He does have a Broadcasting degree and as you can see in the job description for wanted producers, he possesses all these qualities.

"Interested candidates should be highly motivated (Go Cubbies!) and have a passion to produce a fast-paced (have you seen him keep up with Sofia?), high story count newscast. The ideal person must be able to multi-task (full-time at HOI, part-time realtor, part-time stay at home dad, husband, friend, etc.) , know how to tell a great story (he tells the best stories, i.e. the crying baby that needed Sofia's pacifiers) through writing and editing and work well under pressure (I want to move THIS year Vince, find me a house) to get breaking news on the air quickly and effectively. A positive attitude (are you kidding me? Vince is Mr. Positive) is a MUST!

Good luck to us and please keep us in your prayers. Here comes round two. ding ding ding.

Checked and no...

The house is cute, but it's in a weird/creepy neighborhood area. The people living in there have a major crush on western paraphernalia (also very strange). We pass.

Vince Here: I thought we said it is a possibility that could work but its not our ideal home. But I guess the almighty sandra has spoken and "we pass". The area is alright but is looking like it could start to be a run down part of rolling acres with some shady crowds living nearby. Oh well, we will continue looking, but we need more action on our house first.

A possibility... let's check it out first.

Well, we are going to see a house today. I'm not too sure about it, but I'm trying to stay positive. I think the dining room may be too small and I think the kitchen can't be an eat-in. We will still go see it. As Vince always says, "you can't tell what a house is like by a listing sheet... you have to go see it for yourself."

Check it out...

Here are some stats...

Year Built: 1958 Style: Ranch 3 total bedroom(s) 2 total bath(s)
Includes: Living room, Dining room, Kitchen, Game room, Den, Basement, and Laundry room
Cooling features: Forced Air, Whole House Fan
Interior features: Finished Basement, Full Basement, Electric Air Cleaner, Humidifier, Water Heater - Gas, Sump Pump, Dining Room/Formal, DISHWASHER, GARBAGE DISPOSAL, Range/Oven, Refrigerator, Wired for High Speedd Internet, Security System
Exterior features: Fenced Yard, Curbs and Gutters

A game room could be very useful for our Game Nights!!! And I'm assuming that the Den could be a possible 4th bedroom. Who knows? We'll see it tonight and post something about it this evening.

We're ok, just busy..

S: We have been so busy the last few days that we have not been able to sit and blog. I'm assuming that Vince will do some bloggin tonight at work, but I wanted to let you all know that we are fine... just busy like you are all too.

V: Things have been busy between HOI, real estate, sofia, and a little time for sandra. OH Yeah plus fantasy baseball and watching the cubs. Go Chipmunks!!!

I will share that Vince and I are returning to the softball field to play on our co-ed softball team. Our first game is this upcoming Monday the 14th at 8pm at diamond #1 at the Peoria Stadium. We are the Killer Chipmunks this year (last year we were 3up 3down and it was not the case most games). Anyway, we would love some fans and we are a pretty comical group so you are in for a good time. Hope to see you there!


This is our team shirt. I am the official team shirt designer for our team. The white square you see will not be on the shirt. It's just how the image had to be uploaded onto the site. Pretty cool!

Wow- somebody get me a virgin Piña Colada... I just need a sugar rush.

S: What a weekend people. If at first you don't have patience, try to go spend a weekend with 2 eighty year olds and a two year old. Oh boy. Well, let's just say that I managed to keep Sofia pretty happy. She hasn't learned patience yet.

My dear old grandmother just wants to help, but Sofia flinched every time she came near her because Sofia knew something was about to be inspected by what Vince calls: The Fun Police. My grandmother is just trying to keep her save and happy I guess... "don't put that in your mouth" "Eat your food" "Why don't you drink some water?" "Your hair is in your face, maybe your mom should cut your bangs". I had tolerance hearing the last one at least a million times, but Sofia... not so much. She got to the point where she would just brush her bangs back right before she would walk into a room where grandma was. Man, she's quick.

Anyhow, my grandfather on the other hand is an expert at watching TV for 15 hours of the day (minus 2 meals). I decided to take matters into my own hands and Vince was able to bid on some cool metal puzzles for him. I'm happy to report that I heard metal clicking noises for a good 3 hours total as grandpa Felipe tried to figure out how to get the two pieces apart. I told him it was good for the brain, I didn't mention that it was my master plan so he would stop watching a little TV and do some brain stimulation.

In other news, on our way to Springfield (20 minutes into our 1.22 hour drive) Sofia asked me for her chupon (pacifier in English) I was stupid (yet smart -keep reading) and told Sofia that I had accidental forgot it at home. Ok, yeah that was stupid to say while driving 65mph on the highway. She went into 2 year old panic mode and even got "crocodile tears" as Grandpa Paul likes to call them. So, to distract her and at the same time to call for backup- we called Papi in Peoria to ask him to take care of them for her (talk about good improv-I don't know what I was thinking at the time to be honest with you). She slept without her pacifier in the car and Friday night, then without it for her afternoon nap on Saturday. We talked to Papi once again and told him how big we were that we didn't need the chupon anymore, so Papi understood that we didn't need it anymore. She slept without it Saturday night and took a nap in the car without it also on the way back to Peoria. When we got home and she asked for it again, Papi told her that since SHE had told him that SHE didn't need it anymore, he gave them to a baby down the street that needed them. She was cool with that. I am THRILLED to report that tonight Sofia went to bed WITHOUT her chupon. THANK YOU GOD ALMIGHTY!!! This is a HUGE accomplishment. Vince said to me that "Super Nanny" would be proud of me, but I say she would be proud of us. I couldn't have done it without him!So the girls had a pretty productive weekend, but coming home was sure nice. I feel like it lasted an entire summer. Kudos to my parents for taking care of my grandparents, it's a tough job. Kudos to Sofia for giving up the old chupon. And kudos to Vince for just being an awesome husband and quick thinker- thanks for the backup on that chupon thing and the story about the needy crying baby... priceless!

The Girls are Gone (for the weekend)

V: Well, Sandra and Sofia are in springfield for the weekend. This picture most accurately shows what i did last night after they left. All that's missing is Louie laying on the other side of the couch snoring. I watched a movie -"The Darjeeling Limited" starring Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody. Its pretty weird and off the wall so i'm glad Sandra didn't see it, she wouldn't of liked it. Tonight I have "No country for old men" to watch. Another movie Sandra wouldn't really care to see. I love Blockbuster on-line free trials. If you try it just make sure to cancel after the 2 week free trial or you will be charged. I've probably done 4 or 5 free trials in the past year between blockbuster and netflix. I can't wait to get off work so I can look like the photo below. Ciao.

1st house showing???

V: Let the home selling frustrations begin. If you have ever tried to sell your home before I'm sure you can relate with me. We had our first home showing scheduled for Thursday from 3:30-4;30. Sofia and I spent all day cleaning the house and getting everything ready for the showing. Sandra had done some cleaning the night before as well. I took Louie over to Georgia's house to stay in his cage. I had to cut Sofia's nap short and get out of the house by 3:20 or so. Sofia and I head to the zoo to spend the hour away from the house. When I return home around 4:40 Georgia tells me she never saw anybody come to the house. I go inside and there isn't a business card on the table and all the lights are still on as I left them. I am still waiting to hear from the Traders Realtor as to what happened, but I was pretty upset. We do have another showing this evening at 6:30 (Hopefully they come) and an open house on Sunday 2-4 so all that work wasn't for nothing, but it's still frustrating. I'll update later when i find out what happened. I can't really call him now because its 3:40am. Have a Good Day! Go Cubs!!!
-Mario from Traders said his buyers had looked at the pictures more on the internet and decided they weren't interested. He said he should of called -- "Ya Think"-

S: Although it was frustrating, it was nice to have the house smelling good and not of Louie's farts (those of you that have been blessed with this aroma know exactly what I'm talking about). I'm sure the realtor has a good excuse. Let's hope tonight's showing goes better. Let's sell the house tonight! On another note, Sofia and I will be in Springfield this weekend taking care of my grandparents. It should be a good time, maybe if the weather is nice we can go to the little pond my abuelo's house that has those killer canadian geese. That may be too exciting. Anyway, it should be fun.

Now we're MEGASTARS!!

S: We had a blast last night! We went to Cici's for pizza before the concert, but Vince will give you a better version of what happened. Once we finished dinner we went back home to wait for Frank and Kathy to come over to watch Sofia. She loves to hang out with them.

THANK YOU TO FRANK & KATHY.

So, back to our night... I'm surprised I can talk today because I was screaming so much. They have all these "rock concert moves" that you are asked to do and one of them was scream "really loud". We had pretty good seats, section 22 (I'm sure that means nothing to you if you're ever been in the Civic center- but the stage was on the opposite side of where we were). Even though we were not so close to the stage it didn't matter because the Blue Man Group came pretty close to us

(I did crop this picture on the right a little), but they took over the concert and were messing with all the lights and then they did a black out. Comic stunt I guess. They had a lot of audience participation, 6 or 7 people got a chance to interact with them. One lady talked for them at the end to announce the band members. Too bad it wasn't me, I

would have done it in Spanish. On a disappointing note, they didn't sell cotton candy. I quote "Try a Disney event." I guess rock stars don't eat cotton candy. This saddens me because obviously I will never stop loving cotton candy and can't give that up to be a true rock star. I guess I'll just stick to being Eeyore (sad and gloomy without cotton candy). Anyhow, thanks Vince for a Mega terrific Valentine's day gift. Next time like you suggested last night, we should go see Dave Matthews, I'm keeping my fingers crossed... he seems like a guy that would have his vendors sell cotton candy.

V: Its hard to follow Dave Matthews thinking about cotton candy. But Back to CiCi's Pizza. I don't know if you have been there recently or not but the busboys are way too nice and out of control. Its nice they want to take your empty plates from you, but they come by and wipe the table as you are eating too. Its like everytime they walk by you feel the need to lift up your plates and glasses so they can wipe it down. I truly thought it was an april fool's joke. Sandra said "wow you guys are really working for your tips" The busser said "I'm just doing my job". It seems pretty excessive for around $7 an hour. We didn't leave a tip because I felt violated.

-The Concert was good, I'm already a mega rockstar unlike some people. I wish it started on time and lasted a little longer. Pretty cool they came to Peoria though. It definitely makes me want to see a good concert again. I'm not sure if they sell cotton candy at DMB concerts but I'm pretty sure you can find other types of "candy" that produce a pretty good buzz.

Blue Man Group Tonight!!

S: For Valentine's day Vince didn't get me flowers or chocolates, but something better! We get to go out on a Tuesday night and stay up to watch and experience Blue Man Group!! I'm so excited and I can't wait to have a blast tonight. If you don't know who Blue Man Group is then you should probably visit http://www.blueman.com/

Tonight I'm going to learn how to be a MeGa Star!!! Rock on!!!

V: Step 1: Fist Pump, Step 2 : Head bang....

Flowers would of been cheaper, but BMG will be a lot more fun.

Party on Wayne.....