Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, my sweets! I pray your weekend is full of hugs and kisses to and from, all the ones you love.

What do you think?

So this afternoon, on my way to pick up Amiyah from school, the boys and I stopped off at Blockbuster to drop off Wall-E, and pick up a new movie for family night tonight. Being a stay at home mom, i don't really care all that much about what I look like when I go out... even if What NOT To Wear, is, one of my favorite shows. I wasn't all that concerned about Stacy and Clinton jumping from behind any of the movie racks, but maybe I should have been...hmmm. After finding our movie for the night - Bambi, we made our way to the register. Once there, I put the movie, and Emilio (so he couldn't run off) on the counter, and the cashier says to me, with excitement in his voice, " Wow, from back there I thought you were Rosario Dawson. I saw you when you first came in, and I almost freaked out because I thought you were her!" I said thank you to him, as he continued to go on about how much I resembled her. After paying for everything, gathering kids, picking up shoes that were kicked off, and making my way to the car, I remembered just last night laying on the couch watching the NAACP Image Awards, and watching her win the award for best actress in Seven Pounds, and just loving how naturally beautiful she was. I think we could pass as sister's, what do you think?

February 12, 1809

Today is Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday! After picking up Amiyah from school, we reread a story about him from one of her books that we read last night, looked up just about every image of him we could find over the net, and then made, or attempted to make, his cabin with our lincoln logs while singing happy birthday. We had a blast!

Love me some lumberjack!

Every once in a while, I'll go into our local thrift store to see if I can find items to recreate certain outfits I like from -lookbook.nu. The look above is from this site, and is one my absolute favorites. I don't know about the tights in South Florida, but the ankle boots, cut-off shorts, lumberjack top and belt... I can handle. Next Thursday is 50% off all clothes and shoes at The Salvation Army... wish me luck!

Wishful Thinking

As I opened the front door this morning, laundry basket in tow, the cool morning air pinched my cheeks. I was excited to start a new day. As I made my way down the hall, I reached down to feel my back pocket, making sure my quarters for the washer were there. As I approached the end of the hall, I greeted the maintenance man, who was hard at work on the elevator... once again. I promise you, that thing is being worked on at least once a month. It's a wonder none of the elderly people in my building have ever got stuck in the thing. I walked the rest of the way to the laundry room, dropping a few socks as I went. As I looked to the opening at the end of the hall that leads to the golf course... I thought to myself, " Do I really have to start my day with laundry?" As I turned to enter the laundry room, my question was quickly answered as I got a whiff of, the very reason I'm doing it in the first place. Emilio had a bit of a rough night. I believe he caught the stomach virus that has been going around. He started throwing up yesterday afternoon, and it went straight into today. So, last night, both Joe and I were awakened to the sound of Emilio's screams. We rushed to his room to find him sitting up, covered in vomit... poor thing. As I got my baby ready for a bath, my dear husband rinsed scrubbed and rung out, Emilio's sheets, clothes, and stuffed animals, and then hung them to dry until morning.
Now, having gone back and forth, quite a few times to the laundry room, and having the breeze and bright sunlight greet me each time, made me want to drop my basket, and spend the day bathing in the warmth of the sun. I dream of days filled with sun dresses, and barefeet, lemonade, a good book, and soft jazz.

SweetHearts

It's that time of year again! I don't know about you, but besides Whitman's chocolates, that always come beautifully wrapped, sometimes with some kind of furry animal attached, the one thing that always makes me weak in the knees, is a little box of... SweetHearts. I get so excited to sit down, sprinkle them all over the table, and read each and every one. They make me laugh. I remember as a kid, picking individual hearts, that matched each and every one of my friend's personalities, or the way I felt about them. I would make their valentine's by hand, and then seal the envelope, and tape the sweetheart I picked out just for them to the back.

I purchased my first box of sweethearts this past week, and I am so excited to sit down and look through them. Amiyah will be joining me this year. We've decided to take some silly pictures with them as well.

Race For The Cure

Here we go!

Snuggle up ladies... it's a cold one! They were freezing... Aren't they from New York?

Beautiful Flagler Drive.

Warriors in pink baby!

Christine... being silly.

My Raine... she was in so much pain. What a good sport!

The group. Hey look... It's a bird, it's a plane, no... IT'S SUPER NANCY!

We did it!

Trip To Jacksonville

We were definitely in Gator town.

It says, Daytona Beach.

We're almost there!

Crossing a really creepy bridge. Did I ever tell you... I HATE BRIDGES!

Something I don't see everyday.

I thought it was interesting that we drove only four hours north, and all the trees are different colors, and the leaves were falling off.

Jaimee and Aaron's house. So cute and cozy. I miss it!

Friends For Life! Carly, me, Katie, and Jamiee.

Sweet baby Charlie... he's too cute! This is our friend Katie's baby.

More wii!!! Baby Charlie was having more fun talking on the phone. Or was that one of the wands?

My mom's friend Patti, (Jaimees mom) playing wii.

Best friends for life. We've known each other since the age of ten.

My friend Jaimee, with Emily, and Andrew (in the belly) hehe!

Steven, and his wife. Oh, and silly Patti in the background!

I love their hair in this pic... can you tell they just woke up?

Carly was loving the Jacksonville weather. Almost no humidity!
She was so happy to be having a good hair day.

The girls got up bright and early for
some morning tea.

Back in January, the weekend of the 10th to be exact, Carly, myself, and Amiyah, packed up and took a little road trip. I had received an invitation in the mail about a month earlier for my friend Jaimee's baby shower... and I was determined to go. Jaimee and I have been friends since childhood. We did the usual things teenage girls do. Have sleepovers, stay up late dancing, to DC Talk ( back when they were a rap group) , put on press on nails, etc.
We used to have a blast. Jaimee has a younger sister, Katie, who was really good friends with Carly growing up, and a brother, Steven, who hung out with my brothers. The four of us did everything together. I remember going to the Rapids, back when it was dirt cheap, for rap concerts. The most memorable one was when 1 Way, was performing there. I remember it because, we were about the only ones who showed up to hear them... I felt bad for them.
Anyway, the last time I saw Jaimee was about 4 years ago, when she and her husband came down here to visit. So I was so excited to see her once again. It was just like old times, we always seem to be able to pick up, right where we left off. We did our usual hugging, screaming, hugging, yelling... it brought me back. We'll be going back very soon, to visit baby Andrew when he comes.

I'll be back...

Quite possibly tomorrow. Today was a really hectic day. I actually missed blogging today, It has turned into my alone time. So, no time to myself today! That's alright though, I'll be back tomorrow, with lots to talk about! Tune in!

Chai latte anyone?

I can't believe it... IT'S 37 DEGREES OUTSIDE! I am so cold, I can feel it in my bones. I had to run out to the car this morning fifteen minutes before taking Amiyah to school to turn the heat on in the car, and also push the button, for the first time this season, to heat my leather seat. Leather, and cold... they don't mix very well. ooooh it was so warm and cozy. I know I have said before, that I love the cold weather, and I really do, but not when I'm unprepared. I mean, for today I would have needed ski jackets, gloves, and hats, just to make it from the front door to the car... I was so not ready for this. My poor kids, I kept throwing layer after layer of sweaters and jackets over them. I guess this is where a nice comfy set of long johns would have come in. That's okay though, I just kept Emilio's Batman pajamas on underneath all his layers... he was set. I'm home now with Caleb and Emilio. After a nice warm breakfast, I set the two of them up in Emilio's room watching, you guessed it... The Polar Express! I set just about every comforter and pillow I could find for them on the floor, along with some favorite furry friends, they look adorable, all snuggled up, no care in the world. I, however, am here at my computer wishing I was sitting in a nice cozy corner in Barnes and Nobles enjoying a grande Chai latte, and a slice of warm crumb cake. It's only warm because I make them nook it for me for about a minute, it tastes so much better that way. That's okay though, my hot coffee, and raspberry pastry will do just fine... for now. I think I need to have chai night with my ladies this weekend. I wish The One Way Cafe was open Sunday night's, their Chai... IS THE BEST! So creamy and delicious. My Jojo is a genius when it comes to making my chai... I heart her : )