Wow, 6 Years Later!

I can NOT believe it has been six years since I last posted on this blog. Zokeybug has been acting up for the past year or so and I've been itching to start blogging again. Needless to say, a LOT has changed the past six years. I hope to spend some time highlighting certain events from these years. So stay tuned!

THIS IS THE LAST POST

Hi everyone...once again, I am going to be moving my blogs to a different address. For those of you who put me on your blogroll, please update it to www.zokeybug.com Amel has joined the bandwagon and is now in charge of the blogs. I must admit, it looks pretty nice, so if you have a chance, please check it out. Thanks for your understanding!

New Blogs

Hi All,

I'm in the process of editing my posts and have created two new blogs, one for Golden Nuggets and another for Kiddie Kwotes. It's pretty much the same blog, but the names are changed and I'm trying not to put specific locales. So, I think I'm just going to set this account to private really soon. I may or may not use it to put unedited version of the posts, I'm not sure what to do yet. So, this is so you can update your blog rolls. My new blogs are: www.kiddiekwotes.blogspot.com AND www.ourgoldennuggets.blogspot.com. Thanks!

Kiddie Kwote-Vacuum

I've been reading about several moms who have been training their children to do various chores and how the children have complained when their siblings mess up all their hard work. Well, I finally have one of my own.

Ricky and Juliet have always thought that vacuuming was fun. So, lately, I've been training them to vacuum. Yes, Juliet can push our upright vacuum, that's a bit taller than her, around. I have Ricky do the rug under our dining table and Juliet does the living room. I know, it doesn't seem fair for Juliet to do a whole room and for Ricky to do a little area rug, but until they realize that, that's what they're assigned to.

So, last night, we had people over for dinner and of course crumbs got on the rug.

Juliet: Mommy, there's corn on the rug.
Me: Yes, I see it.
Juliet: Oh...Ricky just vacuumed it. She said this sounding kind of sorry for him.

Oh, if you only knew how those words were music to my ears.

Kiddie Kwotes-Bath

Today was so much fun, but at 9:20pm, I am so exhausted. I'll post more about it later. I was giving the girls a bath tonight and this is the first time I have ever done this:

Juliet: Haha, Mommy, why is Zoey wearing socks?

Yes, I put Zoey in the bath with her socks on! I told you I was exhausted!

Opposites

My mom was gone for a couple of weeks. She was in the Philippines for her brother's funeral. Even though I told her not to worry about it, she brought back some "pasalubongs" (presents) for them. Here's what she brought back for the girls.

Zoey totally loved this outfit! She kept saying, "Is coot. (It's cute.)"


Now, Juliet was another story. Look at those tears! You almost feel sorry for her, right?


This was literally two minutes after I told her she could take the outfit off.

GOLDEN NUGGET: My life became much more interesting when God blessed me with children.

Kiddie Kwote-Stomach

Juliet: Mommy, did you know that everytime I step on Zoey's stomach, she starts laughing?

What?!!? Seriously, I can't take my eyes off of them for one minute!

Kiddie Kwote-Earth

Tonight after dinner, Juliet gave me a big hug and said:

Juliet: Mommy, I love you. On. the. earth.

I don't know what on. the. earth. means, but I'll take it.

Kiddie Kwote-Freeze

I was debating on whether to post this one or not, after a day, I decided to just do it because 1) It's Zoey and 2) It wouldn't be funny next year.

My kids love Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go! On Go Diego Go, there are these two monkeys that cause trouble for Diego, kind of like Swiper on Dora, anyway, when you see these two monkeys, you're supposed to say, "Freeze, Bo Bos!"

So, we were teaching Zoey how to say, "Freeze, Bo Bos!" This is what she ended up saying:

Zoey: "Freeze, Butt!"

She still can't say Bo Bos. So, I think we're going to hold off on teaching her that until she says it the right way. However, I think Juliet is trying to teach her behind my back.

Kiddie Kwote-Crazy

We were driving in the car and Juliet kept interrupting Amel's and my conversation, so after a while whenever she would ask Amel a question, he would answer with a "MmmHmm." For those of you who are parents, you know how that is. Anyway, Juliet likes real answers, so after a few "MmmHmm's" from Amel she said:

Juliet: Daddy, stop saying, MmmHmm, you make me drive crazy!
Me: What? Your dad's driving crazy? Which doesn't make sense because Amel drives below the speed limit.
Ricky: His sisters' translator said: "No, she means, you're driving her crazy."

Oh...

Apple Cider Vinegar

This is a little embarrasing, but I'm going to post it anyway because I think it's important to know. Anyway, I've been having problems with an upset stomach lately and Pepto Bismol, Maalox, Tums, etc. just have not been working for me. So, I decided to go on the internet to find a home remedy cure for it. I forgot what website it was, but it was a forum-like site and people from all over the world would give their natural cures for this problem.

So, several people kept mentioning apple cider vinegar. They suggested taking one tablespoon, straight up. It would burn going to down, but after that, it's instant relief. Well, my problem was really bad last night and I FINALLY decided to give it a try. I have to say that I was too chicken to take it straight up, so I mixed it in with some hot water. After a couple of sips, I instantly felt better.

I just wanted to share this bit of information with you all. I hope you don't have to experience this as often as I do, but if you ever do, give this a try.

GOLDEN NUGGET: Knowing that you don't have to pay a lot of money to cure certain ailments. The little bottle of apple cider vinegar I bought was $1.32! Also, that if you do your research, you can use items you have on hand that are probably better for you than putting unknown chemicals in your body. Just a thought!

Kiddie Kwote-Wallet

The Tahoe quote reminded of one that Ricky said when he was three or four years old. We were on our way to the church building and it was night time. We saw a man crossing the street.

Ricky: Mommy, why is that man walking?
Me: Well, maybe he doesn't have a car.
Ricky: Why doesn't he have a car?
Me: Well, maybe he doesn't have enough money to buy a car, that's why he has to walk.

He was quiet for a few minutes...that's usually how I can tell my kids are thinking. After a minute or so, here's what he said:

Ricky: Sooo....he's walking at night without a wallet?

Really, I can't make this stuff up!

Kiddie Kwote-Dadda

Ricky and Juliet like to get rough with each other sometimes. Juliet recently got a pair of Socker Boppers (inflateable boxing gloves) for her birthday and they both just love them. Usually, they get one each and go at each other for a few minutes. But here's what happened yesterday:

Ricky: Here, Juliet, you can wear both of them and then try to hit me.

Juliet puts them on and with a big smile on her face, looks at Ricky and says, "Oh yeah, come to Dadda."

Where in the world did she get that from? I'm telling you, my kids make me chuckle every day.

Happy Birthday, Angelo Jr.!

In honor of his birthday, this post is dedicated to my brother, Angelo. Unfortunately, he is my real, biological brother. (J/K) I can't remember my first memory of him because I've known him all my life. I can't even begin to tell you all the funny moments I've had with him because there are many, trust me.

Let's see, some things you might not know about him is that he was born in Italy. We didn't have the best relationship growing up, we used to fist fight almost everyday until he turned 17 because by then he was taller and bigger than me. He is the funniest guy I know, he used to be the funniest person I know but my kids are giving him a run for his money. When he was in elementary school, he used to wear this blue shirt with an eagle on the front everyday after school. Needless to say, a lot of our fights started because I would tease him about how he smelled. : ) And he's naturally good at all sorts of sports.

All kidding aside, I now enjoy spending time with him and his family. He is a loving and devoted husband and father and I am proud of him. So, Jun (you can only call him that if you've known him for at least 10 years, Rose can't even call him that yet), may God bless you with a wonderful birthday and may He continue to cause you to grow in a closer, more meaningful life with Him as the years go by.

I love you, little brother, but only on your birthday and holidays! (Inside joke.)

Kiddie Kwote-Tahoe

Juliet: Mommy, where does Santa Claus live?
Me: The mall.
Juliet: No he doesn't. Remember we saw him somewhere else?
Me: Oh, you mean when we went to Lake Tahoe?

We saw and spoke with Santa for a good 10 minutes when we went to a Lake Tahoe resort in 2006.

Juliet: Yes, Santa lives in Tahoe.

There you go people, Santa lives in Tahoe.

Old Post with pics

I'm still trying to get a hang of this site. Well, I put some pictures for the Fancy Restaurants and Kids post from last month. Check it out if you want! Thanks.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

In honor of his birthday, this post is dedicated to my brother, Aaron. He's actually my brother-in-law, but I don't really like using that term, especially when he is just like a real brother to me. Anyway, I actually met Aaron when he was just a little kid at TFC. The ministry for our junior-highers at our church. When I say little, I mean little, if I recall correctly, he was shorter than me at the time. He's since grown to be about 6 feet tall!

The funniest memory I have of him was when he and Deana just got engaged. We were at our annual sibling Thanksgiving party and we were playing this board game...I can't believe that I forgot the name of it, wait, it's called Outburst. We've since stopped playing it because we always play boys vs. girls and we always end up arguing with our spouses.

Anyway, we were near the end of the game and it was the girls' turn to call out answers and the boys cheated and told us we didn't say a certain answer and we just started yelling at each other. Half laughing and half serious (we take those games seriously!) and I remember looking over at Aaron and he had this look like he was thinking, "What in the world did I get myself into?"

Well, that was about 6 years ago and he's still around. : ) Since then, we've come to learn a lot about him. For instance, did you know that he has a great sense of humor? He seems like this quiet guy, but once you get him started, he's pretty funny. He's also into electronics, him and Amel can talk for hours about that stuff. Literally, hours. Also, that he knows more Tagalog than Spanish? I tease him about that to this day. And everyone has to know that he has fwee skills. If you don't know what that is, just go and ask him. : ) Lastly, he's also a good friend, we don't know who else would be down to help paint our kitchen at 4 IN THE MORNING!

With that, I just want to say, Aaron, may God bless you with a wonderful birthday, (despite it being tax day) and may He use you to glorify His name through your awesome fwee skills, your discipleship, your teaching, but mainly through your role as husband and father.

Feliz compleanos, hermano!

Kiddie Kwote-Honey

I've noticed that I've mainly quoted Ricky and Juliet, but now that Zoey is starting to talk a little bit more, she's going to be a regular pretty soon.

As soon as Amel walks through the door after work, all the kids run up to him, but here's what Zoey says:

Zoey: Hi Honey, hon, hon, hi honey!

Here's how we know she understands what we're saying.

Amel: Hey, I'm not your honey! I'm Mommy's honey!

Zoey: With a laugh: "Hi, Daddy!"




I love it when kids mispronounce words. Here are some of the names that Zoey mispronounces:



Hi Marmo! Hi Marlo!

Poo-Poo! Winnie the Pooh. Sorry, Susan if you're reading this, it's too cute to correct her.

Pa-Pa! For Grandpa--I know this is a common one, but it's still cute.

Hi Jay Day! For her cousin Jayden.




Lastly, here are some things that me and the older two find funny. Whenever she drops something on the floor, she gets mad at herself and says:



Zoey: Ooooooooh, seeeeeeeee?



And whenever one of the other two hurt her, I make them apologize to her, but as they're saying sorry, she says sorry too and does the sign language for it:

Zoey: Soy-eeee.. As she rubs her hand over her belly in a circular motion and the sweetest "sad" look on her face.

Yes, people, you will be hearing more from her before you know it.

Kiddie Kwote-Out

We love watching American Idol with the family. The kids have their favorites. This was this week's performance that we are talking about.

Jason Castro was up singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and the judges raved about him afterwards, but right at the beginning here's what Juliet said:

Juliet: Oh Mommy, he's out.

Next we are watching David Archuleta, who sang "Angels."

Juliet: Oh, he is in. She says this as she nods her head in approval. "I like him."

She also said that Syesha Mercado was out. Let's see if she's right.

How Time Flies

Winter 2006


I had my quiet time this morning and it made me realize how short this life really is. I found some old pictures hidden in my camera's internal memory and it brought tears to my eyes. My "babies" hardly look like babies anymore.

Fall 2007


GOLDEN NUGGET:This verse says it all: Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am. Behold, you have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Psalm 39:4,5