Sandoogans' Log

We managed to take family pictures last year. I am a couple months shy of having blogged one year ago. I wasn't really feeling it to be quite honest, with the pandemic and all. Even if I was feeling it, there wasn't much to say. I didn't exactly venture out a lot last year. I was home the majority of the time with my family. I wasn't working much in the beginning, and when I finally started working again, it was very sporadic.  That being said, I must confess I didn't completely hate 2020. I'm not denying it was a tough year with many obstacles because it was. But it was also a great year in some other aspects. I got to be home with the girls, I got to be with Adele her full first year (and then some), I got to spend time with Mr. A, and we finally got our house! These are things that I'm extremely grateful for. Everything pretty much happened right when we moved in, no joke. We moved in, two weeks later, everything shuts down. I was just happy being in our ...

Adele . So, it turns out I'm a tad late with this blog. I had totally forgotten about it until I logged into post the Christmas card one; and there it was in my drafts. I didn't even end up posting that one either. I know I've gotten bad with my blogging, but I feel I've gotten way worse now. Things have also been crazy since April of last year. I was pregnant and ended up being placed on bed rest because my pregnancy became high risk. Although I felt physically fine, I wasn't. My doctor advised me to keep my activity to a minimal, no lifting anything heavier than 5 pounds, no walking (other than around the house), no stress, no nothing! I think it brought me down because I was stuck at home. My only outings were going to my million doctor appts. It got to the point where I looked forward to those because it meant leaving the house.  Those infinite appointments ended up working out because they were able to see that my amniotic fluid was low. They weren...

The day we found out we were expecting. Baby announcement  It feels so good to finally say I'm in my last trimester. I've had a few complications along the way which has me on restrictions, so being here is a blessing. I remember when I first found out I was pregnant I was in denial for a good month. I took four pregnancy tests and was still in shock. I couldn't believe it. We had been trying for a bit and nothing was happening. I found out I was pregnant in a Starbucks restroom; true story. I had mentioned to my friend that I was late but didn't think anything of it. I just figured my cycle was changing or something. She said I had to take a test because she was sure I was and I was sure I wasn't. Needless to say, she was right and I was wrong. I'm glad she was with me when I found out. So far this pregnancy I've managed to keep my maternity clothes shopping to a minimum. I've bought two pants, one pair of shorts and a top. All on sale. I d...

Sami's cowgirl attire was on point. Lots of denim and boots. Sami and the birthday girl! Today was the first official day that we let Sami venture off on her own. She was inviting to go horseback riding with one of her friends. For some reason we thought they were going to Griffith Park. Wrong. They were going horseback riding in the city of Norco. At first Mr. A and I were not going to let her go. We felt it was too far and didn't feel comfortable sending her off. Then we agreed she could go if one us of went along with her. Sami ultimately said she didn't want us to go (are we there now?) and just wanted to go with her friend and her family. After speaking with her friend's mom a few times (we had met in person before) I was convinced. The hard part was going to be convincing Mr. A. I knew I'd be getting my ear chewed off but figured I'd take one for the team. Sure enough, I got my ear chewed off but managed to convince Mr. A to let Sami go. Needle...

Blessed. Emma. Preem Supremes. Dad Duty.  Ready for Disney! 1 Party People! Birthday Kids. I can't believe I haven't blogged about anything since February! I think it's combo of laziness, not having much to talk about and having my best ideas at night when I'm about to go to bed lol. Some cool stuff has happened for me and my family. We had some birthdays (Mr. A, Emma and my pops) and Sami went off to rock camp. The birthdays this year were pretty rad. We went out to eat for Mr. A's birthday as is tradition now. That's probably one of my new favorite things that we do now as a family. We get together (parental and siblings included) and go out to eat somewhere. We do the usual embarrassing thing by the telling our server we have a birthday so they can embarrass the birthday kid. Except me, I'm always down for birthday shit. This year Sami finally got to go to rock camp. We had been waiting for this moment for quite some...

Still thinking I was going home. A year ago today, I was in the hospital, pregnant, thinking I was going to get to go home soon. I had been there two days so far, when the picture above was taken. I went in for what was suppose to be a "regular check-up" on the baby and ended up getting admitted. I remember when they told me they were admitting me I asked if I could go home the following day. They always said "Let's just do some tests and we think you should be home by tomorrow." Every doctor that came in asking me questions and giving me the rundown of what was going, I would always ask, "and then I can go home?" Some smiled and made me feel like I might be going home that same day. Others chuckled and said, "We'll see." I think by evening of the second day I realized I wasn't going home. By the time I was finally able to go home I didn't want to leave anymore.

The newest addition to our family! She's been with us for several months now but hadn't been officially baptized. For the longest I debated on a name for the new precious and could not decide. There was a few times where I thought I had finally made up my mind, but in the end didn't feel the name suited her; until now. Named after one of the greatest fleets in the whole wide world (Battlestar Galactica) replaced our old car which was giving us nothing but headaches and problems. Tired of investing money into getting it fixed, and with a bigger family now, we knew it was time to invest in a new car. Mr. Andrade was a little bummed about trading in the old car since it was technically his car, but he knew it was for the good of the cause. Now he loves it and so do the girls. It's so comfy and roomy and awesome! Only downfall: new car note.

A few minutes after having Sami. Still trying to take in being a new momma. I noticed lately I've been backtracking with my posts. I've started doing prequels haha! I think after talking about Emma's milestones, and her arrival, it made me realize I didn't have many of Samantha. I started my  blog  in December of 2010, Sami was 1 and no longer an infant. That may be a reason why I didn't think of talking about her baby stuff and talked/talk about her toddler/kid stuff. So, I've decided to semi-backtrack and talk about my experiences with her, too. This will also help me remember all the beautiful moments and will be something nice and special for her to read in the future. Sami's arrival was quite the story, this was my first pregnancy and I had no idea what to expect. A lot of my mom friends would always say, "Trust me you'll know." One went as far as to say that she was  not going to sugarcoat anything for me, and that it was go...

Here we go. Mr. A discovering the baby boots in the bag.  Reading the pregnancy results.  The baby boots in the bag.  Reading the letter again in disbelief.  Still reading... Wiping away tears. Proof!  This past December I found out that we were going to be parents again. I was a little shocked. First person I told was my momma. I would have told Mr. A but he was away in Mexico handling family matters. I found out we were expecting the week he was scheduled to return, naturally it felt like the longest week of my life.  My mom was beyond excited and in disbelief. I was only a week late and had taken two pregnancy tests that came out positive. My mom made me go see a doctor immediately to make sure I was prego, guess she wanted it to be official before she celebrated. The doctor confirmed what I had told her all along and she was finally able to get happy, or er.  Throughout the week when Mr. A and I woul...

With Dodger season (finally) approaching and Sami constantly asking, "When are we going to another Dodger game?" Proud mama, I am. I thought it would be nice to talk about one of the games we went to last season. Mr. Andrade was picked as one of the few dads for "Father of the Game." I'm not sure how many entires there was, but the lady told us there was quite a few. I felt it was quite appropriate because he is an amazing father. He does so much for Sami (and me) a lot of things that I'd rather not do. He takes the time to play with her, takes her to fútbol practice, and has recently started doing story time with her. I seriously don't do most of these things. It's no wonder half the time she'd rather roll deep with her dad than with me. She says that's her "buddy." I don't know how he finds the patience and time, but somehow he does. I'm very fortunate and grateful to have him in my life and as far as I...

I can't believe I haven't blogged since July! I think this is the farthest I've gone without yapping on here. Not that anyone is missing my grammatically incorrect posts; however, for those who are (mainly my mom) I do apologize. I haven't blogged much mainly because I was either busy or lazy, I'm sure more so the latter. A few things have happened in the last couple of months. Sami has started some new bullshit grade called "transitional kinder" and we couldn't be more pissed about it. A new law came into effect last year in California changing the cut off date from December to September. This, of course, affects Sami. It doesn't matter that we've had her in school since the age of 2 or that she knows all the crap they're teaching her, due to her age, that's where she's at. We plan on fighting this once the school year is done. Mr. Andrade and I try to work with her at home teaching her extra things. His duties are math because m...

Sami's in a great mood considering she had to wake up super early. They knocked out on their own, I didn't have to drug either of them. Dole Plantation train ride.  Throwing that shaka sign. Our daily lunch spot. I think this is, by far, my favorite picture of our  entire vacation.  Testing the waters. Don't mind the photo  bomber in the background. I love them. I'm fortunate enough to say that this is my 3rd trip to Hawai'i, and probably my favorite, so far. They all hold a special place in my heart, but this vacation just seemed perfect. It was long overdue. Sami had been doing the Hawai'i countdown since we booked our trip. We didn't do much this time around other than bum it at the beach. We skipped the luau because we had done it the previous two trips. We did the Dole Plantation and I did the maze for the first time. It was a lot of fun. Sadly the maze won us. We didn't finish it ...

Some of the goodies from the show.  I was super stoked about this. I had been wanting this forever.  It had been about 3 or 4 years since the last time I seen Kings of Leon perform live. That was actually my first and only time I had seen them. The show was at the Hollywood Bowl and my compadre had given Mr. A and I some tickets to the show. They were sold out and he managed to score a pair. He felt it was almost a sin if we didn't go. The reason for that is because Kings of Leon is pretty much my and Mr. A's band. Some people have songs, we have a band. Although we loved and appreciated our experience very much, we knew the next time around we had to go all out, and we did. When I found out Kings of Leon came out with a new album I knew they'd be coming to town soon. As soon as I found the sale dates I was on it! I wanted to surprise Mr. A with the tickets and give it to him as a birthday gift, his birthday is next week, but since I was dropping mucho din...

My perfectly romantic surprise.  See the empty spot? That was Sami.  Some better lighting.  Woohoo!! My favorite baggie! Sometimes I forget what an amazing man I have in my life. I whine and complain that he isn't romantic but then he busts out with something like this. I was putting Sami to sleep and I get a text from Mr. Andrade asking where the phone charger was. I reply telling him where it is and he says he's already looked there. I get up, a little annoyed, and see a candle lighting the way to my Valentine's gift. He always manages to trick me somehow. I have no idea how he does it but he does. Anytime he actually goes out shopping for me he always makes me walk to my own gift. It's quite funny, actually. I love my man so very much. I may bitch and complain about him, or to him, but he is truly an amazing person. Thank you for making me feel giddy and special after all these years. You are the best fiancé ever! Happy Valentine's baby...

This little medley totally reminds me of when Mr. A and I were starting to hang out and I started getting feelings for him. I remember listening to this song over and over. Lord knows I'm a big fan of the repeat button and I was sure putting it to use with this song. I remember listening to it and getting a big ol' smile. I'd start to kind of daydream. I'm not sure if I ever told Mr. A about this song and my thoughts. He's not too keen on romance so he'd probably shrug it off. I do know however, that I added this song in a mixed CD I made him. I doubt he made the connection but at least I knew he was listening to it too. Listening to this song now still makes me daydream. Maybe, I should say reminisce about how I would play the song over and over and get that cheesy smile on my face. Truth be told I still get that same smile.

Tamale Ninja I was organizing my pictures and came across this little gem. This was from Christmas last year. We spent it with Mr. Andrade's family and as is tradition on his side (and most Mexican families), 10,000 tamales were to be made. I might be exaggerating on the numbers a little but I'm sure not by much. Mr. A's mom decided it would be a good time to get Sami started on learning how to make tamales. She actually did fairly well. Her tamales were tiny but she got the gist of it. This was a shot of Sami thinking she was all bad after making her first tamale.

One of my favorite skits. Seriously one of the best shows. Ever. I'm actually considering getting a Battlestar tattoo. True story. I think it's fair to say this an accurate reenactment of Mr. Andrade and I. Screaming and all.

Mr. A helping Sami with the Hello Kitty bike. Looks like we have a winner! The new bati-bici. A close up of the new addition.   Sami also picked her bell.  Mr. A getting her prepped for a short bike ride. His   Hers    Treksters    Sami and is all set to ride. Is officially what my family has become. Not because of Star Trek although that would be equally as cool. There is no hope for Mr. Andrade but I can still mold Sami into a Trekkie. Anyway, that's beside the point. The reason I call my family Treksters is because Sami has officially become part of Trek family! She outgrew her  tricycle  (pretty quickly might I add) so it was finally time to move her up to a big kid bike. It was bittersweet seeing my kid leaving her old bike behind. I have to admit though, it was pretty exciting seeing her pick a new one. Mr. Andrade and I have had our own Treks for quite sometime now and I absolutely love them!...