August Barillas- Out on my own.

August (24),Elizabeth Ng (23)

Narrated by Elizabeth

Finding out that I was pregnant was a shock to everyone including myself. I told August and he right away wanted us to get married and move in together. It was all moving fast but I needed him to be with me and my baby. So we decided to tell his father that we were going to move out together.

I was worried about us moving too fast but August told me that we would be fine. This is one thing that I love about August. He can always calm me down and tell me that everything was going to be OK.

We had finished packing all of his things to move into our apartment when August had a gift for me. We had already gotten married through a small not even civil ceremony. August's aunt Brianna preformed the ceremony. I did not want a big church wedding because by the time we planned it I would be too big.

To my surprise August managed to get us wedding bands. I had told him that it did not matter for me to get bands. Now that he bought these, I wanted mine! It was so beautiful for him to place it on my finger.

I placed one on him and it finally hit me. We were married.

*******

Months passed by and we were finally settling in to our new apartment. It was different being at home waiting for August to come home. I lost my job when I found out I was pregnant. I had to travel too much and it would not work out for my company nor myself. For now August was the bread winner and we needed to find another source of income and soon.
.
My mother-in-law came by and we had the most strange conversation.

You would think that she would be more supportive of our wedding. She in my opinion, was everything but. She warned me about being a stay at home mom and living on the salary of a mechanic's helper. I know she saw herself in me but I did not.

Why is it that my mother-in-law wanted to have this conversation with me. Would she not want to encourage my marriage with her son to suceed? I was happy when everyone started coming over for dinner.

*****

Dinner was a success. The Barillas came and conquered our dinning room table.

My pregnancy went well as expected. Before long I went to the hospital and gave birth to a beautiful set of twins.

It was a shock to us to have twins. I know August is a twin but we were still surprised. We decided to name them Julius August and Orlinda Rebecca.

Lizandra Barillas- Chapter 4- putting things in order

Lizandra (25)

Narrated by Lizandra.

I really love my new job. I have some great new co-workers like Sky Langerak come by and keep me company. There's nothing romantic there just two co-workers getting along.

Seeing that my dating life is pretty much dead now, I have begun to make floral arrangements. I did not anticipate this being a career move. I just want something that I can occupy my time with and sell.

I needed to feel better about myself. Because I felt this I decided to join a gym. There is something about a gym that makes your feel like your being watched at all times. My biggest fear is falling off this machine.

People actually come here to work out. I some how thought that I would be able to meet someone but these people are seriously into their workouts. I finished mine and got ready to meet my family for dinner.

******

Dinner with the family is great. We all get along but it is amazing to see us ... well most of us living in Colorado Springs now. I never thought that there would be even the possibility of moving out of Viramontes. For now we are happy and content in our lives.

I decided to toast to our happiness. I did not mean to make this big speech but it turned out to be exactly like that.

Jacquelyn was even excited about her and Opal officially moving here.

******

Sky has been insisitant on fixing me up on a date but I really do not feel like it. It is so strange being 25 and divorced already. I finally gave in and decided to date his friend Bruce Rauscher.

I am telling you when it rains it pours. I did go out with Rodney Jung and our date was awesome. I had not had a great date since Orlando and I were dating. Now we constantly call each other. I hope it goes somewhere.

We had a little weekend party to get to know our neighbors and my landlord Scot Mccullough was flirting so much. I could not believe that he was so foward. I have to admit this is better than my recent dry spell of affection.

With all this attention and phone calls... I can honestly say that I am sick of hearing the phone ring.

For once, I just grabbed my puppy and called it a day for phone calls. For now my little doggie is my best guy for the moment.

Lauren Barillas_Santander Ch 4-We do not fit anymore.

Lauren (25), Alon her husband (26), their kids: Quads: Albieri, Lucas, Manuela and Tracy

Narrated by Lauren

This apartment is getting too small for our needs. Its bad enough that we tried to squeeze in here in the first place. I know Alon wants us to get a bigger place but I think we should just go and get a house for all of us.

I know Alon sees it my way but he can't bring himself to get into more debt. We try our best but feeding time alone makes it hard for us. We have to struggle not to bump into each other, especially during lunch/dinner time.

At least the kids are finding this small place still bearable. It always makes me smile when I look at my kids giving themselves a huggle.

Finally after too much bumping into each other, we broke down and decided to try to get a house. We are finally going house shopping to see what we can possibly try to purchase.

*****

We looked at different houses but finally found one that we could possibly afford. Now the plan was to qualify on our own but sadly we both know that it would not work. We did not graduate college and honestly don't have the greatest jobs.
.
We both knew yet dreaded the answer. I would ask my mom's to see if they would be able to cosign our loan. I have never asked my moms for anything but being pregnant and with quads, I need more help than I can ever get.

We dropped our kids at Audrina's house and confirmed our lunch dates with our moms. Now that a lot of us are living in Colorado Springs, it makes finding a babysitter easier.

We passed by the house for inspiration. Alon was embarrassed to ask but I needed this house. I needed space for my family and my mom's business is doing great. We both hugged and hoped for the best.

Lunch with my mom's was interesting. They both are doing a little better financially but they need to pay off so much still. I was looking for a spot to ask about our mortgage but they would stop talking about us moving here.

Lunch was over and my mom Maura started to rub on my stomach. She was so happy to become a grandmother again. I just hope that we can get the loan.

My mom Consuelo knew that something was up. I took the opportunity and just asked her. I know that she has financial problems but I really needed her on my side.

My mom agreed to it. They would be glad to help with their credit line. With this we were going to go and get our loan for our house. I can not wait until I tell Alon the good news.

******

My moms did come through for us. They had passed by and signed the extra credit line that we needed to purchase the house. The lender made sure that we understood what loan we were getting into. Of course we understood. We wanted the great house for us and the kids.

Alon was so excited when we got the keys to the house. It is amazing when credit is approved how smoothly things go.

We moved in and the house seemed so huge with so many little things we had. Now we are waiting for the baby or babies to arrive. I can finally breathe because we have our own house and so much extra space!

******

Soon we welcomed one baby. We named him Aster Santander. It was a great feeling being able to care for just one newborn. Both Alon and I let out a sigh of relief.

Audrina Barillas- New City to make my own

Audrina Barillas (25)

Narrated by Audrina

I decided to move to Colorado Spring to live with my sisters. We are now going to be living in the same town but not living in the same house nor building. I found a good building that was giving discounts to new residents to Colorado Springs.

I signed the contract and hoped that I would be able to make the rent. I dont think this lady knew that I did not have that much in the bank. Thank god they did not run a credit check because it would not support me getting this type of apartment.

My parents came over the minute that I got settled in. I think they both know that I cannot afford this appointment but in reality what can we do? I just want to try and succeed with making it on my own.

The first thing on the agenda is getting a job that pays! I tried to do an internship while I was in college but lets face it. There is no money in internships. Now that I am out of college, without a degree, I have to get a job. I saw an ad for a playground monitor and thought to myself why not? If all else fails, I can get my uncle Justin's wife Lashawn to give me a letter of recommendation.

Lauren also came by to visit me. She thought that I would have no problem getting a job as a playground monitor. She herself just got back from having a double whammy. She had a broken leg and is pregnant. When I heard that I was grateful that was not me. I honestly do not know how Lauren can even be pregnant again after having quads.

******

One thing that I kept from college is my relationship with Ashley Pitts. We continued our relationship and honestly I love that this is my first real relationship.

We wasted no time hitting the sheets and reconnecting with each other again. When it was all over Ashley told me that he wanted to break it off for now. I guess he wanted to start his master's degree and I was not in his plans right now. I don't like the way he did it and what could I do but accept that we were over.

I guess I have single written all over my face because my neighbor asked me out on a date. I did not even have the strength to say no. I told him that I would give him a call.

I cant stop thinking about Ashley. I get online and he's there. He even had the audacity to instant message me. Is he serious? Does he not know that this break up is hurting me more than him?

I could not take it no more so I broke down and called him. He answered and to my surprise he said that he would stop by to see me. I did not think he would but yet he did.

When he arrived I could not control myself. I took my chance and kissed him. He kissed me back. He kissed me just the same way we kissed when we were together.

"Audrina...I don't know. I don't want you to get hurt. I want to be with you but not in a relationship."
"It's fine. I want to be with you too. Its OK if you only want to be with me tonight... I accept"


In the morning he was gone. I knew that it was a mistake because I feel lonelier more now than ever. I have to figure out a way to move on. I can not keep on like this. As much as I love Ashley..I love myself more.