In Summer.....

Summer 2014 has brought some big changes for our family. Last winter we joined the Albuquerque Country Club, which is located just 2 blocks away from our house. Not ones to forget where we came from, I thought it would be a hard adjustment hanging with the economically fortunate folk instead of using "don't swim in the ditch!" free passes at the community pool provided by the fire department. BOY WAS I WRONG! Apparently we are having no transition issues at all!

Since we know how important 1st impressions can be in this type of social setting, I encouraged my children to be friendly with everyone at the annual Memorial Day pool bash. It was the Mazotti Family "coming out party", our introduction into high society functions. I reminded the children that it was important to participate but not steal the show. You know...lie low, make a good impression. I guess AJ didn't get the memo, because to my dismay (take that you elitist bastards!) he won the belly flop contest. Of course I immediately encouraged him to donate the prize to charity give me the gift cards, he said "no way!" and ran off with his winnings. I am pretty sure people were checking our credentials left and right after that.

Although Cienna did not win any contests, she stayed true to her Mazotti roots by creating quite a scene in the ladies bathroom by the pool. Her front tooth had become very loose and she insisted that we yank it out. So, after tying a piece of dental floss to the tooth, she completely chickened out and ran into the bathroom scared as hell. I followed her in and started gently berating her for not just getting it over with. Finally, she relented and on the count of 2 I yanked the floss inside the crowded bathroom and watched the tooth fly across the bathroom and heard it hit the wall. She started screaming and I started scrambling to find the tooth. People looked at us like we were absolutely the craziest people ever born and walked out of the bathroom. 5 minutes later I found that bad boy and all was well with the world. Although we haven't been invited to sit with anyone at the pool lately. Oh well.

Remodeling No More

Good lord our addition / remodel was painful. Not only did it drain our pocketbook but it drained us emotionally. I am now a firm believer that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And wiser. Here are the top 10 things I learned during this process:

10. Don't go with the lowest bid. You get what you pay for.
9. If a contractor tells you the project will take 3 months to complete, add a minimum of 3 months to that number. Add 6 months if you don't want to be disappointed or annoyed.
8. Whatever you do don't get a puppy in the middle of a remodel. DON'T. I am about 6 pairs of shoes down because of this.
7. Always write a completion penalty into your contract. Make it clear that your contractor will PAY YOU if he is not done on time.
6. Don't hire a contractor if you are expecting him to reduce your project stress. Keep the money and do it yourself. You will be less stressed because you will have more money and one less person to manage.
5. Contractors suck. My new list of things that would survive the apocalypse are attorneys, cockroaches and contractors.
4. I should have really paid attention in those Spanish classes back in high school. Pinche estupido!
3. If you have any interest in keeping your marriage in tact do not do an addition on your home. Bam! I just saved marriages everywhere.
2. Even if you are not a crier...you will cry. Accept it. Deal with it. Use it to your advantage when possible. It won't work on your contractor but the sub contractors will do anything they can to make you stop crying.
1. If you can make it through the process you will never do it again. Unless you are a masochist. And if you are a masochist you should probably marry a contractor. Just sayin.

And now...drum roll...the before and after pictures!

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

Shower and Vanity Before

Shower and Vanity After

Closet Before

Closet After

And I kinda lied. It is not completely done. But we are close. Close enough that I am no longer living in my family room and I can hang things on the walls. But not close enough that my contractor is out of my life...yet. I waited 7 years to have my master suite. I can wait 7 more days right? Or 14 days. Or 21. Oh hell. I will let you all know when it is done-done!

Spring in San Antonio

Last week we rode on in to San Antonio, Texas to celebrate Fiesta! and explore all that the city known for it's fabulous river walk has to offer. We arrived Saturday afternoon and immediately met up with an old friend of ours who lives in Austin. We met Danny Wills in the 6th grade and as he tells it...he thought I was the prettiest girl in school and did everything he could to avoid Tony because he was the biggest troublemaker. I always find it funny when I hear other people's perspectives of what they thought of Tony and I over 20 years ago! Danny and his girlfriend introduced our kids to the confetti egg tradition called "Cascarones" that comes with Fiesta! Needless to say the kids were shocked at first but they mastered the element of surprise pretty quick!

After Danny headed back to Austin, we had a few days to explore. We ended up at the children's museum, on the river walk, and visiting the Alamo where the kids asked to see the basement so that they could find Pee Wee's missing bicycle. That got a few laughs.

Half way through our trip our friends from ABQ met us where we explored the Tower of Americas, the outlet mall and Sea World. It was a very fun trip with very fun friends!

Tower of Americas

Shopping!

Easter Bunny Shamu

The Gang

After driving through Dallas on the way back to Albuquerque so that Cienna could see her "childhood" home, we arrived just in time for the Easter Bunny and my mom to come for a visit. Easter is a holiday production that is just as big as Christmas around here and this year was no exception. Between my mom's gifts, the Easter bunny treats and Tony's parents clue hunt, Easter is the holiday that just won't quit! No wonder the kids love it!

And just for good measure here is a picture of our handsome dog Diesel. All 115 lbs of him. Love this dog!

\

Life Through Instagram

2014 I made a resolution to leave Facebook for good. 4 months later I am still going strong! I can't believe how much more time I can dedicate to Pinterest and Instagram now that I am not wasting time looking at status updates all day long! Seriously though, Instagram is a great way of capturing moments in time and sharing them with a very select group of people who are interested in them. And since this blog is a diary of sorts I decided to share some of my favorite Instagram pics from the 1st quarter of 2014!

Bromance Puppy Love

Mustache Day

Jenny From The Block in Santa Fe

Parenting Fail

Firehouse Dog Wash

Qualifying For Concealed Weapons License

If You Get Past The Alarm....

Daddy's Hair Salon

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

Well there you have it. My favorite Instagram memories and mishaps of Jan - Mar 2014!

Soccer Mom

I am a 34 year old soccer mom. Yes...it's true. I have become one of "those" women who deserves a bumper sticker slapped on the back of my suv that reads "Mom's Taxi." To be honest, even though I saw this coming I didn't realize it would happen so fast. I find myself staring at moms who have toddlers and a baby in a stroller and can't believe that that stage of my life has passed me already. All of those moments that I thought that I would not make it another day. All of those days that I struggled to apply mascara let alone shave my legs! Those days are long gone. Now we are uber scheduled, running from school to soccer, gymnastics, karate, the grocery store, field trips, home work...life has entered a different stage. Tony and I are like two ships passing in the night. We rarely see each other let alone spend time together! We too have entered a different stage in our relationship. Pure survival mode. Divide and conquer. "I am going to do this and you will do that" and hopefully we can catch each other up on what happened throughout the day before we fall asleep at night. I have to say it is a crazy, beautiful life. Full of activities and work and projects. I get to live it with the man that I dearly love who works so hard to provide it for his family. I am one lucky 34 year old amazing soccer mom. I wouldn't trade this life for the world!

Bend It Like AJ

Catch Me If You Can

7 Going On 17

My Boo's B-Day

Ever since Tony surprised me for my 34th birthday with a weekend at I Heart Radio in Vegas, I have felt the pressure to make his birthday very special. Not weekend away in Vegas special...but I had to come up with something! With only days to spare I was able to confirm our favorite over night babysitter (Mimi), get tickets to Joe Nichols, a room at Isleta Casino, and a "Pretty Woman" like moment where I laid out a brand new shirt for him to wear while he was in the shower. Never mind the fact that the shirt didn't fit. It was the thought that counts right?

And just to add my personal touch I created a custom little jingle for his birthday card that read:

Happy Birthday to you
I want to spend time with just you
So Thursday at 4
For the man I adore
I have planned an overnight trip
Where we will have a bite and some sips
And some music and fun
For my 35 year old one!


If Tony continues to ask me what I am going to do once the kids are in school full time I am going to tell him about my plans to become a freelance greeting card writer. I would make a fortune...don't you think?

Happy Birthday my love!

We Heart Ski Weekends!

After purchasing season passes to Wolf Creek last October, we swore that every winter weekend we would be at the cabin and hitting the slopes. What actually happened was that we kicked off the season with a bang and then failed to leave ABQ for the next 7 weeks. If it had happened any other way it would have been a miracle. At least we still continue to dream!
We arrived Saturday morning to virtually no snow in town. It was spring-like, muddy, and overall pretty sad. But that didn't keep us from suiting up and heading to Wolf Creek along with everyone else on President's Day weekend. We arrived just before 10am, and true to form, Tony blew past the parking attendants who were flagging us to park WAY below the resort. This has been his modus operandi for years and to his credit he has had a 100% success rate with finding a parking spot right up front for the last 6 years. As he pulled up to the drop off area he zeroed in on an end spot that was up against the man-made snow bank. He politely asked us to get out and get our stuff on while he whipped the F-350 around with expert precision. Now I have total faith in Tony and his parking skills. I have seen him fit trailers and trucks within seconds into spots that would have put me in tears just trying. So when I saw the front end of the truck dip down into the snow bank I didn't immediately think anything. In fact it wasn't until he through it into reverse and the wheels started to spin and the black smoke from the exhaust started to fill the air that I realized that Mr. Perfect Parker had gotten stuck...like really stuck and in a spot that he was obviously trying to beat the system and park in right near the front. Ha! The cuss words were flying as I continued to bundle the kids up for their fun filled ski day. I told them to grab their stuff and we headed to Wolf Pups while Tony waited for the plow to pull him out of the snow bank. While I wish I had a picture of this...I knew that it was in the best interests of my marriage to not whip out my phone and take one. But it was priceless! What a way to start the weekend!
Cienna and AJ spent the day in Wolf Pups while Tony and I had a "date day", racing each other down the mountain, yelling "Sochi Bitches!" and every once in a while taking a break at the Raven's Nest so that I could get my liquid courage on.

By 3 o'clock we were skiing as a family, with great pride. I can't quite describe the feeling of watching your little ducklings ski ahead of you down a mountain. Makes my heart just melt!

The family that skis together, stays together, so here is to forever!