Thursday, July 30, 2009

It doesn't pay to procrastinate!

Obviously!

Yesterday morning I woke up to to a wet Odessa. Usually I LOVE the rain and look forward to it, heck, I hope for it! But not right now when I'm planning a garage sale this weekend. Yesterday ended up staying dry. The sun was shining and it was HOT. That didn't last through the night. Around 3am thunder was booming and the lightning lit up the sky. When I got up at 6:30 the rain was still coming down and the thunder and lightning hadn't let up either.

I planned on hanging up my garage sale signs today and various street corners, but it's supposed to rain again tonight. I might just have to get up extra early tomorrow to put them out before setting up the garage sale... granted it it isn't raining when I get up. The rain stopped around 10am and the sun is shining once again. Please Lord, don't rain on my garage sale. All I ask is Friday and Saturday morning rain free. You can rain all night and all next week.. just not Fri and Sat from 7am to 2pm.

Weather willing, I will be so glad to get rid of all the stuff in my garage. If it doesn't sell it's going to the Servants of the Poor and Goodwill. Now sing with me... Rain rain go away, come again another day!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Come on foot, don't fail me now!

It has been a hectic last few days and it isn't going to slow down! I have been tearing up my garage and house like a madwoman getting ready for my garage sale on Fri and Sat. If you're in the area, stop by. I have lots to get rid of. Seriously. A garage full of stuff to get rid of. I have been folding, sorting, pricing, cleaning, and painting garage sale signs to post on the street corners in our neighborhood. Luckily my girls are great helpers and have really given me a hand.

So garage sale this weekend and then ( Dun dun duuuun) I go back to work. I do miss work, but at the same time I've been enjoying my stay at home status. I knew it would only be for the summer so I'm prepared for the heart ache. I hope my girls are too. School starts on the 24th so a few weeks at home with Grandma shouldn't be that bad.

Also my stupid foot is KILLING me right now. Ugh, I know I shouldn't be abusing it right now, but I have so much to do before school starts. I've got it up right now, and in a bit I'll take my magic pill that takes all of my aches and pains away.

Oooh before I forget, my family loves Yahtzee, Sorry, and Scrabble and Hasbro knows how much we love family game night. So much so that they're sending my family the new Scrabble Slam card game and a few surprise games for me to review and also to make familygame night even better. I'll let you know what comes as soon as it gets here. I'm super excited, I am a board game NERD.

Have a great evening. I am going to take that pill and crawl in bed. Good night!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Much ados reviews. "Ouchies Bandages"





I was given the awesome opportunity to review Ouchies, the coolest band-aids to ever grace the drug store shelves. There are 3 different tins, Teen-ages girl bands, Teen-ages boy bands, and Make your own-ages, this one comes with 3 color sharpies to decorate them yourself. As you can see in the pictures above the girl and boy bands have 5 separate designs and the make your own comes in 5 different colors. Kids will definitely have plenty of choices to cover their boo boos. Their motto is " Hide your wound, not your style". I love that.

Ouchies were developed by a father, Ian Madover. He was so tired of seeing seas of beige while bandage shopping and wondered why there were no cool bandages for kids. That's when his wife suggested he make some, giving him that push to create these awesome bandages.

These came in the mail Friday and I just knew one of my kids would need a band-aid before the weekend was over, and sure enough they both ended up getting one. Both kids wanted to create their own bandage, probably because this tin included sharpies. I think the create your own are a great idea especially for little ones because it gives something to do to take their mind off the boo boo. Also, afterwords the girls were proud to sport their one of a kind band-aid.

If I could make one suggestion it would be to include a finer tip marker. The markers included were pretty wide tipped and my girls had a hard time drawing shapes without my help. Over all these band-aids are super fun and very creative. My kids love them and I'm sure your kids will too. The tins they are packaged in are very cool and reusable. I'm already planning a first aid kit for my purse.

Ouchies is currently designing a line of Mr. Men and Little Miss Bandages and I can't wait to see how cute they turn out. Ouchies are available online and selected retailers, and sell for $5.00 each. You will definitely want to stock up, as these will go fast!

If you would like more information, or would like to order Ouchies check out their website here. You can also become a fan of Ouchies on Facebook.

Friday, July 24, 2009

One week down...

...And one more to go. In the granny orthopedic shoe I mean. My foot is feeling so much better, and despite wearing my shoe in the rain it really hasn't been that bad. The part I really hate is when someone asked me what happened and I don't have a great anecdote for them. Just hopping off the bed is all I can say and then I get the look like " You need to lose some weight" or " How high is your bed?".

I've set a date for my garage sale and will be so glad to unclutter my garage. I'm hoping to get enough money to buy the girls a lot of really cute school clothes and new tennis shoes without the help of my debit card. I have lots of clothes, 3 tv's a couch and other miscellaneous items that could surely be treasure to someone as it is my junk.

Last night I had to call the BFF Emmy after seeing that her facebook staus was "sad". Of course I don't want my best friend sad without me trying to find out why or do my best to cheer her up. What kind of friend would I be if I ignored that the happiest girl on Earth was sad. Anyways, poor Em had to put her cat Jewel to sleep and it was very hard for her. Jewel was 6 yrs old and suffered from epilepsy and a few other medical problems. Em rescued her when she was just a kitten and in my opinion gave that cat the best life she could have had. Unfortunately Jewel had a stroke and just couldn't recover although she fought a damn good fight. RIP Jewel.

Animals easily become family. For my 28th birthday my husband took me to the pound to pick out a dog and I adopted the sweetest black lab puppy and named her Annie. She was so smart and sweet, and we all loved her. She had puppy moments that drove us crazy but she was a good dog. Sadly 5 months later she was hit by a car in the alley behind our house. We were devastated, I had never lost an animal before. Let alone so suddenly. It was hard, but we got past it. Last June we got Penn and Teller and could not imagine our home without them. They're the boys Mike and I never had.

On another note I received 3 tins of the coolest bandaids today called "Ouchies". I read a review on www.theadventuresofsupermom.com and contacted to company to see where I could buy them. They contacted me back right away and offered to send me some to review. They sent them quicker than my kids could get a boo boo so a review will have to wait. For now they're under lock and key because the kids already wanted to get into them.

I hope everyone has a great day. I'm off to run my errands and get ready for a weekend of garage cleaning. Wish me luck!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

A new school year is closing in.

And you know what that means...shopping. I don't know about other parents but I dread school shopping. Money is usually tight and as the girls get older they get selective and really don't agree with what mom picks out. I tend to stick to sale and clearance racks. What do you do to stretch your $$ ?


Today we had to get up early and take mom to her quarterly Pulmonary Dr. visit. Usually the wait is insane, but now that she has the C-PAP machine she can go on Thursdays when he only sees his sleep patients. We were in and out in 30 minutes. It was great. Afterwords we picked up some breakfast at the golden arches and headed home. As soon as the girls finished my friend picked up the girls for their little summer job. They are helping her decorate her classroom, and love every minute of it. They spent a good 4 hours with her and came home about 10 minutes ago. She let them raid her treasure chest so we now have another jump rope, glitter silly putty, crayons, coloring books, and several sheets of stickers to add to the stuff they brought home on Monday. How fun for me.

I've decided to cook Filipino food for dinner tonight. Chicken adobo over steamed rice and a cucumber salad. Sounds weird but I'll post a recipe and then you can taste how good it is. My family enjoys all different types of food from different cultures and I wouldn't have it any other way. Probably comes from me growing up overseas and trying many different foods growing up. I don't want picky kids when it comes to food.

The weekend is near and I can't wait to sleep in with my husband on Saturday. Have a great Thursday everyone.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Is it over yet?

When I say " IT" I mean Wednesday.

Today has been the longest day! Laundry, cooking, cleaning, playdate, trip to the store, kids, and dogs. Whew it's no wonder I'm tired. Or is that the pain meds telling me to go to bed and sleep with happy dreams. I doubt it.

I do plan on getting my hair cut sometime soon. I'm hoping next week but have been unable to reach my hairdresser which is not a good sign. I'm turning 30 next month and need a new look. Any suggestions? Mike likes my hair long, but he doesn't have to fix it, or 2 little girls hair every morning before work and school.

School is creeping up on us which means school shopping. Supplies are a pain to buy at the last minute so I guess it must be done soon. My BFF did go a little crazy and bought each of the girls 2 backpacks and a lunchbox, pencils, erasers and fun stuff like that on Guam. How cool will it be that my kids will have new stuff from Guam and NO ONE else will? How's that for original?

That's it for me, I'm a little tapped out. I'm going to climb into bed and watch America's got talent while I wait for the Philanthropist to come on at 9pm. I hope everyone has a fabulous evening!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Drumroll please!



Look at what my girl can do! She just figured out the mechanics of blowing a bubble on Saturday. Are kids amazing or what?

Monday, July 20, 2009

Baby oil beat down!




I laugh my butt off every time I see this scene. If you have not seen the movie "This Christmas" you're missing out on some good laughs. If I ever catch my husband cheating on me, I won't forget this baby oil beatdown.

Weekend/Foot update.

Don't you just love my stylish new footwear? I don't :( Maybe it need bedazzling or some candy stick lane influence. Hey Renee, I have to wear this for 2 more weeks, any suggestions? She's super talented, surely she'll have some ideas for sprucing up the ugly thing. :)

So I went to the Dr Friday morning, had some X-rays done, and the conclusion: No breaks just torn and ruptured ligaments. Apparently those can be just as bad as a break, so I ended up in a orthopedic shoe after all. I was really hoping the dr would tell me to stay off of it and let my family wait on me hand and foot like I do for them... but No. He gave me this nifty shoe to support my bum foot as I use it and told me to rest it. What an oxymoron!

So Friday after the dr I picked up my prescription and headed back to the house. When Mike came home for lunch he cracked up at my new shoe. I asked him if he thought it was sexy and he said no. He should have said yes but I guess he was just being honest. Darn you honesty! He thinks it hilarious that I have to wear it for two weeks and didn't even break anything.

Saturday morning we headed out to Midland in search of good chinese food, a game case for Mike, and a new asian market I found using google. Using the GPS on my phone we hunted down the chinese restauraunt only to find it was closed. It was a bummer but we ended up at the mall food court and got chinese anyways. It was good, but not out of this world. I wasn't really into shopping at the mall so we left there and went to best buy. My husband has this beast of a truck that he has to park far away from everything. So far in fact that I was cranky just having to walk into best buy. By the time we got inside I was too pissy to really look around. Mike picked up the 10th season of Married with Children and we left. I should have just stayed in the truck.

Afterwards we headed to the asian market. IT was this tiny little place, the owners were rude and they didn't even have what I was looking for. They did have a few things I was interested in, but don't use all the time, so I didn't get anything. I was clearly disappointed.

Mike still hadn't found a case to hold both his DS and PSP so the search continued as soon as we got back to Odessa. Wal mart didn't have what he wanted so we decided to go to Target. ( I heart Target) Target did have the perfect case so he picked that up and I found some nutrogena for my face and we left.

The rest of the day was a blur. I took my pain meds and was pretty out of it allnight. Sunday Mike went to hang out with a friend, I dropped mom off to see Harry Potter and I took the girls grocery shopping.

This morning my friend and Maia's kindergarten Teacher Janine came and stole my kids for the day. She offered them a little job helping her get her classroom decorated before school starts. They love her so it was no question they'd want to do it.

I'm going to quietly enjoy my cup of coffee and ice my foot in silence. Have a fabulous Monday everybody. See you tomorrow!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Doh, that's gonna leave a mark!

Last night I was laying on my bed with the husband watching Ghost Hunters International. My little one walks in and asks for a drink, so I got up to get it for her. As I hopped off the bed I heard my toe pop but felt no pain. Serious delayed response on my part because as soon as I started walking into the kitchen the ouch response kicked in. Not only on my big toe but also the ball of my foot. I took some motrin and went back to bed. This morning it wasn't throbbing the way it was last night so I assumed it was ok. Nope as soon as I stepped out of bed the pain returned. I've been limping around and staying off the foot for the most part. Except for when I drove to the store to get a few things. Now don't get mad. I rocked it grandma style and hopped on a motorized cart to get my eggs, bread and milk.

I figured I'd be ok after a few days but paranoia set in and I looked up " Broken toe symptoms" via google. And it's probably broken. It's purple and painful so I have an appt tomorrow morning at 8am. Hopefully I'm the first one so I can get in and out. I'm praying I don't end up in a boot just for a busted toe.

I'll let my 5 readers know what's up when I get back from the dr tomorrow. Wish me luck and send lots of 'NO BOOT" vibes my way por favor!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Love you like a sister.

Senior Year we were in a Chamorro play called " Ai haga hu" ( Oh my daughter)


We too casual senior pics together


I have the best, best friend in the history of best friends. I'm sure that's true for everyone with a best friend, but mine is as far as my history of best friends go.

I met Emmy in 1994 when we were freshman in high school. I was sitting in 5th period math and in walked the new girl, Emmy. She had on a Marvin the Martian t-shirt and purple/blue cross color pants.( Y'all remember cross colors?) It was Chamorro week at school so no one was giving any work due to all the festivities. I was playing a card game with a few classmates and invited her to join us. I soon learned she will try anything once. She didn't even know how to play the card game and she kicked our butts, beginners luck! The next morning she walked into my 2nd period English class and we were inseperable after that.

When I met Em, I was definitely heading down the wrong path. My friends were wannabe gangsters and I wont lie, I wanted to be too. Looking back, we were total idiots. But she showed me I could change. I ditched my friends and spent allof my time with her. Her mom was the drama/ English 12 teacher at our school and that's what got me hooked on Drama and Theater. I did a total 180! Joined Drama club, auditioned for Theater, and although we did some things our paretns wouldn't approve of we were still pretty good kids.

We both love to sing, and can carry a tune for the most part ;) Senior year we put a band together and joined the talent show. WE sang Alanis Morisette's 'Ironic' and won 2nd place. Later that night at our favorite cafe' a guy pointed to us across the billiard room and yelled " Hey those chicks can sing!" It was awesome.

Em has 1 younger brother who of course I conside my little brother too. Her parents are also the sweetest people you will meet. Her dad has been a wonderful father figure for me since I lost my dad when I was 11, and her mother is a great mom. Even when she was my teacher I called her mom. If I ever need a mom and mine isn't around, I can always rely on my Momma C.

In 2000 I got married and had my first baby. I was the first person in my circle of friends to do this so not everyone was supportive. I had 3 friends that didn't look at me funny when I walked into a room, Em was one of them. When I had Micaylah she bought me the biggest boquet of flowers and rushed to my house when she learned I had just checked out of the hospital.

I also moved in 2000, away from Guam to Texas. It was harder saying goodbye to Em than it was to my family. When would I see her again? Well it's been 9 years and I still have not seen her but I talk to her every week. If we go days without speaking, that's too long. Since I have moved, she got married, and recently had her first baby. I wished I could have been there for her when she had Adelaide, but it wasn't meant to be. She even named Ade after me, well my middle name anyways. I love that little Adelaide Rose, she's a doll.

Some of my best memories include Emmy. We did everything together and told eachother everything.She even introduced me to my first boyfriend, and we held eachothers hands through our first broken hearts. We used to stay up late at night drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes on the roof of her house, or my kitchen floor talking about nothing. When she turned 18 before me, she waited for me to turn 18 a few moths later so we could have our first legal drinks together. ( Guam drinking age is 18) Had our first corporate america jobs together too.

Ever see Beaches or Romy and Michelle's high school reunion? That's us. I know her by heart and am so blessed to have her in my life. She's more than my best friend, she's my sister and I love you Em!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

My dogs crack me up!

I have the funniest dogs! My boys Penn and Teller definitely live up to their names. We bought them a little over a year ago and really can't imagine our family without them. We had been wanting a set of Chihuahuas for the longest time and when we found them we could not pass them up.

Mike and I watch Penn and Teller Bullshit on showtime. It's a great show, funny and very witty. Penn and Teller basically debunk popular theory and make a lot of people look like idiots. Welove it. Anyways, that's who our dogs are named after incase anyone was wondering.

Penn is the Black and white one. He reminds us of a mini siberian husky with his markings. He's really the sweetest dog. Very cuddly and protective. He wants all the attention and has to be in the middle of everything. He's a total lover. He's also a pig and will eat ANYTHING!

Teller is more quiet. He doesn't care if you shower him with love, he just wants to be by you. He's a little bit shorter than Penn and definitely chubbier. He takes his time with everything including eating. He inspects every bit of food like he's looking for poison. He's Mike's dog for sure. He mopes all day until Mike get's home from work. As soon as Mike sits in his chair, Teller is right there on his lap ready for a nap.

The boys love the girls. They will let the girls cradle them like babies, and love to cuddle with them whenever they can. They're crate trained and sleep in separate "condos" every night. But I'm sure if given the choice they'd choose to sleep with the girls. We're so lucky to have such great dogs.

I took this video tonight because my boys will do anything for pupperoni. Penn can jump really high and Teller cha cha's. It's super cute.

Have a great night. Maybe I'll have a good topic to blog about tomorrow ;) I'm off to get the coffee pot ready for tomorrow morning. It's all about the planning! Good night!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Monday already?

That was my first thought when I woke up to my husbands screaming alarm clock! Another week down, and I only have 3 weeks left of summer vacation until I head back to work. One of the joys of working for the school district is that I get the same vacations as my kids. Cool huh?

This weekend was pretty uneventful. Friday night we went to Gamestop so Mike and Kaylah could look at games. Kaylah ended up with some bella sara horse game for her DS. We tried to talk her into something else but it was her money and she wanted THAT game. What could we do? She likes it alot and can apparently unclock codes for her online bella sara account.

Target is next door to Gamestop so I took Maia there to spend her birthday money. She found a bratz doll and her mother set on clearance for $12.00. I do not like the bratz and have always told my kids, if you want one, save your money. I'm not wasting my money on those skanky barbies. Seriously! Again it was her money, what could I do? She did buy a set of presidential flash cards that already include Obama. This year in kindergarten she learned about the presidents. She can tell you who had stomach problems, how many presidents died on the 4th of July, and lots of other facts, I didn't even know. I know every mother thinks her child is a genius, but mine could very well be. She amazes me daily and says some of the funniest things. How lucky am I to have 2 great kids?


Saturday, I was dying to get out of the house minus my kids. Every mom needs alone time and after being in all week with my kids, I seriously needed some me time. My husband was so sweet and told me to take my mom to the movies and he'd take care of the kids. I didn't argue and told mom to get ready! We ended up catching a matinee of "My sisters keeper". I won't spoil anything for you if you have not seen it, but you'll need something to dry your eyes so grab extra napkins at the concession stand, or bring your own kleenex. You'll definitely need it. Even the man sitting next to me was balling, and sniffling. After the movie I picked up Pizza for dinner and settled in for a quiet night at home.


Sunday was quiet and boring too. ( We're boring people I guess) Mike's friend Mike came over for their Sunday hanging out ritual and we watched the new Friday the 13th that I rented from the redbox. I washed numerous dishes, did laundry, watered the yard. See, boring. I did pick up some fried chicken from Albertsons last night, cooked a pot of rice and made finadeni for dinner. My kids are so Chamorro, they loved the finadeni and rice.

Today will probablly be fairly quiet. Cleaning and a trip to the grocery store. I'm not sure what to cook for dinner but Arroz con pollo sounds pretty good! Have a great day everyone!!

How to make grandma's pie.

Sift Flour and salt into a bowl. Then add cold crisco shortening and cut in with a pastry cutter. Keep doing this until the crisco is broken down into pea size bits.


Next add ice water and with a spoon, gently mix the dough. Separate into two parts and place one into the fridge. Flour a flat surface and roll out the bottom crust. Place into the bottom of your pie dish and trim the edges.
Peel your apples and just cut the apple pieces off right away. I peeled the apples with a veggie peeler. Grandma used a knife but I'm not that skilled. It looks like a lot but they break down when baked. Make sure your apple pieces aren't too big or too thick.
Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of sugar over your apple filling. Next sprinkle cinnamon and add 5 pats of butter. Really 5 is all youneed. You don't want a greasy filling.
Roll out the top crust. When you have it the way you want it fold in half and cut 3 slits in the middle and several slits around that. The filling needs to breathe or you'll have juices all over your oven.
Place top crust over filling and crimp the edges using your fingers. Dab some milk on the top crust, just enough to moisten it. Then sprinkle the crust with a little sugar. That's it, easy right?
Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, turn the temp down to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 1 hour. Let the pie cool for at least 2 hours on a cooling rack and enjoy. For Jada and Alli, to make the pie that much better, talk about Grandma when you're making the pie. It really does make a difference! Let me know how your pie turns out!


Crust:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups cold crisco ( I used the sticks, they were easier to measure out)
10 tablespoons of ice water


Filling:

7 or 8 good size granny smith apples
1 1/2 cups of sugar
cinnamon
5 pats of butter, don't use margarine it too watery when melted.



My pie turned out really, really good! I went a step further and made fried chicken, mac n cheese and corn for dinner that night. That was a typical Sunday dinner at Grandma's house. Everyone loved it, and mom said she was proud of me so I guess it turned out really good. I'll post how to make grandma's fried chicken and mac n cheese another day.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Testing 123, this is me blogging from my iPhone.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Grandma's apple pie

details to come!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Love letters

Oh how I love a good love letter! 12 years ago when I met my husband (online) we immediately started emailing eachother. Emails turned into handwritten letters and soon after that, phone calls. I couldn't wait to check the mail everyday to see if I had another letter from him. Usually one would be waiting for me (Cue Mr. Postman in the background please). My heart would race everytime I held a new letter in my hands. They were epic letters, sometimes as long as 5 pages front and back and almost always included a little surprise for me. He'd jot down a poem for me at work or tear the petals off a rose and fold them into the letter. Can you see yet why I'm so head over heels for him?

For over a year we emailed, wrote numerous letters and called eachother several times a week. I may not have been able to see or touch him in person, but I knew him and he knew me. When he decided to leave Texas for Guam I wasn't scared to meet him, in fact, the minute I laid eyes on him at the airport I knew that that was it for me. And as they say, the rest is history.

Now that the "how we met" is out of the way back to love letters. I have every letter Mike and I wrote eachother, every Email, every phone card. When my grandma passed away in 1997 we were unable to go to California for the funeral so a few of her things were sent to us by my aunt to remember her by. My favorite... you guessed it love letters! My grandma and grandpa wrote love letters to eachother. A fat stack of loveletters written in pencil on yellowed paper. They're beautiful and romantic. I'm not clear on why they were apart to cause such letters, but either way I'm grateful to have them.

My mom and dad also wrote love letters. My mom with her beautiful penmanship and my dads chickenscratch with his black government issued click pen. They were only seperated by a few hours drive but my mom was in high school and my dad worked. He'd drive up on weekends but write a letter for nearly everyday he was away from her, and so did she. I didn't know about these letters until long after my dad passed away but I love that I can be a witness to their courtship through these letters.

I've been married for nine years now and love letters have turned into surprise emails or quick text messages, but they still quicken my heart. I can't wait to share three generations of love letters with my daughters and I pray that one day one or both of my girls experience the thrill of sending and receiving a love letter.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Holy heatwave Batman!

Let me start off by saying IT IS HOT HOT HOT in West Texas! So hot in fact, that mom, the girls and I just got home from a milkshake run to Texas Burger. The high today was supposed to be 103, but the temp reader in my trusty toyota suggested otherwise when it immediately read 105. I'm a true island girl, raised on the beautiful island of Guam where it's warm year round and even I can't stand this heat. At least back home you could spend the day at the beach free of charge and cool off that way. Oh, how I miss my island home.


In other news I gained a new follower and it is no other than Supermom herself! I have known Supermom for a few years now, and met her on the AOL message boards when AOL was all the rage. She blogged on myspace for a bit and then started her own blog called " The adventures of Supermom". I have been a faithful reader ever since. If you haven't checked her blog out, peep over to the right of your screen and there you will find the link. Seriously, look now! I love her blog for several reasons. She is straight up and honest in everything she writes. She's open to her readers questions and also listens to her readers suggestions. She shares recipes, grocery shopping trips, and her everyday life that includes her husband and 4 kids ranging from a teenager down to a toddler. She is also very honest when it comes to herself personally sharing her trials with post partum depression, her opinions on breast feeding, and whatever else crosses her mind. She also reviews products, books, and TV shows with out spoiling them for her readers. I Heart Supermom and hope you take the chance to read her blog, I promise you will not regret it. She's incredibly funny too.


I think I have been doing a decent job as a new blogger. I know it's probably pretty boring, but I too am on summer vacation. Besides Maia's birthday and the 4th of July... nothing else has really been going on. Although I try to blog at least every other day for the few people that read this, I don't want to lose my few readers by blogging what time I woke up and what was on TV everyday. I'm trying to keep it interesting, if not funny. Hang in there with me, it will get better.


Tomorrow I'm baking an apple pie Grandma style. My grandma made the BEST apple pie I have ever had. It was blue ribbon, and won her lots of new appliances :). She passed away though in 1997 and my mom has been teaching me so I can carry on the legacy of Grandmas apple pie. I'm going to take pictures and blog step by step instructions for my sister and cousins on the Stinson side. If anyone else is interested, the recipe isn't top secret so you're free to give it a try too.


That's it for now, Mike will be home from work soon and dinner must be made. I'm thinking chicken alfredo with broccoli with a small salad. No bread, I'm trying more veggies, less starch and carbs. That's hard, I love bread, but I need to lose some weight too. (After I just said I was going to bake a pie :O)

Adios, until next time!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Celebrating Independence

The strobe lights were seriously bright!

Maia wasn't afraid of the sparklers or snap dragons, but was afraid of everything else.
One of the big fireworks. We had several that sparked, whistled, and shot up into the sky with bursts of colors. It was a blast!




So yesterday was the 4th of July ( Duh right?). Mike and I were up pretty late Friday night so sleeping in was definitely in order. The girls hate it when we sleep in so they were bugging us as soon as they woke up around 9am. We finally dragged ourselves out of (our super comfy) bed and I made breakfast. While eating Mike decided to ruin my day by suggesting we cut the backyard. I insisted that it was too hot to which he replied the weather isn't going to cool off anytime soon and it needs to be done. So I unhappily put on my tennis shoes and beat him outside to get things started. It was hotter than Hades out there, but out there I was pulling weeds, picking up dog poo and trash that our dogs like to litter the yard with. I also did all the edging while Mike did the mowing. I must admit that we're a pretty good team when it comes down to it. WE had our backyard cut and looking great in about 2 hours.


After waiting for the sun to go down we loaded the kids into the truck and headed west for some 4th of July festivities. Fireworks are legal in Texas as long as you pop them outside of the city limits. Luckily we've had quite a bit of rain and the burn ban was lifted just in time to partake in this American past time.

We stopped by truckload and spent way too much money on some really cool variety packs of fireworks. Two just for kids packs that has sparklers, strobe lights, spookers, black snakes, snap dragons, poppers, and golden flowers. We also got a Wild thing pack for Mike and I filled with the heavy artillery.I can't remember the names of the big guys, but they were FUN!

Micaylah is older now so we gave her a lighting stick and pretty much let her go crazy. She had a blast and we enjoyed watching her have so much fun. Maia loved the sparklers and snap dragons, but didn't care for the big fireworks so she hung out in the bed of the truck sticking to her favorites.

Good times and good memories were made. Although I'm an idiot and forgot my camera so the above pics off my iPhone will have to do. I hope everyone is enjoying what's left of the weekend. See you soon!

Friday, July 3, 2009

And just like that...




Maia's birthday celebrations are finally over. And thank the Lord because all this cupcake baking in this heat was totally draining me. I got up early this morning and started the baking of 48 cupcakes in already 90 degree heat. I then had to assemble the skull and crossbones, frost it and do some decorating. Luckily it was easier than I thought it would be and everyone loved it. I loved it too because I didn't have to cut cake! (It's the little things in life that keep me happy)

Not everyone showed up that was invited, but we had a decent turn out, and the important people were here. Grandma and Grandpa Armendarez, Mike and Denise with baby Elizabeth, my brother in law Roy and his wife Amy, Susan and her son Rylan, and of course Grandma Guerrero. We ate cake and ice cream, watched the guys play street fighter 4, and Maia opened some really great presents.

Now we're all just a tad exhausted from our very busy day. Tomorrow is Independence Day and we plan on popping fireworks outside the city limits. We did that last year and the kids had a blast. We can also see the fireworks from our house so a bbq sounds good too. We'll see what happens.

Happy 4th of July to all of our friends and family. Be safe and have fun!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Happy birthday Maia!


Happy 6th birthday to my baby girl Maia! Today has been a great day considering her birthday fell on a Wednesday. She woke up at 8:45am and immediately crawled into bed with me and requested her birthday song. (I am not ashamed to admit that I am the first to sing Happy Birthday to my girls every birthday.) After I serenaded her we got out of bed and grandma immediately wanted to give her a present. And so she did and Maia loves her Tinker Bell house. It's super cute, shaped like a tea pot and mom got her some extra faeries to go with it. She was so excited.

Later Mike came home for lunch and she received a few gifts from us. The fun gifts. She opened her yahtzee jr., new DS game, and Mitchie doll. She loved all of them. Her expressions are always priceless. Mike has been telling her for days that she was going to receive birthday spankings. Her PoPo is usually the one that delivers them but Mike wanted to do it this year just to torture her. Maia trying to be brave told her daddy to go ahead and give them to her. Then changed her mind, then agreed to get them. 7 taps on the fanny and she was laughing. She worried about nothing.

After lunch we loaded up and headed out to the movie theater to see "UP". It looked cute and we did not want to deal with the Ice Age 3 crowd. Thankfully NO ONE was interested in watching UP, so we had the theater all to ourselves. Ok it was us and 5 other people, same difference. Let me just tell you this movie broke my heart several times and even brought me to tears. If you have not had the pleasure of seeing this wonderful movie, I suggest you check it out before Harry Potter 6 kicks it out of the theaters. Take your spouse or significant other with you. You will not be disappointed. The girls really enjoyed UP and anytime the get popcorn and soda is a good time.

Up ended and off we went to pick up dinner. Susie made her a yummy carrot cake and pancit, and we picked up pizza and crazy bread from little cesars, becasue that's really what she wanted to eat. After dinner we sang happy birthday, she wished to be a teacher when she grows up, and she blew out her candles. It's been a great day.

I always reflect on the time I have had my girls in my life. Every birthday is a reminder of that special day when I first saw their little faces, counted fingers and toes and thanked God for all the blessings he has given us. Today I thought about Maia's delivery and how thankful I was that she was ok despite the difficult road we traveled to have her in this world. She was jaundiced for a few weeks after she was born and that was dramatic to say the least. But thankfully her pediatrician was wonderful and Maia was 100% ok in no time. I look at her now and she can read, write, dance like nobody's business, and really is the funniest kid I know.

Happy birthday baby girl! We love you unconditionally and completely. We are so lucky to have you in our lives!