Lauren Barillas Santander- ch 5- New home equals a new life

Lauren Barillas-Santander (27) her husband Alon (28)
Their kids: Albieri, Lucas, Manuela and Tracy (4) and Aster (1)
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Narrated by Lauren. lives in Colorado Springs.

We are settling into our new house. I think its great that we have all this space for the kids. My sister Jacqueline has been coming around to help us get settled.
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Aster is now 2 and for now his crib is in our bedroom. He still gets up in the middle of the night and we wouldn't want the other kids been awakened by his cries.

Having a quad of kids plus a two year old can get hectic sometimes. I hate to admit that its a relief that the quads turned five and are going to school full-time now.

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Go figure that now that I only have Aster to take care of I get sick. I have been feeling ill and Alon is concerned about the kids and me. I am a stay at home mom but I still need help for when the kids come home.

Thankfully my mom Maura came to help us out. I miss her home cooking. My sisters are happy to have one of my moms here in Colorado springs. I tried to convince both of them to move here but their heart is in Viramontes.

Manuela was concerned about my health. I guess she was scared that I was not going to get better. I assured her that everything was going to be OK.

After all I found out why I was feeling so sick. I managed to go to the doctor to find out that I was pregnant. This was not planned. We are so financially strapped that another child is going to really cause more financial problems.

I did not even know how to tell Alon. We both agreed to wait before actually having another baby.

I waited until one peaceful morning and I told Alon that I was expecting. I heard silence and then he said, "thank goodness. I thought you were were going to tell me something worse."

I asked him if he was fine having another baby so soon. We are not nearly financially sound so we are in the red. He reassured me that things happen for a reason. We would be fine. I love my husband but seriously I will be devastated if we have another set of quads. I just hope I don't continue to get sick throughout my pregnancy.

Author's note~~~
Poor Lauren. I really wanted them to take a break from having babies. Her pregnancy is purely from ACR. I hope they don't go too much in the red that they will have to give up the house.

Audrina Barillas ch 5- The door to the past is closed

Audrina Barillas (27)
Location: Colorado Springs
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Narrated by Audrina

Now that my sister Jacquelyn lives here its great seeing her on a daily basis. We are all trying to rekindle our relationships. I told her that Ashley and I were done for good and she agreed it was a good idea.

I began seeing someone else a lot. his name is Andrew Couderc and apparently we went to college around the same time. He was two years behind me but I honestly don't remember him and he doesn't me so were good.

After our first few dates he bought me a fish tank. I could not believe that he did that. He told me that it was so I would not be so lonely. Andrew goes away on business sometimes so I guess he wanted the fish to keep me company. He is a painter and he goes on tours.... I have a feeling these were his fish and he wants me to keep them alive for him.

When Andrew gets back its all about us time. He has been successful in selling his paintings. I think he is going to hit the big time but he doesn't think so. For now he is working on reproducing great arts or doing self portraits.

We see each other every night. Colorado is really bring up their business district but for now we already have our favorite restaruant. I am still working as a teacher assistant but I started selling small sewing projects on the side. I guess this is why we get along. We are both artsy.

After months of dating and messing around I decided we should take the next step. Andrew was cautious because he wanted us both to be sure.

It was great sex. It was awesome sex. It had been so long that we both were exhausted afterward. He had to go on another selling tour so we would not see each other for a couple of weeks. I knew that we would both suffer until we could be like this again.

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I decided to have a small family dinner at my house. It is pretty small but we can managed to fit everyone in. Besides Lizandra was coming from Viramontes to visit too!

Liz and I get along better than anyone in our quad pod. I loved seeing Lizandra happy at her job. I want her to move her to Colorado with us but she insists that she loves Viramontes. I guess she is also happily dating now. Seeing her get divorced was hard on all of us. We are just happy to see that she is better now. Turns out that she too has a small business on the side too. she is arranging flowers and getting better at it. I just hope my sewing business starts picking up soon too.

Lunch was a little chaotic but we all sat down and talked. I guess Jacquelyn is feeling guilty about us not being that close to our older brothers and sisters. Its hard raising two sets of quads. It was really hard for our parents who divorced (which cause the rift between the older siblings and us)and are now happily together again. We all agreed that we should make the effort to create family bonds. After all our older sibilings: Shaila, Dylan, Carson and Alfredo don't even know Lauren's kids. They barely know Jacquelyn's daughter Hellen. I guess we just have to try harder.

After they all left I went back to my sewing room. I had a big order of pot holders to complete before turning in. I thought about Andrew and wished for him to be here with me. For now at least it will be me and my sewing.

Consuelo Barillas - ch 15 We are the empty nesters

Consuelo Barillas (50) her wife Maura (50)

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Narrated by Consuelo
We are officially empty nesters. Maura and I have decided not to retire now because we still have debt we need to get rid of. For now we are focusing on our careers and the store. I think that I can quit my job and continue on with my store. Every time I think I am going to do that, I get scared and stop. I don't want to rely only on the store for my income.

I did however need help since Jacquelyn and Opal moved away. Maura tried to help but her work at the restaruant is picking up. I held some interviews and found the perfect candidate for the job. Marie Rauscher is her name. She will be managing the store while I am gone and in charge of restocking.
We are officially empty nesters. We decided to put our effort into our careers. I am still contemplating on hge

I did have my nephew Arthur helping but he politely resigned. I don't blame him. He is moving out with Anthony and needs a better paying job that this one. I may need to hire another high school student to help out.

I can not give one complaint about Marie. She is perfect at what she does. It was great that I found her just in time. Now I only hope she doesn't hit me up for a raise too soon!

At night it's wierd being here with Maura. At first we were worried that anyone would hear us making love or worse they would walk in on us. Now its just us and we are finally getting used to it. We have a lot of space but what can we do? I would love to move into a smaller apartment but that would mean moving the shop. So for now we are just staying put. Besides we still have the beach access that makes this place worth keeping.

Amarilis Barillas ch 13- Family Connections

Amarilis (50) her live in girlfriend Meadow (50)
Their kids living at home: Julieta, Ramon and Raquel (12)
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Narrated by Meadow

We are pure evil. Is it sad to say that we let our hair down when the kids go to school? Sure we do the necessary household things but now that Amarilis has more days off....well we tend to relax.

The hot tub is our favorite spot. I love sitting back relaxing and enjoying our yard. Soon we will be an empty nest. Our last triplets are turning 13 and before you know it they will either be off to college or married. At least Amarilis thinks they will all get married before following our footsteps to college. As of now only Aaron who had the most difficult situation was the one who graduated . We can only hope for the rest.

I get out of the hot tub because I have to get ready for the kids to come home. Amarilis bribes me and heads to the pool to relax some more.

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We have been trying to hold our women's family group but attendance is dwindling. This time it was only Brandi, Maura and myself. Amarilis was working so she couldn't attend. We all vowed to get the word out and not let this die. This was the time when we all can catch up with the family.

Speaking of which I had the pleasure of having my baby grandchildren come over for the meeting. Desiree and Eunice are our brand new additions to the Barillas Clan. They are technically Wades...but for us its Barillas all the way!

Brandi and I fawned over them. Isabel being a brand new mommy has time off of work to pay us several visits.

I am glad to see that Isabel is adjusting to being a new mom to twins. Brandi was glad too that her niece was looking good after having twins.

Yet she also wants to be spoiled by her own mommy. I don't mind at all. My poor little baby needs to get pampered too. Soon she puts the twins back in the car and heads home so Veronica can see the babies.

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Raquel and Jacquelyn are excited because they are turning 13. Its always the same with all my kids. They seem to think that 13 is some magical number. They are transferring to high school and they have no problems about it. I sat the girls down and had the talk with them. All I kept hearing was ewww. We also had to plan the family dinner to celebrate this occasion.

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Amarilis invited her whole family and many of them made it. I told Consuelo, Vanessa and the other wives that we expected them to come over for the monthly meeting next time. They all were embarrassed having missed our get together. I was hoping for Arthur and Amarilis to talk and put their argument to rest. It did not happen but apparently Arthur was invited to dinner so they can discuss.

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Having teens in the house can get loud. Arthur came over and he and Amarilis worked out their disagreement. Amarilis even offered to have Arthur and Anthony move in but he refused. Apparently they want to make it on their own. I am proud of both of them for burying the hatchet.

At dinner we had the whole family come over. Just our children and their spouses. Amarilis announced the fight between her and Arthur was over. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. I was just happy to see my family sit around our dinner table with our brand new additions. This is when we all know that we are connected.
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Extras:

I had to take this picture because when Julieta aged up she looked like the spitting image of her sister Isabel. I know I need a better picture but Julieta is in the back and Isabel in the front. They look so alike its scary.

Oscar Simon Barillas II--To be or not be ....retired.

Oscar Simon II (50), his wife Brandi (50)
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Narrated by Oscar Simon

I have to admit that being alone with Brandi is the best ever. We both love coming to our vacation home to unwind and relax the days away.

Brandi loves swimming in the pool day and night.

She has begun taking massage classes here on the island. She needs to practice and who am I to deny her my body for such a task?

As much as we love it here, we know we have to get back and face our daily lives. We ask ourselves if its time for us to retire. We are debt free and can retire..but we are too much of workaholics to do so. For now we just have to pack up the house and head back to Viramontes.

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When we got home Joshua informed us of all the new things going on. Apparently he is now engaged to Ava and moving out. This was a shock to us because when we left he was literally dating other women.

Brandi was silent and offered him congradulations. She asked where Ava was and apparently she is getting her things packed up in Paradise Springs. For a minute we thought Josh was going to tell us he was moving out there. To Brandi's relief there she is moving here but they are getting their own place.

Joshua left to tell his sister and left me and Brandi to process. Brandi is semi happy since Ava was the one who called it off last time. Even though we are cautious about this, its Joshua's life. He has to live and we can only be there to show our support.