Team Espinoza

In case you are feeling down, or low, lacking in creativity and energy, or simply have a case of the Monday’s, I’ve got just the cure.  It’s an easy three step process.

I believe we’ve all made up of three parts:  Physical, Emotional, Spiritual.   I was feeling down last night, and since then I’ve taken these steps to give me a boost.

Phisical

Exercise.  I went to the gym and had a good time of stretching and jogged 1.5 miles.  Results were near immediate.  I also drank half a gallon of water.

Emotional

Connect with a loved one.  I got a hug from Amanda, and after the kids were in bed we sat and talked.  With the change in schedule that comes with the first trimester, a quiet talk had been missed.  Simple.

Spiritual

Spent some of my morning in prayer with God.  Not heaping my troubles upon him, or pleading for something to be fixed, but just talking and reading some Proverbs.

And just like that I feel like a new man, ready to take the world by the tail!

I am having our third baby in March 2011! I am not very far along, but I already feel the joy of a constant state of nausea. I predict the nausea stage will be over around Thanksgiving. We affectionately call this stage “The Dark Ages.”

We are ready for another baby. When Baby E3 is born Annabelle will still be 3 years old and Rome will have just turned 2 years old. I will certainly have my hands full! We can’t wait to meet our new little person in the family.

I came across this Bible verse today. It’s my new favorite verse.

Job 7:11 (New American Standard Bible)

11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”

I always felt like you could say anything to God, but I have never come across a verse the explicitly talked about that. I think it is so healthy just to lay out all your garbage when you are praying. I’d rather lay all that I am thinking before God rather than my husband or a friend. He can actually do something about whatever it is I am going through. God isn’t offended when we pray what we are really feeling and thinking. I think He wants us to!

Everyone knows that getting out the door on time with two small children is difficult. Here are a few real life examples that happened this morning of why this is so:

- As I am tying Annabelle’s shoes I look down and discover banana smooshed in the carpet. Roman had taken Annabelle’s banana off the table and ran off with it.

- As I am tying my own shoes Annabelle wants to help and pretends to tie my shoes as I am in process of doing it myself. It’s always easier to tie your shoes with little hands in the way.

- A potty break before we go doesn’t happen quickly with my 3 year old.

- As Annabelle is washing her hands, Roman comes in and decides to play in toilet water that hasn’t been flushed yet. More hand washing is done.

- Changing another diaper happens.

- Filling sippy cups and you find that you don’t have lemonade to fill both.

- Filling my own mug with some very strong coffee!

Phew. I am tired again.

Annabelle turned three years old two months ago and now she is certainly acting like a big 3 year old.

The other day I asked her if she wanted butter and jelly on her biscuit. She replied in her cute little girl voice, “Why not?” Since that moment she has been saying and asking “Why?” all the time. The fun begins!

Last week she finally decided that diapers were dead to her. She wants nothing to do with them. Hallelujah!

We had a lock on the inside of her bedroom door for a while now, but this presented a challenge in case she actually had to use the potty.  She actually went on the floor once and we asked why she went on the floor. She said, “Because I can’t go in my panties and I didn’t want to get my bed dirty.” It makes perfect sense. Yesterday we took the lock off of her door and set up her bathroom needs in the bathroom next to her room. So far it is working out.

She finally wants to sit down and color. She would color before, but not for a long period of time.

Annabelle HAS to help me with the dishes. At least that is what she says. So I let her do a few dishes and explain how it works. I have been making more of an effort to include her in household chores. I think a sticker/chore chart will be coming soon.

She likes to call her brother, Buddy. I kinda love that.

One of her favorite phrases to say is “That’s great!”

She ADORES her cousins, Samantha, Aubrey, and Kaela.

I used to read to her at night before bed and now she reads to me. She does pretty well remembering the stories.

I can’t believe has much she has grown developmentally in the last two months. She can still fit in her size 24 months clothes, so she hasn’t grown much physically. I am overwhelmed by this tiny girl growing up before my eyes!

It’s no secret that I love food. I love cooking it and eating it. Cleaning up not so much. I know that you really don’t care what I ate, but I wanted to share this idea with you so you can use it at your own dinner party.

I had my usual dinner and “So You Think You Can Dance” dinner party last night. This week I decided to make burgers with a Gourmet Toppings Bar. It was a huge hit! It was so easy and reasonable if you get others to chip in too.

Melia bought buns already grilled from Biff Buzby’s burgers near Topperwein and I-35. The buns are sweet and sturdy enough to hold a lot of toppings.

Daniel and Bryan grilled the burgers and ears of corn.

Condiments:
Mayo
Mustard
Ketchup
BBQ Sauce

Cheese:
Cheddar
Swiss
Pepper Jack
Feta

Toppings:
Green Leaf Lettuce
Tomato
Red Onion
Baby Spinach
Sweet yellow onions sauted in butter and bacon drippings
Mushrooms sauted in butter and bacon drippings
Bacon

Here is a pic of the choices. I went with a mayo, BBQ sauce, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onions, mushrooms, and bacon burger. Melia couldn’t decide and made her own Split Decision burger. Is your mouth watering yet?

Roman insisted on wearing this headband today. It was a Christmas gift from Uncle Albert!

This evening I took Annabelle to a kid’s production at my church called “A Knight’s Tale.” A group from Georgia was putting on the show.  After the second song she sneaked up on stage. They had already selected some older helpers from the audience before the first song. The older kids helped Annabelle and put her in line with them. Right in the middle of the stage. She LOVED it. Just watch the video!

Apparently she couldn’t get enough of the stage and had to be right in the center during the alter call as well. She kept following the main guy that was speaking and sitting next to him wherever he was praying. Yeah, I don’t think she is shy!

She is in the middle in the blue shirt.

We recently watched “Up in the Air”.  The movie follows Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) a man whose job consists of flying around the country and firing people.  The movie contains several scenes of Bingham doing his job by informing people that they have lost theirs.  The director cast several people that had recently gone through a job loss in the roles of the terminated employees, undoubtedly to add validity to their depictions.

Putting the merits of the movie aside (we liked the story, pace, and characters), I was very surprised to find that the scenes showing people loosing their job evoked a strong visceral response from me.  My response was not of disdain and disgust for Bingham the ax man, nor for the faceless employer that brought in a consultant to do their dirty work.  My anger and agitation was focused on the employees.  Each employee reacts with shock and dismay to the news; most posing rhetorical questions like “What am I going to tell my kids?”, “I’ve worked here for 25 years and this is what I get?”, “How am I going to pay my bills”, or “How can you live with yourself?”  While these scenes were probably meant to have movie watchers put themselves in the place of the employees and empathize with them I had very little compassion.  (I think part of my reaction was getting out of my chair, pacing, and yelling at the t.v.  Strange, I know.)

I began thinking about the root cause of my reaction.  Was it based on my own termination that occurred in 2001?  Was it because I saw the employees as weak and naive?  I finally figured out that my agitation was with the employees believing in an un-truth.  They put their faith in the fallacy of “Job Security”.

In his blog post “Job Security is the Devil“  Paul Smith shares the statistic:

“According to the SHRM Workplace Visions survey from last year on job satisfaction, upwards of over 60% polled claim job security is what they value the most.”

Smith also says, “I’ve heard the greatest trick that the Devil ever pulled was convincing people he did not exist.  I say the opposite.  The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing people to value something that did not exist.”

I believe that employees should no longer carry the expectation of being “taken care of” for their entire careers.  The expectation of: “I’ll just put in my time and the company will take care of me” is poisonous for the growth and motivation of employees.  This false expectation removes all need for learning new skills, taking risks, or making any changes to the status quo.  It also causes the reactions shown on the film – disbelief, anger, and rejection when a downsizing occurs.  I’m not saying that a termination should be greeted with jubilation, but with a stoic understanding, an acknowledgment of change occurring, a change that will not define who it’s happening to, an end that brings on a new beginning.

Instead of “Job Security” I say employees should seek “Marketability”.  What is the value, skill, attitude that you bring to the market?  How are you proving day-in, day-out that you are a valuable member of the team and that the company continually benefits from your contributions?  Marketable employees are empowered to continue their participation in their field of work regardless of the opinion of one company.

Here are five practical ways to maintain your marketability.

1. Seek your passion, not money
Recently our pastor, Sean Azzaro, delivered a great sermon on “Passion At Work!”  You can listen to it here.  When you work at your dream job and not a J-O-B your approach to your work is transformed.  Read Leo Babauta’s post titled “The Short but Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion.”

2. ‘Sell’ yourself every day
Continue to prove your worth to your employer.  Remind your team that you are there to serve.  Stand out.  Be remembered.

3. Sharpen the saw
In Stephen Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” Habit 7 is related to self-rejuvenation: Sharpening the Saw.  Covey’s website describes it as “…having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.”  Learn a new skill.  Take a retreat of silence.  Spend time in the outdoors.  Exercise.

4.  Act as if you worked on straight commission
The truth is that we are all on straight commission.  As Dave Ramsey says, try not showing up for work for a month and see if you’re still employed.

5.  Get and stay debt free
The need for “Job Security” is more than likely related to money insecurity.  The employee who hears “you’re terminated” and has no debt and half a million dollars in the bank reacts differently than the one with two car notes, and $50,000 in credit card debt.

If Job Security is a fallacy then where should you put your faith?  For us, we choose to put our faith in God as our provider.  We have experienced the truth of His promises and there’s nowhere else we would go for our security.

I really thought I could write a coherent blog post at midnight on a Monday, but now I am not sure I can. I have no clue what I am doing up anyway. Daniel is out late watching a movie with a friend. I got lost on the interwebs finding new blogs to add to my reader, a book tracking site, and finding new music. I really need to blog about Annabelle turning 3 and finishing her second year of Mother’s Day Out. Roman is walking everywhere and constantly cracks me up. Except for when he wakes up at 7:00 a.m. crying and gagging himself, because he is bored. Most mornings we all get out of bed a little after 8:00 a.m. This is a BEAUTIFUL thing.

Daniel and I have been busy working on Missions & Outreach for the church. We love it. I am also still working on the Women’s Mentoring Program. It’s awesome to see the program finally in full swing.

I said good bye to my awesome friend, Wendy. She is from East Texas and one of the funniest and most caring people I know. I love her. She moved back to East Texas for a while. I am secretly hoping she doesn’t stay away too long.

I am now addicted to the iPhone game, Angry Birds.

I get to deliver diapers to the San Antonio Pregnancy Care Center tomorrow (Tuesday). Awesome.

“So You Think You Can Dance” is my television again. Yay! I missed Cat. I think the new All Stars twist is a good thing.

Our TV went out. The yellow and blue were off and some special circuit had to be replaced. It has happened before with the red and green colors. There is only one company in all of San Antonio that will fix our 7 year old TV. The fix is still cheaper than a new television. Meanwhile, we finally got a DVD player in the bedroom. Daniel is currently not allowed to get DVDs from the library. He picked out some bad ones. Then again my pick “When Did You Last See Your Father?” with Colin Firth wasn’t that awesome either.

I watched all 22 episodes of Season 1 of Friday Night Lights in less than 2 weeks. I feel like I need a medal for that. I am waiting for Season 2 to come in at the library for me.

This post makes me sound like I watch a lot of T.V. Well, I do.

I also finished reading, “Bel Canto.” Didn’t love it. (Dawn, I wrote more details to you about it in my letter.)  “The Testament” by John Grisham is good so far.

My friend Dawn and I are exchanging hand written letters as a fun Summer project. I love it.

I have been meeting with a personal trainer and in return I have been busy working on a new website for her. It is going to be awesome. It is also another thing on my long To Do list. But it will be GREAT when I finish it. Almost there. I will blog about it when I am done.

I lost 3 pounds. Gained some back. Lost it again. I have no idea where I am at right now. I have counted calories. Ate not enough and I have eaten too much. I am still clueless on how to eat healthy and balanced. I think I have lost a few inches on my mid-section though.

That reminds me. I made Pioneer Woman’s blackberry cobbler. I made it for Daniel. It isn’t my favorite, but I tolerate it. I LOVED this recipe. So good and so easy. I also made the Chocolate Sheet Cake for my friend, Zandi’s birthday. I am too lazy to hyperlink the recipes right now.

If you made it to the end of this post, good for you! I am giving you a gold sticker and piece of that chocolate cake.