reyesrivera

Who coined it's not about the destination, it's about the journey?

As I started out in this journey called; Writing a Dissertation, I told my advisor, my chair, my family and myself- “I will not shed a tear over this”. Fast forward two semesters to  a very mini defense, aka “an opportunity for feedback”.  Water. Works.

I had already spent a good part of a year between, classes, work, Ava, and The Real Housewives of New Jersey gathering, reading, analyzing literature.  My topic and the direction I was headed was on lock.  I felt that my feedback session was going to give me a few more areas in which to look for more information and some authors to reference. Um, No.

Sparing you the nasty details and honestly, not willing to re-live the experience, I left that “exercise” feeling sick with disappointment. There are lots of considerations to make, one of them being if this topic is worth exploring and will it contribute anything to the body of knowledge that exists.   But   Because I have invested so much time into this project already, I will not abandon it, I will not abandon it, I will not abandon it.  (Studies show that if you say/write something 3X, that you basically own that sentiment)  I will however need to gather myself, take a few deep breaths, spend some time with my advisor and get the damn thing done.  Moving forward, I will not shed (anymore) tears.

Stay Tuned.

Ava Baby no Ava The Three Year Old

 

 

 

 

Ava’s a newly appointed three year old. That hardly means anything to her but means a whole lot for us, her parents. To say that we’ve nurtured a baby to a kid is not what we’ve done, we’ve merely scraped by with the basics; food, shelter and clothing.  Oxygen is free so we can’t claim we’ve provided that for her, but we must be doing something ok because she  is one amazing child.

Don’t get us wrong, this is not a post to tell you the world how outstanding out kid is. Simply that we never thought that we could actually care about anything else but ourselves, but it’s happened, we have managed to put most of our self-center ness aside and pour all our energy, sanity and money into a tiny 30 pound human who eats her boogers and thinks that fruit snacks are real fruit. Amazing right?

In all of this questionable parenting, Ava has managed the following:

o       Corralled herself a few BFF’s that are just as adorable as she is

o       Secured a spot in  her mom and dad’s bed – we think permanently

o       Has figured out she has a sense of humor and thinks “choo-choo” is the funniest word ever

o       Still won’t rock a pig-tails but GOD willing we keep trying

o       Thinks that having shoes that match her Dad is totally cool (note that when she is 16 someone)

o       Can sing the entire song of “Just throw it in the Bag”

o       Referencing the above, specifically cries to go shopping at Target

o       Says things like “leave me alone”, “because I want to” and “but everyone is there”

o       Says “Gimmie BIG hug and kiss” when she gets dropped off at school

Like Kimora says, “I don’t want to toot my own horn, but toot-toot” because that is exactly how we feel about our little 6lb baby growing into the big girl she is. She rocks and we think her parents do too!

CHEESE!

Nevermind the 100 degree heat, we have Christmas pictures to take!!! Our lovey friend Howie took some time and snapped a few shots of the Rivera Family.  This one is my absolute favorite.

 

  

Grandma Marshmallow

This is Ava's Great Grandma, Grandma Marshmallow.  She is very special and we are so blessed that she gives unconditional love & Marshmallows!

Just Don't See It?

Bruce, the older brother and All Mighty Moderator shared this with us over the weekend.."We saw a lot of Ava's in the Philippines, little dark babies, no hair and boogers"
Not sure what they are getting at because I just don't see it..

Sharing more of the perfectness... MRB

Maribel Reyes Beadle

The little one in the middle being covered by the big headed toddler is Maribel. We're so excited that she is FINALLY here! She is beautiful and all ours. We are very very blessed.

New Year, New President, it's only appropriate to start with a new blog...

Transition.

Over the weekend I had a conversation with a friend about the Inauguration. We spoke about how awesome it would be to actually be there in Washington, but how we would be just as happy to watch it from the warmth of our home/office. “But you know, those people there will never forget where they were that day and how they celebrated,” he said. His point left me wanting to reflect a little. Because I know that while I won’t be in D.C. with 2 million others, I will remember the historical significance of the inauguration and my details of today. 

It’s Tuesday morning: Ava is coming off a respiratory virus as well as a 3 day weekend and it’s very difficult to get her up and going. I try to encourage her by telling her that today is an historic day; we have a new president and it’s a turning point in America as we know it. Of course at 2 years old, she hasn’t had the opportunity to become jaded and cynical under the administration that she was born into. Yet, it’s important for her to understand how much her vision of the world will be shaped by Obama’s ideals and leadership. I mean after all she points to the American flag and says “Obama-Obama-Obama” so she should celebrate in this transition!!! She doesn’t care, rolls over and tells me “NO.”  Ok, second attempt: “Ava wake up, let’s go see your friends at school,” I gently say. “NO!” she half cries, half screams. After 15 minutes of struggle and more crying she gives in and let’s us wash her face and change her diaper.  Another 10 minutes after that she is finally dressed, motrined up and ready to go.  As we are on our way to school, my thoughts are mostly, "got to get to work and logged into CNN so that I don’t miss anything."  Ava’s thoughts I could only assume were similar.   

Once inside her class, Ava clings to me like the strongest tree monkey imaginable wrapping her legs around mine and gripping my neck like it were the last time we would ever see one another. The teachers were trying to comfort the both of us, saying that this is typical after a long weekend, we’re in a new location, etc… All I can think is: great, a 100% meltdown at 7:45 a.m., chalk full of hitting, crying, and screaming.  It’s going to be tough to leave this situation without feeling guilty.  

A whole 3 minutes later, I ditched the crying tree monkey and was blissfully on my way to work. The roads were clear, the sun was shining and things were smooth. I got logged in just in time to catch Obama address the nation.  It is a New Day indeed.

It’s ironic that a difficult morning transitioned into feeling hopeful, peaceful and empowered by noon. My hope will be that Ava too had a good day after the tears as well. 

Feeling all inspired and capable, I will probably give 100% to my job today, only check facebook during my lunch and be warm and fuzzy to all the students that give me a bad time. Then I will go home tonight to my wonderful family, bake a chicken, watch Obama’s inaugural speech again, comment on the inaugural fashion and assure Ava that tomorrow will be an even better day than today. 

Significant enough for me, and I am not freezing my butt off either.