Jennifer Apodaca's Blog

That was a blur! Guys, I’m getting old, LOL. This weekend took it out of me!

Saturday, I baked 2 loaves of sourdough, three dozen Mocha Toffee cookies, and made Manicotti. That was for Oldest’s birthday to take over on Sunday.

Sunday, I picked up Youngest DIL and she’s REALLY showing her pregnancy now. She looks amazing! She’s tall so I’m surprised she’s showing so much, but she is. We then crawled through traffic, thanks to a wrong way driver who caused a fatality. We were a tad late to Special K’s house, but still OK, but she was running late trying to get ready. Three week old babies make everything take longer, LOL! We got to the shower late, but it was fine, thankfully. Middle DIL was there with Cigi who looked adorable! The shower was lovely, both LT and Cigi were super good, and we all had fun.

The BEST moment was when we were leaving, and Cigi finally melted down into tears (um…she wanted to stay with me, and I love it until she cries). Anyway, her mom told her to say by to baby Lieutenant. She stopped crying, leaned over and very gently kissed him. It was the sweetest thing ever. Of course none of us had our phones out to get a picture. We were all caught by surprise. She was just so sweet and we all melted.

That evening, I was so glad I’d set aside some Manicotti for us — it was a quick and easy dinner, and so good. I had one, and all that dairy will definitively annoy my stomach but it was worth it. I’m generally so careful but sometimes, we just need a hefty does of pasta, cheese and fat in our lives

How was your weekend?

The post Weekend Roundup first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

TGIF!! Another week has flown by, and it’s time to share five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

Maggie says hi. She seems so nice and easy going doesn’t she? But it’s taking a lot of time to get her to go out for a last potty at night after we terrorized her with a bug zapper. She’s fine all day in the backyard, but she made the connection to darkness igniting the bug zapper horror. I’ve made progress and I think she’ll be fine in a few more days. Wizard was so frustrated, I think he threw the bug zapper away…because that’s how we solve problems, LOL. It disappeared and I’m not going to ask. There has been a bit of bug zapper frustration brewing up and no one needs to open up that discussion that will end in one of us (me, It’s totally me!) saying, “I told you this would happen,” in a strong, healthy and loving marriage Wednesday LT was a tired boy, and mostly ate and slept. But he wasn’t having any of the bassinet while Grandma was around. How do 2 and a half week old babies figure out so quickly that Grandma will pretty much do anything they want? Special K is feeling better and recovering well. While the second baby is not physically easier, I think it’s emotionally easier because we’re more mentally prepared for the demands of a new baby. We’ve been having a lot of this discussion circulating in the family.We tried to go see Cigi today, but she has plans for Goat Story Time with other moms and kids. I’m wondering if they get to see real goats? I didn’t ask because I’m seeing her and her mom Sunday and will ask them. But Goat Story Time sounds cool and fun!Tax Season has officially ended!! This is cause for celebration. Oldest and Youngest will have cleanup work to do, but hopefully, they can get a little more down time now. Especially Oldest. Because I’ve been at the house a lot lately where he’s working from home, I can see how much he’s handling. However, he and Turbo have a special Father/Son day planned for Sunday and it’ll do them both good. It’s also Oldest’s birthday, but all he wants to to spend the day with Turbo. They are going to some store with collectable Hotwheels and then out for ice cream. I am making Manicotti and probably sourdough bread for oldest for his birthday too. That’s my big gift, LOL.This weekend is another family baby shower for one of my nieces. It’s her first baby and I’m excited for them and looking forward to the shower. Special K wants to go and take LT, (assuming she feels up to it that day). I’m picking up Youngest’s wife and we’ll go to Special K’s house, and all go together to the shower. By then Special K will be three weeks postpartum and we don’t want her alone in the car with the baby in the backseat for a long drive just yet. Wizard was so confused why I’d “drive so much farther” until he saw my face and realized I was still in protective mom (or mom in law) mode. He got on board with the idea Also I know it will relieve Oldest son’s mind, so he can just focus on enjoying the day with Turbo. And seriously, it’s not hard to hang out with LT, plus Youngest DIL who pregnant and full of joy these days, as she should be! And Middle DIL will be at the shower with Cigi, so more fun times!

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

The post Friday Five first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

I’m heading out to help with Baby Lieutenant today. But let’s talk about reading.

So I finished my reread of VERITY by Colleen Hoover. It’s very different from her other books, much darker and suspenseful. I liked it in that I was sucked into the story. The ending was twisted, which I like as a reader, yet it disturbed me. Then I read the alternate ending, and wow was that a ride on a different train to Darkville. After several days of pondering, I think I liked the first ending better because it left me…ambivalent. As in who really is the bad guy here? The alternate ending went to me knowing who is the bad guy, and who is enabling it. It was interesting though.

I also finished reading LEGACY OF CHAOS and Larissa Ione doesn’t disappoint. I need to preorder the next one.

And I’m just about finished listening to WANT TO KNOW A SECRET by Freida McFadden. I really like this one.

No idea what I’m reading or listening to next.

What are you reading?

The post Wednesday Reading first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

Yep there was a weekend.

Saturday, we left around noonish to get to Turbo’s by 1:30 so he could get to his 3:00pm game by 2:00pm for warmups. Wizard was very happy to be just in time so he could feed Baby LT. And he hogged him Maggie and I played with Turbo. Boy did Maggie have a good time! Turbo took her all over, played some hide and seek with her (I helped Maggie) and showed her how he plays soccer in the backyard. Then we took Turbo to his game.

Turbo played really well, but the other team was excellent. Still, Turbo got a great power hit, and he pitched an inning. He is a good hitter, especially for his size. He’s really been working on pitching and can identify what he does well, where his mistakes are and usually has ideas how to correct them. We’re very  proud of him! And something I love — he was chatting away after the game, and I asked him who his friends are on the team. He paused, then said, “All of them.” I really like that too! Then we took him home. For various reason, I let Maggie out of the car unleashed, and she raced to the front door way ahead of us and got herself let inside. I could hear them laughing and just shook my head. My dog is weird, but she also makes people smile and I’m here for that. I am also so happy when she’s confident enough to leave my side like that. Plus she knows all our kids and their families, and I would assume since I am trust them, she trusts them.

Sunday, it was drizzly and I was just lazy. No long walks, no workouts, no significant cleaning, I just did little things like I started organizing my recipe books, creating a third one to hold all my gluten and dairy free recipes that I print. Then I ran out of clear plastic page covers I need, but at least I have a good start. I print so many recipes that my binders become a mess. I also make random notes and do some adjustments by memory without writing those down, so good luck to anyone trying to figure the recipes out. I’m going to try to remember to add my changes and adaptations onto the pages The rest of April is pretty busy so a rest day good here and there.

How was your weekend?

The post Weekend Roundup first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

TGIF!! Time to share five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

I booked a cheater-camping trip for the 4th of July. Our middle son and his family are going in the trailer, so we booked the adjacent Inn to camp with them from the comfort our our hotel room By the way “hotel” is a bit generous. I’d say it’s a cross between a hotel and motel, but fine for our trip. We mostly hang out with our son, his wife, Cigi and the dogs at their campsite. Maggie gets to go too. She loves camping.Monday I took something back to Kohls and surprised myself by spending a chunk. I bought two pairs of shoes, and one of them is high heels that I should not wear. Mainly because I don’t want to find out the hard way how strong and resilient my bones are, LOL.  I had a moment of, “But I want them.” So I bought them to go with a long skirt and some dresses that I have. And then being practical, I bought a comfortable pair of flats. I will throw those in the car, and change shoes if/when they bother me.Wednesday, I went to technically help Special K. But helping is mainly holding, feeding and burping LT. He’s so dang sweet, and I love hanging out with him. Monday he had to have a little procedure done (typical stuff for boys, but it couldn’t be done in the hospital this time around), so he was a little uncomfortable this week and he wanted to be held. I happily obliged: Mosquitos are bugging us, and Wizard insisted I plug in the bug zapper. It was a massacre! Wizard had to clean up dozens of dead bugs in the morning. The problem? Maggie is terrified of the noise and refuses to go out back when it’s dark even if I turn the zapper off. I tried everything, but she will hold her bladder from 6 at night until I walk her at 6:40 the next morning. That’s not good for her. After two days, Wizard gave in and we turned it off. The funny thing is Wizard was out there yesterday flying his drone his brother sent him — it makes a buzzing sound — and Maggie isn’t scared of that. She  watched him land it, when and sniffed it once, then wandered away to sprawl out in the sunshine and ignored the drone taking off and landing. She’s a strange dog, LOL.This weekend, it may rain. But if it doesn’t, we will take Turbo to his baseball game, and Maggie can come with us. Turbo is supposed to pitch and Wizard is really excited. Then we’ll take him home, and we’ll all order something for dinner and enjoy it together. If it does rain, then we’ll just go visit Turbo, Liam and his parents.

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

The post Friday Five first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

Who knows what Wednesday will bring us on the world scale, but for now, let’s make it all about books Because books always matter!

So I meant to finish LEGACY OF CHAOS, but then my Daughter In Law derailed me. She told me there’s an alternate ending to a book I read about three years ago, VERITY, by Colleen Hoover. I really liked that book and believe it’s one of her best for my tastes. But now there’s an alternate ending. So I pulled VERITY off my bookshelf to reread the last chapter as a refresher, and accidentally fell into rereading the entire book.

Whoops, my bad. But it’s the kind of psychological suspense I really like. So I’m about half way through that while LEGACY OF CHAOS is not-so-patiently waiting. Aren’t these the kind of problems our world should have? See, books are awesome! And sometimes, we want to read them all at the same time, LOL.

In audiobooks, I’ve been listening to NOBODY KNOWS YOURE HERE by Bryn Greenwood. I like it a lot. It’s another psychological suspense/thriller about a kidnapped woman caught up in a terrible thing with other victims, and I hope, they all escape and the bad guys pay big time. I am slow on listening as it’s dark in a way I like, but I also switch it up with some info type, lighter, podcasts that I enjoy listening too.

What are you reading or listening to?

Today, I’m going to help Special K with Baby LT, but I’ll answer Wednesday evening or Thursday depending on how the day (mostly traffic!) goes.

The post Wednesday Reading first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

I have news I’ve been dying to share…but we’ll do that in a minute. First the weekend. Friday, we learned baby LT has cleared the jaundice on his own. Go LT!! He’s just thriving so far. And dang, I miss him so much! It’s only been three days since I’ve seen him

Saturday, the other two boys, their wives and Cigi came over to celebrate Wizard’s birthday. Wizard was spoiled with lots of love, some gifts, and tons of laughter. We had a blast. And Cigi showed up wearing pink ribbons in her hair that matched the bows on her shoes and a cute dress. I never had girls, so this stuff is fun. Then she wore six or seven of the necklaces I have for her to play with. She’s such a hoot! She also ran me ragged, LOL, and I love it. We had tamales for dinner, which Wizard loved. And ice cream cake for dessert which I think he loved even more.

Our Easter day was quiet (as we wanted). We cooked tri tip, had some homemade sourdough bread and some sides that were leftover from Saturdays tamale dinner. We were both tired.

And now for a little more family news. We have another baby coming in October 2026!! We are all so excited. Youngest son and his wife are pregnant! This one makes me cry joyful tears after the long journey they’ve been through, but we will soon be celebrating with a new baby in the fall.

You know, back when I chose to retire from writing, it was a for a few reasons. Aside from my physical issues that I could have worked around if I tried hard enough, I could clearly see the oversaturated, dwindling market, and I knew that Wizard was going to need me more. What I didn’t know was that we’d have all these grandchildren! They are a full time job for us just trying to be in all the places, but as problems go, it’s a pretty good problem to have   Both Wizard and I really try to show up where and when we can. The kids also make it as easy as possible for us, so it usually works out.

How was your Easter and your weekend?

The post Weekend Roundup first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

TGIF!! At least I hope it’s Friday. It’s been a busy week and I’m struggling to keep my days straight, LOL. Anyhow, it’s time to share five random things about our week, here’s mine:

Monday Special K (the new mom) didn’t need me so I stayed home and cleaned. Boring, but I needed to get it done so that worked out. Tuesday I went shopping them made chicken enchiladas that Special K requested, and cookies that Oldest requested to take over there the next day.Wednesday morning, right before I left the house to go help with LT, Special K called and LT’s blood work showed jaundice. Turbo had jaundice as a newborn and was in the hospital for a few days, so we were all worried. She had to take LT back to the docs for a retest, then the doc would decide if he needed to go in NINC-U. She asked if I still wanted to come, and I told her I was coming, hang on we’d take him together. I know Oldest son was relieved because he has to work, although he’s working from home to help where he can. We got LT to the docs, they took the blood, then we waited. And waited. Once I got back home a little before 5pm, we got the news — he had jaundice but not bad enough for the NINC-U. We are all so relieved! He has to do some more bloodwork just to make sure, but overall, it’s good news.I returned on Thursday to help. And LT might have jaundice, but he’s already thriving! He sleeps, eats and fills his diaper like a champ. He opens his eyes and engages with whomever will talk to him longer each day. He’s the sweetest boy and so chill.  Special K is doing well. She’s got this mom thing down. Turbo is already a great big brother! I’m so proud of him. And he pitched a game this week and did a good job. It’s taking a village to get him to his games, but it’s all working out. Also, Turbo’s other grandparents have been giving him all kinds of special attention that is so helpful right now.I want to mention Oldest Son here. He’s juggling so much, and I’m proud of him. This month is hard, and we’re all doing what we can, and he appreciates it. But he’s managing a lot of stress and an impossible schedule + work load. Yet me makes time just to hold LT or change his diaper, or quickly do something for his wife. And of course, Special K is a great wife who makes it possible for him to do his job.Wizard’s birthday is tomorrow. The two of us are going out to dinner tonight, then tomorrow Middle, his wife and Cigi, plus youngest and his wife are coming over for dinner and cake. He wants an ice cream cake just like Youngest had Hopefully I can pull it all together.  We’re getting tamales and keeping it fairly easy.  While I love seeing all my kids, I’m especially looking forward to seeing Cigi. She’s still my princess!

That was my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!! And this time, I will really REALLY try to answer comments. Wednesday was just crazy.

The post Friday Five first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

Happy April Fools Day! Watch out for jokesters

This is a nonstop busy week for me so I’m not reading much. I finished my audiobook THIS STORY MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.  I like it a lot. It had a twist I didn’t expect and can be sensitive to read about, but it was handled well (at least for me). I’m about 85% through Larissa Ione’s LEGACY OF CHAOS on my Kindle and really liking it, I’m just too tired at night to read.

What are you reading?

Programming Note: I’m going to be gone most of today and tomorrow for New Grandbaby Duty, so I may be lax about answering comments. I definitely read them on my phone, I just wait until I get to my desktop or laptop to answer.

The post Wednesday Reading first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.

He’s here!!! Meet the littlest baby boy who I’ll likely call some version of LT  I see a strong resemblance to his dad when he was newborn, but I’m also his dad’s mom and possibly just want to see it :-).

He was two weeks early, born on Friday at 8lbs 2 oz and 20 inches. He’s perfect. His mom is a total badass delivering this guy. She’s tiny and it wasn’t easy, but she did it. We were all worried for reasons during the last couple weeks, and there was a scary moment or two at his birth, but things worked out and everyone is fine. Seriously, his mom is amazing.

Turbo is a big brother now and totally nailing it. Here’s a pic where I cut his mom out because I didn’t know if she’d appreciate me posting a pic of her one day postpartum, LOL. Here are the boys:

It was awesome to see and hold the baby, and check on how everyone is doing. This is our third grandchild, and they are all so special and such a gift.

How was your weekend?

The post Weekend Roundup first appeared on Jennifer Lyon.