The Escandon's Family Blog

Last month we spent over $200 eating out.


Yes, $200.


I write this with my head down in shame.


So, we decided to try and go the entire month of October with out eating out. Not once. Not even buying bottled water. No more Cold Stone frozen yogurt for us.

It probably wouldn't have been much of a challenge 2 1/2 years ago when our income was a lot less. We have been so blessed the past two years with the opportunity for Paul to bring in more money. But with the increase and no increase in housing expenses, we took it for granted. We went out for pizza, ate at nice restaurants (ok so it was only once and we had a gift card- but still), and drove thru when it was too convenient and too much work for me to make a full fresh meal.


We started today and I stocked our fridge and pantry with lots of yummy goodness! So far so good...but we are on day one. Maybe I can finally shed these 8lbs to get to pre-pregnancy weight. Although loosing more like 20 would be perfect.

My goal is for this to really help us save some dough and I am hoping homemade meals will just be routine for us once again! We took on a mortgage with a substantial increase in housing expenses... as much as I love to be cooked for and not have a messy kitchen afterward- I like the roof over my head even more.

Labels: Announcements, Family Life, household hints, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by P. Escandon at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

We're back by popular demand! I have had TWO, yes, TWO requests to update the blog. Shout out to Brian's grandma ! Lots happening here in the Escandon house the past 4 months! I'll try to keep it simple and sweet.

• July 18th at 6:15pm I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Lucy Rose. She is a sweet baby who is adored by her big sister Clare. This photo was taken moments after Lucy's birth.
  

• We had our first successful homebirth, sure not to be the last (birth story to follow)!

• August 21st, 2008 Lucy was baptized.

• On June 20, 2008 (after a very long and nightmarish escrow period) we became homeowners! We just love our new home. Aside from the blazing heat that hits the west side of the house in the afternoon, the house is perfect for our family!
  

Labels: Announcements, clare, Family Life, Lucy Rose, pictures

Posted by MamaEscandon at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yesterday we met Paul and his boyfriend John (or is it Jon?) for lunch. My brother came with. We love this place. Lunch is perfect because its half the price of dinner and the portions are a tad smaller... you still get stuffed but its not as much food as dinner time. As it was, we all waddled out of there. This was Clare's first Bonsai experience and I think it freaked her out just a tad.

Labels: clare, Family Life, Friends, paul, pictures

Posted by MamaEscandon at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

I woke up bright and early this morning to have a garage sale. I've been trying really hard to purge some things that we don't need or use anymore. I don't know what it is but garage sale season is slow this year. We got 3 little rushes of people and the rest kind of trickled here and there. But I am still exhausted. In fact, I am sitting in a chair looking at all this junk stuff we have for sale and I really don't want to pack it up and take it to the Salvation Army. When things started winding down (THREE HOURS AGO) I decided I was going to post what I have left that is sellable on craigslist and my local buy and sell yahoo group. Everything else? Freecycle. Gotta love it. You post your well loved goodies and people just come and get it. Sort of. When you are lucky enough to get someone to actually show up that is. So far, I have been lucky. I had 2 people come haul stuff away and I am waiting on one more right this minute. Its funny how the same stuff even if for sale for $1 just doesn't sell... offer it for free and you can't blink before its taken.

Case in point: Remember this hideous thing? Well, I was inside with my feet proped up on the ottoman taking a much needed break when I saw some people in the driveway. They didn't look like Freecyclers. I immediately thought... "ugh, break time over". They bought .25 worth of pants and I told them everything piled in front of the car was FREE! Soon enough the husband noticed the ugly stackable unit. Sweet. I told him to take it. Just get it out of my garage. And you know what? He did! Along with the washer, they took TWO boxes of stuff I had fro free laid out. Who knows, maybe they took more than that. I don't care. I just know I don't have to take this stuff anywhere or call anyone to come pick it up.

Hopefully I can get rid of the rest of the junk just as easy. I have some things I am still trying to sell and I am praying that Craigslist does the job.

Labels: Announcements, Family Life, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Nothing makes a Mama more proud than to open the refrigerator door and have your toddler begging you for carrots.

Labels: clare, Family Life, Proud Mama Moments, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

I am really trying to use up what's left in our freezer before buying more groceries. Recently I bought some yummy "Panko Breaded Tilapia Fish Fillets" at Costco. I never realized that Paul doesn't really like breaded fish. So what to do with these fillets? Fish tacos of course! We love Rubios (even Paul) and the tacos average about $2 each. I'm not too sure how much my homemade version costs but it makes great use out of stuff I already have on hand and we don't have to eat with the crowds!

I am serving these with homemade pinto (or charro) beans, and some steamed white rice flavored with parsley.

Check out my previous post on fish tacos I did sometime last year. And, if you haven't tried them, nows the time! :o)

Labels: Family Life, rachael, Recipes

Posted by MamaEscandon at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: clare, pictures

Posted by MamaEscandon at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: clare, Family Life, pictures

Posted by MamaEscandon at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

I have been trying to get rid of our old stackable washer and dryer for a while now. We bought it when we lived in our last apartment. I paid way to much for it in the first place, replaced the motor in the washer, and the timer. I sold it late last year but it was returned because the dryer broke. I felt bad for the guy since I didn't mean to sell it to him that way...

Anyway, I got really lazy about the whole thing and its been taking up space in our garage for nearly a year. The past month or so I have tried to sell it, freecycle it, throw it away, give it away and recycle it... all with no success.

I tried selling it, but it broke en route to its new home. Then, I was an idiot and had a repair man come take a look so I could sell it but tell the buyer what was wrong. Boy was that a mistake. Cost me 50 bucks and the repair man said it was going to cost just... oh another $350 to get it fixed. So I put it on craigslist to see if someone would at least pay me $50 for what I paid to have the guy come look at it. I was thinking it was a sweet deal because they were at least getting a washer. So someone came to buy it. He was an appliance repair man. Go figure. He opened up the washer and said the transmission was leaking. Long story short, he didn't buy it.

I got on the phone with waste management to schedule a pick up for the following Friday. I just wanted this thing out of my garage (I'm sure our house mate does too)! I was supposed to have it out on the driveway by 6am that morning. Well, Thursdays Paul teaches his class in San Diego and he was dropping us off at my mom's work so we could go to a birthday celebration for my grandmother. Long story short, we got home so late I forgot to put it out.

Too embarassed to call waste management, I tried to freecyel the darn thing. No takers. I put it for free on good 'ole trusty craigslist. I had not 1, not 2, but THREE people offering to pick it up- ASAP. They all said they would come "tomorrow". Long story short: when I reply via email my info, I never hear back.

A kind freecyler told me about a local family owned recyling company that will come pick up your waste free of charge. I know now why they offer it for free. Because no one in their right mind would pay for the type of service they have given me. I called 3 times to schedule a pick up for the appliance and some random e-waste. Each time they have taken my name and number, promising to call me back with a date. Three weeks later, I still don't get a call. I emailed the company with a complaint last week... they never responded. I called again and asked to speak to a supervisor. I finally got a pick up scheduled but they couldn't give me a date. So I sit here and I wait... and wait... and hope that I can get rid of this piece of crap ASAP. Doubt it.

Long story short: I may have to actually pay someone to haul this junk away.

Lesson learned? Never, never purchase a 15 year old appliance. I am not going to embarrass myself any further by actually disclosing how much I paid for this thing.

Labels: Family Life, pictures, rachael, Rants

Posted by MamaEscandon at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

OK, the hand washing of clothes is a little much... so are the hand powered appliances. I am not so sure I could go that far (although I did grow up watching/helping my grandmother hand wash their clothes). But think of all the money saved! I suppose when I have my little army of children it wouldn't be so bad. I already hang dry my clothes. I would love for all of our produce come from our own yard. However, I do enjoy the convenience of having certain fruits out of season. I can't wait to get my garden going next spring. I just wish we didn't have the HOA telling us what to do with our yard and not allowing us to be self sustaining!

Labels: Family Life, garden, rachael, video

Posted by MamaEscandon at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tonight while was getting Clare ready for bed I received a phone call from an unknown number. FYI, for our home purchase, my mom is handling the FHA loan we are going with. The conversation went a little something like this:

Me: "Hello"

Mom: "Hey, its Mom. We need to talk. We have a problem".

Me: "What is it?"

Mom:"Well, we are going to have to figure out what we are going to do. We aren't going to be able to do the loan on the house".

Me: "What?! Why not"?

Mom: "Well, FHA has some really strict guidelines."

Me: "Uh huh".

Mom: "And apparently Paul has a warrant out for his arrest".

Me: "WHAAAT?! For what? That's not possible". All I can think is "Great, now I have to call my Dad".

Mom: "I know, I thought he was so innocent."

Me: "What for"?

Mom: "I don't know you are going to have to talk to him".

My heart is pounding. At this point I am starting to freak out and I am pretty sure pre-term labor is starting.

Then, Paul comes in the room screaming:

"APRIL FOOLS!"

Yes, it was all his idea.

Labels: Family Life, Nonsense, paul, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

Never had breakfast at The Escandon House! Cream of Wheat is the favorite around here. It amazes me how much of this stuff Clare can eat. If I make enough for two (according to package directions), she will eat half. If I make enough just for her, which is one adult size serving, she eats it all up. It is usually accompanied by some sort of fruit, usually fresh. If we don't have fresh, raisins it is. This morning it was fresh blueberries but she had already gobbled them up by the time I found the camera. This bowl is about 1/2 eaten already.


In other events, I am back to blogging, back to emailing, and back to perusing the net. Although, the degree at which I find is necessary has dramatically decreased. I don't have as much interest in message boards, reading all 30 blogs I have on my RSS feed, and visiting myspace/facebook. It certainly helps that my late night internet time has been replaced by another vice. One day Paul showed up with a borrowed season 1 set and I've been hooked ever since, watching up to 4 or 5 episodes a night (we usually keep it at just 3)! I keep trying to convince myself I just need to catch up to season 4. It shouldn't be hard since we are already at season 3. Then there is Dexter, the serial killer I hate to love (also a borrowed box set). Thankfully season 1's story line ended pretty nicely so I am not agonizing over what is going to happen next. We don't get showtime so we are just waiting for season 2 to come out on DVD.

Clare is getting so big! I can hardly believe it. Her language skills are developing but she isn't putting together words to form little sentences yet. She now says outside, bye bye, bowl, dog, wee (this is the word for stairs, slides, swings, and driving around in the car), balloon, and much more. She loves to play outside in her sandbox and in her cozy coupe car I picked up at a garage sale for 3 bucks. I also scored a picnic table on craigslist for free! She just loves to watch Yo Gabba Gabba, and although I try so hard to distract her with other things to do, sometimes I just need a break and need 20 mins to prepare dinner, hang the clothes on the line, or just to breathe I give in and let her watch an episode from our DVR. I admit, I really love watching the show too!

Easter was great! I was Confirmed and I am filled with the Holy Spirit! We spent the day with my Sister in Law and her family. Clare loved her Easter basket (filled with healthy yummy goodness and organic candies) and had a blast looking for Easter Eggs!


We also became Auntie and Uncle to Baby Rosemary Ludmila Teresa! She was born abotu 5 weeks early and has been in NICU while they plump her up. She is otherwise very, very healthy. Thanks be to God! She is the cutes little thing and came into this world at only 3lbs 12 oz. We are also so very proud and honored that her parents chose us to be Rosemary's godparents! It is such a blessing for all of us. I can't wait for her to come home to be with her family.

Speaking of babies... our little bun in the oven is doing just fine, very active. We had an ultra sound about 3 weeks ago. It was our first time with the 3-D and I am dissapointed we didn't have the opportunity to do the same with Clare.

The baby was still really skinny at this time, hardly any fat so she looks a little like an alien baby still. Shh... don't tell I said that. Oh and if you were wondering... its a GIRL! We are so excited and I have to say both Paul and myself really wanted another girl. Makes shopping so much easier! I had a feeling it was going to be another girl from the very beginning, mama knows best I suppose.

Lets see... what else? Oh, we are officially in the market for a new home! God has certainly blessed us in 2007 and we are in a position to find a house we can put some love and sweat into and make it a home. Lucky for us, the market is just right. After about 10am this morning we will have offers on 3 homes. One is a back up, one we are submitting today and one is in the negotiation stages... still. Our agent is a good friend and my old boss... funny how I used to work for him now he's working for me. :o)

I gotta get going for my day. Just thought I'd pop in and update any readers... if you're still there.

Labels: Announcements, Baby Escandon #2, clare, Family Life, pictures, The Three Of Us

Posted by MamaEscandon at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments

I know its been quite a while. Not sure if anyone missed us. With my first trimester behind me, I have been spending a lot of time trying to catch up on the housework and chores that have been neglected lately. I plan on taking another hiatus from the computer starting Wednesday of next week and I won't be back until after Easter. So, I wanted to update and what's been going on around here.

Christmas was great. We spent Christmas Eve at my maternal Grandmothers with my side of the family. We had a delicious meal of pozole and tamales. Christmas morning we got up and went to Mass at The Mission, then went to my dad's for the early afternoon. We came home and all crashed for a family nap. Unfortunately, we do not have many photos. We were too busy enjoying our time. Plus, we didn't do any family gifts on Christmas. Both Paul and myself gave in and gave our presents over a week early. I bought him a rain coat he can use when he is filming in the rain, along with some fleece pajama bottoms. And I got an awesome HP laptop! We figure Clare was still to little to get the whole Christmas thing and we haven't decided on what traditions we are going to be celebrating so we just skipped buying her a present (read on... we make up for it). So we didn't have a Christmas morning at the tree. I will share the few photos we do have.





Paul went to the Rose Bowl with his father. Second year in a row, by the way.






The second week in January we took a mini-vacation to Big Bear Mountain. It was Clare's first time in the snow. Sadly, we forgot our camera so we didn't get the best photos. But I got two from my camera phone and a cute video of Clare and Paul sledding. I did try sledding but it was a little bouncy so I didn't want to do it again. I got a couple cute shots of her checking out the snow in her snow suit. She was really cute, she hated being inside the room in the lodge and wanted to be outside the whole time!



Clare is getting so stinkin' big! I can't believe it. She is no longer my baby but my big walking, running, toddler. She helps me all around the house and wants to do everything on her own. Her vocabulary is growing. She can now say baby, uh ooh, & mama (in addition to the words she was saying at Christmas time). She loves stuffed animals and loves to cuddle with them and take the small ones with her everywhere. Funny thing is that I don't care much for them. They are mere dust collectors. But hey, they make her happy and that makes me happy. I love watching her cuddle and kiss the animals. She is such a lover girl. She sees my belly and says "baby" and puts her lips out to kiss it! She loves other children also and wants to give them all love! I know she is just going to be a loving big sister. I can't wait! Here she is helping me rake the leaves in the front yard.



As I said, we made up for Christmas. I had been eying the Radio Flyer walker wagon for a while now... and I fell in love when Clare and I went to visit our friends in Washington (who happen to have one). So one Saturday afternoon we got in the car and drove down to Escondido to my favorite store. I am hooked to that store and we buy every gift for children there. They have a wonderful collection of wooden and classic toys. Just my style. They also carry organic baby and children's clothes, soft shoes, cloth diapers & accessories, baby slings, and so much other awesome stuff! Ok, commercial over. Clare loves her walker wagon. She plays with it more than her other walking toys. She loves to sit in it-even when playing by herself and loves to put her toys and stuffed animals in it and push them around. We took it with us one day when we went to mass so she could play with it afterwards. She and another boy from church had a good time. I blocked out his face because I did not get permission from his mother to post his photo on the internet.

And now there is me. I am currently about 14 weeks pregnant. Now that I am in the second trimester, I have a lot more energy to keep up on my wifely and motherly duties. The house is slowly starting to come together... although all it takes is a blink and Clare destroys or annihilates something. :o) She certainly is keeping me busy. I am being confirmed this Easter and that is exciting for me. I am attending RCIA with other converts to the Faith. So, my Lenten preparation for Easter I will be taking a hiatus from the computer and will be trying to immerse myself in prayer, spiritual reading, and my vocation. I hope to return with a new attitude on life and my Faith.

That's pretty much it for now... Paul's going to Las Vegas this weekend with work so Clare and I will spend the next 5 days or so trying to keep busy. I think a trip to the Wild Animal Park is in order!

Labels: clare, Family Life, holiday, paul, pictures, rachael, The Three Of Us, Thoughts, video

Posted by MamaEscandon at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

Make a photobook - it's easy!

Please excuse our daughter's unruly hair! She won't let me near it with the brush. I tried putting something in it to hold it back and she pulled it out along with a chunk of hair! We had a great Christmas, I just wish we got some more/better photos. We were too busy enjoying ourselves! We went to my Grandmother's for Christmas Eve, went to a beautiful mass at the Mission, then to my Dad's for Christmas day. On Christmas night Paul's Dad came over to exchange gifts. We spent the rest of the time relaxing. Thursday night my sister in law and her bunch came over to hang out and exchange gifts. It was so much fun watching Clare have a good time playing with her cousins! She got to bed really late (almost 11pm) but she had a blast running around with them! Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures. Maybe next time!

Enjoy the picture book!

Labels: clare, Family Life, holiday, paul, pictures, rachael, The Three Of Us

Posted by MamaEscandon at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments