Xiomara Diaz

Happy Thanksgiving!!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:48:00 +0000

Things I'm grateful for:

1. Family: They make my existence much better with the kindness and love that is always shown to me.
2. Job: Need I say more!
3. The doors that always seem to open when I need it the most.

Everyone enjoy your Thanksgiving and eat plenty of food!!

Happy Halloween!!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:16:00 +0000

Halloween was fun! We went to the Museum of Natural History, where they sponsor a trick-or-treat event filled with treat stations, crafts, and live musical performances. Will had a terrific time and even said trick-or-treat.

I love this place! Dan and I want to go back to check out the entire museum. It was too chaotic to check out some of the exhibits with all the children running around. Will seemed to like the Asian Mammals Exhibit because he stopped to look at the animals. Great place!

Part 2 of On with September

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:52:00 +0000

Unfortunately, there was no celebration for my mom. Dan had to be hospitalized on Friday and it turns out he has infection that has caused pneumonia. He won't be released from the hospital until either tomorrow or Tuesday. I have mycoplasma pneumonia (aka: walking pneumonia).

Enough said.

On with September

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:20:00 +0000

September is my favorite month of the year since I was a little girl. First off, my birthday is in September. Second off, school would start and I loved going back to school. Third, my mom's birthday is also in this month. Now that I'm older, I have a child whose birthday is also this month.

Having said that, this month has been one of the worst in a long time for me. My car broke down Labor Day weekend. Between renting a car to get around to and from work, prepare for Will's birthday and repairing the car, I spent about $500. Of course, let's not forget the money I spent preparing for Will's birthday.

Almost a week after Will's birthday, he got a bit sick compounded by the fact that he a reaction to the vaccine he got. I didn't have to take him to the doctor, but had to deal with a cranky two year old; not much fun I may add. He was feeling great on my birthday, but we decided to stay home just in case he had a relapse.

Fast forward to this past Wednesday, Dan wakes up feeling not so hot complaining about his chest hurting. He calls me around 3pm telling me he's having difficulties breathing. He had gotten sick at the beginning of the month with an upper respiratory inflammation, but we thought he's was getting better. At 4pm, he calls me to tell me not to go to class (I had just gotten there) because he was going to the ER. His chest hurt and really couldn't catch his breath.

I drove to the ER and waited for him to get there. He was admitted rather quickly, got hooked up to oxygen, had an X-ray done, given antibiotics, steroids, and a nebulizer. He has bronchitis now and the shortness of breath was due to an asthma attack, which by the way has never happened to him before.

Let's move on to Thursday and I wake up with chest pains. I'm having a difficult time breathing, but there's no cough associated with my chest pain. I get sent home from work and I go directly to the doctor's office. I get hooked up to an EKG machine to check my heart. The doctor thinks it's an inflammation to the wall of my chest due to either some kind of exercise I had done or stress. He sends me home with a prescription to an anti-inflammatory and tells me I can't work for the rest of the week. About an hour after I took the anti-inflammatory, I get a fever. I call him back and he tells me that now the scenario has changed and I may have pericarditis, which is an inflammation to my pericardium due to a virus that causes chest pain and fever. Either way, the treatment he sent me is fine and to take Tylenol for the fever.

So being that this month has not been that favorable to me or my family, I am choosing to end it with a celebration to my mother. Sunday is her birthday and I'm making a nice dinner for her. My sister and the kids are coming over and I'm very happy. Let this be the momentum that carries some great luck for us in the next coming months.

New Life Style this September

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:38:00 +0000

Classes have begun for me. As you may or may not know, I'm working on a Master's in Urban Education with an ESL Specialization. Besides the ESL certification, I'm going for a Bilingual certification (it's an additional six credits because the classes for both certifications overlap). I'm also taking an additional nine credits so that I could teach adults in a community college setting.

I'm really enjoying my classes, but man is it hard juggling being a mom, wife, worker, and student. My classes are held Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and one of my classes is online. Those days I don't work. Thursday and Friday I work doubles, which means I work two twelve-hour shifts. Saturday and Sunday are always booked (at least for the next few months) with birthdays and other events. Even though I'm home most of the day on Mon, Tues, & Wed, I really don't get much of a chance to read for my classes. I'm so distracted with Will around that nothing gets done. I have to get into my own rhythm and manage my time better (which means I shouldn't be doing this right now).

Anyway, that's what's going on with me. I must go now put away the laundry and get my place somewhat organized. Ahhhhh...

Birthday Pictures!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:39:00 +0000

Mom and Dad:

Showing off his name:

Aunt and cousins:

Happy Parents:

There are more pictures, but it would probably take me all day to upload. Will had a great birthday. He played with all of his cousins, ate plenty of cake, and was none stop. We all enjoyed his birthday. It was a nice get together with plenty of food and treats. I definitely had tons of fun!

Happy Birthday Will!!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:26:00 +0000

Happy Second Birthday Will! The joy you bring everyday is absolutely incredible. You brighten up my heart and soul. I love you so much it brings tears to my eyes. I hope your birthday was wonderful. Love ya!

More About Eating Healthy

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:42:00 +0000

I've been on a health binge. Not a bad thing, right? In my obsessiveness to eat better, I'm finding that baking is the way to go. I've been making granola bars, biscotti, and breakfast cookies. Besides that, I've made my own croutons and salad dressing. I still have bad stuff, but I really don't crave it as much as before. I'm not sure if it's because I'm adding so much more fiber to my diet that I'm just satisfied. For instance, the breakfast cookies that I've been baking have pumpkin puree, which fills me up and still satisfies my sweet tooth. Another thing I've added to my diet is yogurt.

Besides the changes I've been making, I have a different outlook on food. I don't look at it as eating, but more like fueling. That mindset is making a tremendous difference. I eat food in order to keep my energy levels up not because I feel like eating. So every 4 hrs or so, I snack on something or if it's dinner time I eat a meal. If there's no time to eat, then I continue my snacking (this is for when I'm at work). I pack my purse with very healthy stuff (whatever I've been baking) and bring it to work. I no longer reach for a roll or french fries.

With school starting on Tuesday the 1st, I foresee myself snacking more than having meals at night. Monday through Wednesday, I will be working in the morning and driving directly to class. There really won't be time to sit down and have a meal. Once I get home, I'm not going to start cooking, either. I will have to have power snacks to help me throughout the day.

By the way, I came across an article (which of course I can't find now to link) that states that women should only have 6 teaspoons of sugar a day and men 8. What? I have 3 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee! The article basically spoke about how Americans eat way to much processed foods and we're unhealthy. If you want to have more sugar, then you should exercise that way you burn off the sugar.

How am I suppose to cut out sugar? I have no idea. The article scared me. My family has a history of diabetes. Is it inevitable for me? I'm not sure. But if 6 teaspoons of sugar is all we're suppose to have, then I'm in trouble. I don't know how I feel about using Splenda (which I use on occasion) instead of sugar. I want to eat natural foods and that's not natural. I'll have to do some research on this.

Anyway, that's what's been on my mind as of late. Until next time!

Eating Less and Being Healthy About it.

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:42:00 +0000

The other night, I waited on a mom with two young sons (around the ages of 10 and 12) who proudly proclaimed they were on a no carb diet. All three of them were very overweight. I pointed out to them the healthy options that were available and that were low carb. For starters, they each had an appetizer. Two of their entrees were casseroles without breadcrumbs and a surf and turf. They were having dinner at 10pm.

The problem is not the carbohydrates they're consuming, but the amount of food. People don't really realize how much food they eat. You should never finish a meal at a restaurant. It's too much food. I'm coming clean on this one. This morning, I had challah french toast at a diner and ate every little morsel. I did, however, get home and had a white plum as a snack and my dinner consisted of about 4 ounces of chicken breast with some couscous. I snacked on some homemade pita chips with hummus and took a bite out of a chocolate cake.

The family I waited on needs to learn how to eat less. It's not an easy task. I was very overweight for a long time. I taught myself to watch my portions. Are there days that I go overboard now? Of course. But my weight has been pretty steady for the past three years. Am I hungry now at 11pm at night? Yes. Will I eat? No.

The point is that eating less and healthier is an everyday task. If you're a food lover, you have to learn how to love other foods that are better for you. Most importantly, you have to learn how to eat less. A great way of eating healthier and less is by preparing your food for the day or even the week. For instance, today I baked honey pistachio biscotti (Ellie Krieger's recipe). I've been having a hard time with breakfast in the morning because of the lack of time and haven't been eating as much as I should, which has been leading to massive headaches. So, I baked these biscottis, which are low in fat and have breakfast for the next week. I also made spicy pita chips (Ellie Krieger's recipe) in order to have something to snack on. I'm set for this week.

I'm going to get into a habit of baking more of my stuff like chips and biscotti. I want to make my own granola bars. If Dan and I could stick to this, I'll feel good. If we teach Will good eating habits, then hopefully weight won't be an issue for him. Let's see!

Out in Nature!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:36:00 +0000

What a gorgeous summer afternoon! We're taking advantage of this summer to it's fullest. We went to the Palisades Intersate Park. We love this park because it starts off under the George Washington Bridge on the Jersey side, hugs the Hudson River and goes all the way into New York. There are many trails and interesting stories that date back into the 19th century. There are also guided hikes available on a practically weekly basis that are fun and informative.

There was no hiking involved this time around, but we enjoyed the scenery, laid down on big blanket, and let the breeze relax us. Take a look at the pictures:

More Energy Please!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:51:00 +0000

After having off of work for three days and not working hard at all yesterday, I fell asleep on my couch at around 9:00pm. Today, I'm working probably about 14 hours and I'm up from 4:00am. I have tons of energy on the weekends. All I want to do is hike or go to a park or whatever requires physical activity to the point that I drive Dan crazy. For instance, this Sunday he put his foot down and we stayed home. So why is it that when Monday rolls around, I'm ready to pass out?

I'm amazed at how some of my friends with kids have energy to workout or even go out throughout the week. I really wanted to go to the gym yesterday, but I couldn't keep my eyes open. Ugh...

My problem might be that I'm not eating enough during the day. I'm not doing this to loose weight (I haven't lost any). I'll have breakfast at work and sometimes it's only a yogurt because that's all I have time for. I don't get to eat again until 4:30. By then, I only have a small salad because I'm going home to cook. If I eat anything big, I won't have dinner. On days I work doubles I eat a normal meal during the 4:00 time, but that's my only meal. I'll have a yogurt when I get home.

I'm not sure what to do about this because I really don't have an option to change my eating schedule. I wait tables and can't just stop what I'm doing to eat something in the middle of my shift. Maybe I'll have a real meal after work instead of a salad, cook dinner for Dan, and eat something light. That may work?

Anyone have suggestions?

Three-Day Weekends are the Best!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Can the summer continue being the way it's been the last two weekends? The weather has been beautiful and not extremely hot. I think it hasn't gotten past 84 degrees, which is fine by me. I dislike it much when it's sweltering.

On Friday, we picked up Dan's cousin and went to Cheesquake State Park. The place is gorgeous. There are trails to hike, a lake to swim in, bird watching, a basketball court, grilling, and countless other activities available. We went to the lake, which Will actually enjoyed. It was a bit cold for me, but nice. Will held on to me and splashed the water. We did, however, get out of the water fast when something bit my thigh. I have no idea what it was and I didn't care. All four of us got out.

Once we dried out, we went hiking. We passed a couple that was crabbing. They caught some blue crabs. Then we met up with another couple that were walking their huge dog Jacky. She decided to go for a swim. The rest of the short hike was beautiful. The forest was full of pine barrens and the trail was sandy. I wished we would have been able to do the full hike, but it was getting late.

Here are the blue crabs and if you look closely, you could see Dan taking the picture!

Will, Christopher, and myself:

Jacky swimming:

The beautiful forest:

On Saturday, we went to a pool party/bbq that my coworker had invited me to. He has three beautiful kids ranging from 3 to 8. One of my other coworkers who also has a child was invited as well. In total there were 6 adults and 5 children. We had such a great time. They live in a beautiful home in Madison, NJ. The kids spent most of their time in the backyard playing and were all very sweet to him by making sure he was having a good time.

The only pictures I have are from the pool, but they're great. Will did have an incident at the pool, though. We were in the kiddie pool with him. The deepest part was 18 inches. He was fine walking around and grabbing all of the toys that were floating around. Dan and I were sitting at the edge of the pool watching him play. He ventured into the deeper part and slipped. When he tried to get up and out of the water, he couldn't because he was too buoyant. I hadn't seen him fall into the water because at that moment I had turned my face to say something to Dan. Dan did see and immediately jumped into action as I did. The lifeguard was also very quick. We got to him and Dan pulled him out. For a second, Will had his eyes closed and wasn't breathing. He did, luckily, breathe out. I guess he was holding his breath and wasn't sure if he was out or not. He was great about the whole deal. He didn't cry and wanted to continue playing.

Here's Will playing with the water:

Let these weekends keep on coming!

May This Summer be as Wonderful as This Past Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:32:00 +0000

What a wonderful three day weekend I had! You already know about the hike. I haven't told you about July 4th or what turned out to be a surprise day off for both Dan and I on Monday. May there be more weekends like this one this summer.

On Saturday, we had our friend Cody come over to watch the fireworks. Since we live close to Hoboken, we decided to take a walk over there. The walk was a good 40 minutes. We took an elevator down the cliff (there's a light rail stop there) and made it all the way to the downtown area. The day was beautiful and it was a great walk.

Will, surprisingly, stayed in the stroller the entire time we were making our way to the fireworks. Once we made it to our destination, he got out and ran around. As soon as the fireworks started, he stayed put and watched them. He loved them and would clap and cheer when everyone else did the same. It was adorable. I guess he was as excited as we were because he stayed awake the entire time we were there. We didn't get back home until midnight and that's when he fell asleep.

Let's skip to Monday! On Friday, I was able to switch my schedule around and got Monday off. Dan, however, was suppose to work. Well, it dawned on us on Monday morning that he should try to to take a vacation day. He texted his boss, but she didn't respond. So, he left for work. Not even five minutes after he left, he came back with the good news that she let him take the day off! So what to do on an unexpected day off? Go to the beach!

We have not been to the beach since we lived in Florida and that was about four years ago. So, I was as excited as I could be. We made it there, settled down, and applied lots of sunscreen. Will was happy until we tried going into the water. I held him as we walked towards the shore and he took one look at the water and cried. He didn't even want to stand and get his feet wet. Poor little guy! I brought him into the water, but he was not having it. Oh well, back to the sand, which he loved.

Will hated the water so much that he would cry out for me whenever I went in. He actually would run up to the water and call for me to come back in. I would come out and he would hug me. It broke my heart and I stayed out. We tried one more time getting in, but it was useless. He was miserable and I didn't want to ruin the day for him. Someday, he'll like the beach.

The day was absolutely gorgeous and we took advantage of it. We didn't leave until 8pm. Once we made it home, we unpacked and knocked out. Ahhhh.......

Our weekend was so wonderful. We always enjoy ourselves when we go out, but this weekend felt like a vacation. I loved it and hope that there are more wonderful mini-vacations in store for us.

Enjoy the pictures!

Sunny Days!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Ahhhh, the sun has decided to grace us with her appearance just in time for the holiday weekend. We took full advantage of this opportunity and went on a impromptu hike yesterday. Actually, the whole trip was unexpected. I wanted to go to Bear Mountain and instead ended up at Sterling Forest State Park. We've never visited this park even though it's next to Harrimon State Park and Bear Mountain.

What a beauty! I can't believe we've never gone through this forest. The area is so large that you have to drive to the different parts of the park. The woods are so beautiful and pristine that you forget that civilization is near by. Dan and I have to come back here to do some serious hiking. Anyone want to babysit????

We made it to the visitor center, which had a beautiful lake behind it that you were able to hike. Once we were done checking out the visitor's center and got a map to the hikes available by the lake, we were off to our hike. We really weren't prepared for the hike. I was wearing flat shoes, that fortunately had a nice grip to the ground, but I felt every step I took. Will was wearing sandals, but they at least had a good grip to them. Dan was the one that was most prepared.

Either way, the hike was very short only be 0.4 miles long. The seclusion of the trail amazed me because right after taking a few steps you were what it seemed like the middle of the woods. At first, I was concerned that the hike would be a little too much for Will since it wasn't a flat trail and there were many rocks. As always, he amazes me. He was great. The spots that were difficult for him to go through, we carried him. Otherwise, he hiked it himself. He even got to go under a huge tree that had fallen. He loved it!

The end of this trail was just beautiful. We were able to sit down right at the edge of the lake. We took off our shoes and soaked our feet. The water was cool, crisp, and just so inviting. Will loved wetting his feet. If he had his way, he would have gone in. Unfortunately, we couldn't let him go because we were sitting on big rocks and it was to slippery to run around. He didn't seem to mind. He sat there with us and soaked in the sun.

Our little impromptu trip was great. We all had so much fun. The trip reignited Dan's love of hiking and there will be more trips coming up. I leave you with some pictures. We didn't have our camera with us, but snapped some pictures with our cell phones.

Enjoy!

Phili for the Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Dan and I have been dying to get away for at least a weekend. The last time we went away, we went to Florida when Will was seven months old and I spent the entire week sick. There was no beach or pool. Anyway, for the past month, we've been deciding on where to go. There were several options: Catskills, Poconos, Washington DC, Ocean City, MA, down the Shore, and Philadelphia.

We decided on Phili because the weekend was going to be a washout. We figured we would see the aquarium, the zoo, and museums even if it rained. The hotel we booked was in King of Prussia right outside of Valley Forge just in case it didn't rain. Everything seemed like a great plan. We got to the hotel and saw that we were across the street from the King of Prussia Mall, which is enormous. There was a Chili's across the street as well. Not bad!

We expected rain, but man the weather was awful. It was just pouring. We did make it to Valley Forge. We walked a good mile into the park and then it started pouring on us. Will kept on having meltdowns because he was strapped into his stroller the majority of the time. It was a mess. We only made it to Philadelphia for a couple of hours. We never got to see any of the sights we had planned on. We couldn't get off and walk around because of the downpour.

We did make it to Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks. They are suppose to be the best in steak sandwiches. They're across the street from each other and the lines are long. Guess what? We tried a sandwich from each place and did not care for either one of the them. You want great steak sandwiches? Then go to Dos Amigos in West New York, NJ. This place puts them to shame.

Besides all the downs we had, we did enjoy ourselves as much as we could. We watched two movies while we were rained in. We did make it into the mall and walked around a lot. The one thing I do regret is that we never got to go out to dinner at a nice place. I really wanted a sit down dinner to celebrate Father's Day, but it was impossible.

Today turned out to be the nicest day of the weekend. We got to hang out at the mall, Will cooperated, and the traffic on the way home was pretty good. We both have tomorrow off, which we need to recuperate. Overall, we had a nice time. We'll just have to go back when the rain gods are on vacation.

This One is All About Me

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:14:00 +0000

I truly believe that you have control over your life. At times, it's difficult to swallow that pill. Life throws curve balls at you and you think there's no way you would do this to yourself. Well, you purposely don't, but you do. On days that I'm cranky or I'm plain bitchy, my day goes wrong. On days that I'm feeling fine, they tend to go better.

For quite a few years now, I've been racking my brain on why if I meditate often, try my hardest to see the best in people, always try to be as kind as possible, and have changed the way I view the world am I still stuck. Well for starters, I'm concerned on why I'm stuck, which by the Law of Attraction means that I'm attracting more situations that keep me stuck. Besides that, there's an underlying theme going on with me. I don't take care of myself.

Now, I don't mean that I'm unhealthy or that I'm some kind of a slob. On the contrary, I eat healthy most of the times and I take care of my appearance. The problem lies in feeling guilty about purchasing stuff for myself. I feel so guilty all the time. I drive myself crazy about it. For instance, my flat iron broke about a year ago. I've been agonizing about buying a new one ever since. The reason I don't is because I don't want to spend the money on it because the money could be used for something else. If I get birthday money, I tend to spend it on bills instead of myself.

This obsession I have with going without is what has me going without. It finally hit me from two weird dreams I had about a week ago. The first dream, I was told to place a plate under my bed because I had a spirit that was holding me back. It would be an offering so that the spirit would not be without. The second dream, I was in hell (not the hot one; more like an alternate reality) and was hiding from the Devil because he hated me. I specifically remember questioning my existence in hell since I had not been a bad person when alive. These dreams are my subconscious letting me know that I'm ruining my existence.

The other day, I was at the mall. I wanted to buy a new top and shoes. Since I've lost so much weight, I'm pretty much out of clothes to wear and have to rebuild my wardrobe. I know that I need to shop, but that whole guilt thing keeps me from buying stuff because it's too much money and I convince myself that I don't really need it. Well, I fought these evil demons and bought my top and shoes. I felt horrible the entire time I was trying them on and even flirted with the idea of leaving the items at the stores. Luckily, Dan was shopping with me and pushed me to get them. He can't stand how I always find a way out of buying stuff for myself. If it wasn't for him, I would own less clothes and shoes.

This particular incident also had me thinking. Why should I feel bad about buying myself stuff? I need a new top and I'm in desperate need of shoes. Why should I feel guilty? Then it all hit me: the dreams, the way my life always seems to lack (and what I mean by that is that I always state that I can't afford this or that), and my guilt. I'm the spirit that's holding me back. I'm in hell because I put myself there. It's all my doing.

I can't move forward in life until I get rid of my hang-ups. I declared to me and to Dan that I will be updating my wardrobe and will not feel guilty doing so. Of course, I'm not going on a shopping spree, but I will no longer carry that dead weight around. It's time to shed my old skin and get comfortable with the new one. I'm buying clothes that I like and need and that's the end of it! Yay!

Date Night

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:53:00 +0000

On June 3rd, Dan and I had a date night. We've had this plan for several weeks now since we need a babysitter for the night. We are extremely lucky that my parents are always willing to babysit him. They do so while I'm at work and once in a blue moon we ask them to so that we could go out. Since we were going to a Yankee game and they were playing at night, I packed up his pajamas and extra food because the chances were that he would be asleep by the time we got home. I was working the morning shift at my job the following day, which made it pointless to drag him out of my parents' place to come back in the morning.

We had a blast. The Yankees were loosing, but we were enjoying ourselves. The stadium is beautiful. We had beer, delicious garlic fries, and nachos. Our date was wonderful. We did leave the game early, but not early enough to pick the baby up. My mom told me he was asleep and not to bother. So, we went home.

The following morning, we both went to work. I called my mom to make sure Will was doing fine. I really was missing him terribly. Everything was fine until around 5:00-6:00pm. My mother told me that he was kind of crying and very sad. My heart dropped. I finally made it to their place and walked through the door. Will looked at me, began pouting, started crying, ran to me, and hugged me. He just cried a sad cry and held on to me for about a good five minutes. I kept on apologizing to him and explaining where we had gone and he just held me. I asked for a kiss and he wouldn't give me one. I wanted to crawl under a rock and disappear.

After he let go of me, he went directly to my mother's arms and kept a very serious face. He was mad at me. He stared at me with those gorgeous sad eyes and my heart kept on sinking. I started playing with him giving him kisses and poking his nose and after about a minute of me doing that, his frown turned into a smile. He let go of my mother and gave me a kiss.

I feel so horrible for putting him through this anguish. Date nights will have to be put on hold until we find someone reliable enough that could stay at our place when we go out. No more of this sleeping over anyone's place until he's old enough to understand that we're not abandoning him. I never want to see that look on his face again. Besides, it's a lot of work for my mother. I don't want to burden her anymore than I already am.

Sigh...

NY Times Article on Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:22:00 +0000

Dan forwarded me an article from the NY Times called The Way We Live Now-Let the Kid Be. Let me tell you, it got me thinking. I'm a worry wort by nature. I worry about the simplest things even if there's no need for any concern on my part. I've toned it down over the years, but with Will around, it's creeping back up. I worry about his feelings. I don't want to see him get hurt, which is really part of life. I worry about me not educating him enough. I really worry about that one. I try not to do this, but sometimes I compare where each child is at to Will. I know, this is utterly ridiculous. He's a smart little boy. He's learning new words every single day. If I took the time and wrote down every single word he utters, it would probably be at least 100 words (personally, I think it's more). Besides talking up a storm, he knows how to tell us what he needs.

The worry wort in me obsesses with wanting to sign him up in every single class possible to ensure that he's well rounded. I get upset when I work nights now because I'm not around him and worry that he'll be scarred emotionally by this. I make sure that on the mornings I'm off or on any day off that I'm out and about with him (especially now that the weather is nicer). I want to buy him every single educational toy there is out there. He needs to be learning.

The point is that this is not healthy for any of us. He's fine and I need to accept that. I will still take him out because that's me, but I need to relax on all the other stuff. I need to be my own person, too. My free time is very limited and I just want to be able to sit down for half an hour and not have to worry about anything. I want to be myself. I think Will would want the same for me. The article is great and I suggest you take the time to read it.

I'm Exhausted!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:09:00 +0000

From 9 am forward, Will grabbed his shoes, walked right up to the front door, and said "Let's go". I looked at Dan and we both kind of laughed . We got ourselves ready and out we went. We grabbed some hot dogs, a burger, and a grilled cheese for Will at this place called Hirams and ate outside on their picnic tables. There was a squirrel that was stalking us or anybody for food. Will was so funny because he looked at him and told him to "go". We enjoyed the breeze and the food. What a gorgeous day!

After our lunch, we went to a park by the Hudson River in Edgewater. It had a great walkway and tons of geese. The geese were great, but not all the droppings we kept on trying to avoid. Will learned how to say the words geese and tree (btw, his vocabulary is expanding very rapidly). We had a great time and it was the perfect weather. Sorry, there are no pictures. Our camera ran out of batteries and we didn't have any backup.

The meltdown did occur and it was at Target. From the moment we got there to pretty much until we left, Will was screaming and crying. I put him down on the floor for a minute while I was deciding which cereal bar to buy. During that minute, he managed to get Pop Tarts off the shelf and the pricing plastic thingy. I, by mistake, knocked him down and he just laughed at me. After trying to put the shelving thing back on unsuccessfully, I gathered my cereal bars, the Hershey syrup, and Will and ran to Dan.

We finally made it to the car and both Will and I fell asleep. He's still out and I'm trying to do a million things at once. Wow, I'm really exhausted. It was a great day! Let's hope I still have energy to cook.

Great Day for Some Hiking!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Will and I went to the State Line Lookout today. What a perfect day for hiking. It was about 80 degrees, but nice and breezy. I love this place. There are several trails to choose from and each trail is marked by the severity of the trail. We took the easiest trail for obvious reasons. I was carrying a backpack and most likely a 25 lb little guy. Besides, I don't want Will to get discouraged by harder trails. Although, I think he might enjoy the challenge.

Number one rule (at least for me and it's recommended by many hiking books) is to never hike alone. The reason is if you fall and hurt yourself there is always someone who could go back for help. Ideal number is three. One person stays behind with the injured hiker and the other person goes for help. The reason I bring this up is because I became a bit nervous as I got further into my trail. I was alone with Will and the trail became secluded very fast and we didn't come across other hikers. So, I didn't venture far into the trail. I might have traveled between 5 to 10 minutes. Of course, it took longer because we were stopping to enjoy the view. I wish Dan would have been with me. We would have gone further in and had tons more fun.

Regardless, we had a really good time. Will seems to enjoy these hikes. He runs forward and suddenly stops to stare at a plant or whatever caught his eye. I'm already envisioning the future of him hiking with us for hours. Of course, he has to still like doing so.

Besides hiking, later on in the day we went to a playground with Dan and his cousin Christopher. The guys played basketball and Will and I went up and down the slide that is until Will realized they were playing basketball. Then he went directly to the basketball court. At one point, he tried shooting the ball into a hoop. He stood directly under the hoop and through the ball up. Unfortunately, it only went up about two inches and went directly behind his head. We really need to get him a little basketball hoop for his room. He loves basketball!

What an eventful day! He's finally gone to sleep and I'm hoping that today's activities will lead to a very restful sleep. Furthermore, I hope it leads to a later awake time. Hey, anyone could dream! Enjoy the pictures!

Will's Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:40:00 +0000

I finally got the two pictures I took from our hike on Thursday on to the computer. Here's Will enjoying his walk:

He's such a big boy now. Sigh...

Mother's Day and Beyond

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 24 May 2009 10:34:00 +0000

A few years back, I went on a hike craze where I purchased a few books on hiking. One of these books is called 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: New York City. Right at the beginning of the book, there's a hiking recommendation section, which gives you a good amount of trails that are child friendly. For Mother's Day, we decided to try out one of the recommendations. We went to Croton Point Park.

The park was nice, but there was construction going on in some parts of the park. So, there were areas we couldn't get near. The trail was a walkway along the park. We were sort of confused by the map and where we were walking. There was a section of the trail that was blocked, which we didn't go through to only find out later that we should have gone pass the blocked area. Besides that and the insane amount of wind there was, we had a great time. Will ran around and played and seemed to be having fun. The view of the Hudson was spectacular. We'll have to return and picnic here. The park is great.

I've been working like a maniac. With all the training I had to do with the new job, I really haven't had much energy to do anything else. I did, however, manage to take Will on another little hike this past week. I had Thursday morning off and it was gorgeous out. I grabbed the little guy and took him to a park (I can't remember the name of it) right below the George Washington Bridge. There's a picnic/bbq area, playground, spectacular view of the City, and since it's at the bottom of the cliff by the water, it does have great hiking.

Hugging the shore line of the Hudson River, there's a trail called the Dyckman Shore Trail. I've been on this trail before, but never have gone through it completely. It was perfect for Will and I. Since it was a weekday morning, the area was nice and quiet. I was the only one with a kid there. Everyone else was either biking, jogging, or plain walking. We walked along the trail for quite some time. Will was looking at the river, the flowers, and everything else around him. He ran, laughed, and stared. I really enjoyed my time with him.

So when Will gets tired of walking, he does this thing where he begins to squat. He began doing that here, which was my cue to turn around and head back to the car. I carried him back and it must have been the sweetest walk we've had so far. He had his head on my shoulder and faced the river. He was so peaceful that he fell right to sleep. We lasted a good hour at this park. He has energy and loves the walking.

With the weather getting nicer, I'm going to take advantage and take him to every park that has kid friendly hikes, whether they are just walkways or little getaways like the trail hugging the Hudson River. He loves stretching his little legs and I love being in nature. Perfect combination! I hope his love of walking continues as he gets older and we'll go on big hikes. Hiking for me is very spiritual. I feel connected to everything. I hope he'll feel this way, too.

Happy Mother's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:03:00 +0000

I wish all Moms out there a very special day! Enjoy your kids, whether they're little or big!

Ft. Tyron Park

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 03 May 2009 10:29:00 +0000

The weather was suppose to be crappy this past Saturday, but I guess we got a reprieve. Since it was already the afternoon when the sun came out, we decided to go to a place that would be pretty close. Fort Tyron Park was the place we had decided on. Neither one of us had ever gone there, which made the excursion fun.

I'm so glad Dan thought of this place. The Cloisters is located at this park. The place is gorgeous. We didn't take a tour of the place because the weather was too gorgeous outside. We walked, ran, played, and enjoyed the afternoon. The park is really pretty with gorgeous plants and flowers, hills everywhere, and nice spots you where you could take naps or just soak in the sun.

Here are some pictures of our outing:

Enjoy!

Since it Feels Like Summer...

noreply@blogger.com (Xia Diaz) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:32:00 +0000

I have set up some goals for myself this summer. First off, one of the changes happening to me starting May 5th is a new job. I'm leaving the corporate world of commuting into Manhattan everyday, working 8:30 to 5:30 for the restaurant business. Why? For starters, my fall school schedule conflicts with my work schedule. Second, I'll make more money. Third, I won't have to work as many days.

Since I'll be working less days, my main goal is to take Will out everywhere. I want him to enjoy the summer to the fullest and I want to enjoy him to the fullest. I'm so psyched about this. You can't imagine. I'm going to take him everywhere!

My second goal is to read as many books as I can. Once September rolls around, it's not happening. Right now, I'm reading a teenage book (Dan gets copies of books from his company to review and they publish teenage books) called "The Secret Circle: The Initiation and the Captive Part I." So far so good. I have a bunch of other books to read that I haven't had any chance to get to.

My third goal is to crochet or knit something. This will probably be the one goal I can't attain because it requires some type of not chasing a toddler time. Nonetheless, I will try even if it's one thing I make this summer.

Well, that's it so far for my goals. I do want to say that I'll do some kind of workout throughout this summer, but it hasn't happened for me yet. Maybe with a less rigid schedule, I'll be able to manage a workout here and there. We'll see....