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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Coming soon....

Don't fret my dears, a new post is coming soon! Since I am no longer digital ( Amiyah broke my camera) but manual, I now have to take the rolls in to be put on CD before I can post them. Instead of taking one roll in at a time, I usually wait until I have quite a few, and then drop them off all at once. I will be picking up six CD's this afternoon, and should have some pictures up by tomorrow. Keep a lookout!

Friday, March 20, 2009

First Day of Spring


For those of us living in South Florida, the first day of spring only means it's time to bust out the bathing suits and flip-flops, if you haven't already, because the hot hot summer days are upon us. Winter this year was alright. We had a few days that were ridiculously cold, but the rest of it wasn't really much of anything. I'm totally speaking for myself here. You see, I LOVE the cold, and every year I pray for snow ( silly I know) but always get nothing. So, now that spring is here, and my dreams of waking up to snow outside are gone, I prepare for the days ahead. Spring cleaning is finally done. Cob webs down, baseboards scrubbed, underneath beds and dressers have been cleaned, and all of our fluffy sweaters have been packed away. This coming week, we'll be gathering all of our summer supplies in preparation for the coming weeks. As far as attire is concerned, everyone except me is prepared, as usual. The only swimsuit I have is a yellow bikini. I absolutely love it, but have been thinking that this year, I'll go modest. Now relax, I'm not talking about something all the way to my neck, and down to my knees.I have been doing a lot of thinking, and an itsy-bitsy-bikini isn't something I would EVER want to see my daughter running around in, so as her mommy, I need to be the example - I'll save the bikini for a vacation with Papi ; ) So, this weekend the hubs and I are going... BATHING SUIT SHOPPING!!! Yeah, just for the record, he's not as excited as I am.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Belly Series


So, tell me this is not freaking adorable! Photographer Ryan Marshall takes weekly pictures of his beautiful wife's growing belly. But that's not all.On the side of each picture, he writes notes to their unborn child. It's just the sweetest thing. See more at - pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com

Monday, March 16, 2009

Update!

This weekend Joey and I started preparing ourselves for our three day potty training marathon with the Bean. We are using the methods from 3daypottytraining.com, and so far... they really work! They guarantee that in three days, your child will be completely potty trained. We loaded up on plenty of Nemo, Wall.E & Cars underwear, four new bed sheets, and even got a little pack of M&M's. He gets two every time he uses the potty. Today was the first day, and although I'm aching to tell you all how it's going. I can't. Not for any reason except that the Bean is now down for his nap with his underwear on, and at any moment he could scream. Either because he just went pee all over, or because he wants me to take him to the potty. So, I need to be ready.
But not to worry, my lovelies, I have been taking plenty of pictures, and writing every little detail in my journal. Once Wednesday night comes, I should be ready to sit and tell you all about it. Until then, wish the Bean... and me, many blessings!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

He's a happy Bean!

So yesterday morning, on my way out the door with a basket full of dirty whites, I passed by Emilio's room and glanced in only to see, that mommy had never changed the poor boy out of his PJ'S. After breaskfast, I must have been so focused on the tasks at hand ( laundry ) that I totally forgot to change his clothes. So I just washed him up, brushed his teeth, and sent him on his way. Why this was disturbing me, I'm really not sure. All I know is for some reason I thought he might have been uncomfortable. So, I set my basket by the front door, and went in his room to change his clothes. When I walked in, him and Caleb were sitting reading through... I mean looking through, his giant childrens spanish word book. "Emilio, do you want to help mommy get your clothes so you can get dressed?" I find it goes a lot smoother if I ask him to help me. That way, I'm not chasing him around the house trying to peel clothing off of him every time he runs past me. He didn't say a word, he just jumped up from the book, and ran to his little dresser to assist me. I let him pick out his own outfit. He opened his bottom drawer and pulled out some gym shorts, after closing it back, he moved to the middle drawer for his t-shirt, and came across a shirt that had a soccer ball, basketball, football, and baseball, on it. He looked up at me, handed me the shirt and started clapping. "Mommy balls!" He screamed with excitement. " Yes honey, let's put it on." After I put it on, he started dancing around the room touching his shirt. He even went up to Caleb, and shoved his belly in his face to show him the balls. Soon Caleb was up dancing as well. I was on the floor cheering and clapping. After a few minutes Emilio came to me and gave me a hug and said, " Mommy, I happy! " I couldn't believe it, I had never heard him verbalize his feelings before.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Hi there!

It's me! Not here to blog about anything crazy and exciting. I actually got on to just check out the other cool blogs that I visit daily. Now, I don't know if any of you have had the opportunity to check in on any of them, but let me just recommend a few.

Here are some I visit daily:

- Color Me Katie ~ When I visit, I am truly inspired to live outside of the box of everyday life.

- Design Mom ~ She finds all the coolest, and not to mention cutest things all over the web. And how could I forget her giveaways... they are the best!

- Tollipop ~ If your an avid reader like myself, then you'll enjoy sitting back and relaxing in your favorite chair, or maybe even your bed, and reading her stories. They are so captivating... she really is so very talented.

- LOOKBOOK ~ All fashion, all the time. I love fashion, and I really enjoy looking at the creativity of some of these young people from all over the world. This is where I find my inspiration. Most of the looks are very vintage, and that's just my style.

So, that's what I've been up to today!

-

Friday, March 6, 2009

An afternoon at the park

Enjoying some lunch before play time.

It was just a tad nippy out that day.


Emilio, not wanting to leave his swing.

Amiyah having class.




Amiyah, Mari, and some new friends!

Emilio and Caleb, enjoying themselves.


Cute Caleb.

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. We couldn't resist the urge to take the kids out to the park on what was one of the coldest days this year. Emilio hated the fact that he had to put on so many layers, he screamed as though being tortured the entire time. Caleb on the other hand, he doesn't care, he just stood there and smiled. I picked up Amiyah from school and drove down the street to the park where we were to meet our friends. A couple seconds after pulling into a parking space, Lorraine pulled up next to me. Amiyah started to yell, " Shani, Mari!" as though they could hear her behind the window. She jumped out of the car, and ran to them. I believe Mari came out first. Amiyah and Mari ran to each other, it was just like a scene in a movie except they almost knocked each other to the ground because of the impact.
We also met up with little Timmy, and Mrs. Alice, and a couple of her friends and their kids. The afternoon was filled with lots of laughter. But of course, no time spent in the park would have been complete without... the occasional meltdown.



Thursday, March 5, 2009

Spirit Week!

So, it's Spirit Week at Faith Christian School. Tomorrow is the last day, and quite frankly, both Amiyah and I are sad to see it go. It's the one week during the school year, the students get to wear whatever they want. Anything goes this week... well except for the kindergarteners. They had only three days they could dress "crazy" - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Being that Amiyah had never heard of such a silly day, on Monday she flat out refused to wear anything except her uniform, with socks that match her polo ( she does this everyday) , and loafers.
I tried explaining to her how much fun it was going to be... but she shrugged her shoulders, and walked off. I guess I do love the fact that at such a tender age, my little Poopy, isn't a follower. Monday afternoon I got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the school to speak with Mrs. Turner. She explained to me that the kindergarteners had themes as to how they were going to dress for those three days, and if Amiyah changed her mind, Wednesday was going to be sports day, and Friday was going to be patriotic. On Tuesday, Joey and I both spoke with Amiyah, yet again, about dressing up for sports day on Wednesday. After sharing with her all the silly ideas I had, she reluctantly agreed. Wednesday morning, I woke bright and early - a new thing for me, and started prepping. Since the theme was sports, we decided to go with High School Musical. She put on her navy blue uniform skirt, with her navy blue, red and white HSM cheerleading top, and I put out her HSM socks and white sneakers, thinking she would just adore the ensemble mommy had set out for her. Amiyah, however, walked right past the socks and shoes, went straight to her sock drawer and pulled out one pink Hello Kitty ankle sock, and one red Hello Kitty knee sock. She then went to her closet and pulled down her multi-colored ( bright pink, yellow, green and orange) Nike dunks, and proceeded to put them on.
So, I know that it's "Spirit Week" and all, but this mismatching, was just a little much for me. But, whatever. I mean, I'm shocked she got into it at all. Once she was dressed, socks were on, shoes tied, she came to the table for breakfast. She sat in front of her bowl of Rice Krispies, and asked, " Mommy, can you paint my nails orange? " I took a deap breath, and without looking at Joey ( his look would only say - " Babe, don't say anything! " ) I got up and retrieved all the necessary supplies to paint her nails. One coat was enough, we had to go and they needed to dry quickly. Amiyah absolutely loved her nails, she was so shocked at how good the color looked - she usually choosed mery muted colors like nude, or shear pinks... I think she surprised herself with her choice.
If you noticed... I didn't mention her hair. You see, the one thing she absolutely refuses to do anything crazy with... is her hair. I know I know, this coming from the girl who gave herself a mullet last year? What can I say... she's growing up. So with her bob, parted off to one side, with a white flower clip in it, that's already slipping out, she took a quick glance in the mirror... and off she went. Snatched up her backpack, lunch box, and out the door, filled with excitement.
In the afternoon when I showed up to pick her up, it was funny, there were kids on the basketball courts with bathrobes on, pajama pants with gym shorts over them, mismatched shoes... I was cracking up!
So, tomorrow is Friday, and she has to dress patriotic. Amiyah has already told me what she wants to wear, guess what it is... HER UNIFORM! But get this, she said she wants to wear her navy blues skirt, white polo, and red cardigan so that she's wearing red, white and blue. Hey, she lived outside her little structured world for one day, I think that's a big enough step for now.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

It's been crazy around here!

Oh my goodness, where do I start?
Well I don't have much time with you all, I just finished sticking an entire sheet of stickers on Emilio's feet, just so I can sit here. I will be interrupted quite a few times to re-apply the stickers that have decided to fall off. So let's do this quickly!
A lot has happened in the past coupe of weeks. I started a new job from home, working part-time on odesk.com - seriously... check it out, it's the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. Not only do I enjoy getting a paycheck for working from home, but I am really enjoying being able to talk to someone over the age of six. Hold on, I have to re-apply Emilio's tiger sticker...

I'm back! Now where was I? Oh yeah, odesk. I only work about four hours a day, two in the morning, and two when they go down for naps. Aside from work, we also celebrated Emilio's 2nd birthday a couple of weekends ago ( pictures up soon) and that was an absolute blast. I kept it VERY simple this year. We bbq'd at a park, and the kids played on the playground. The one thing we did do was a pinata. It was a cute dinosaur. Okay, no more about the party... that post will be up soon.
Last Friday, my niece Brianna, AKA - "Hurricane," came to spend the weekend with us. Just a few hours after her arrival ( mind you I still had Caleb plus my kids) we had to get everyone ready for cousin Mikey's birthday party at Chick-Fil-A. Phew! Joe and I were exhausted after just getting them all ready to go. Caleb left at six, and then the rest of us left the house for the party. These are the moments my husband tells me he's so happy that I'm so obsessed with my lists and schedules. Everything has to be in order, we have to do everything on schedule, from getting the kids dressed, to filling sippy cups, and packing the diaper bag with the neccesities, so that when the clock hits a certain time, we can walk out the door... and not look back. I seriously can't function without them.
Well guess what? Even after all that perfect planing... WE WENT TO THE WRONG CHICK-FIL-A!! I totally forgot they had just opened a new one around the corner from my house, and that was where the party was going to be. We drove 10-15 minutes out of our way, got all the way there, and then I said " Oh no honey, it's at the one on Commercial!" But being the man that my Obe is, he saw kids coming out of the chick-fil-a we went to with balloons and he said "Well let's just crash their party!"
He was just a hungry, grumpy Obe, that's all. Thinking with his belly again.

We turned back around and heading for the right one. Once there, we went in, and saw the party people all shoved to one side of the restaurant, next to the playgorund. It was hot, crowded, loud, and just plain stressful. The kids had a blast though, well except for Emilio and Brianna, who were afraid of the man in the cow suit. They screamed hysterically.

We had a great rest of our weekend, just keeping kids busy. We took them to the park, to the church to see a Christian Illusionist, and then to service the next day. We had a full weekend. It kinda made me thankful for those weekends when you just don't know what to do, so you end up sitting by the pool, or just hanging out at home watching movies.

Anyway, just wanted to brief everyone on what has been happening around these parts. For obvious reasons, I can no longer blog everyday, but it should be every other day at least. Thank you my sweets for tuning in... be back soon!