Trying new things!

Today I was able to spend a nice, kid-free lunch with my husband! Thanks to my mom we were able to go down to Main St. Seal Beach and dine at one of our favorite BBQ restaurants, Beachwood BBQ. Now don't mistaken this time as a needed break from our children...their Bama just wanted to hang out with them:) So they did a sleepover and we went out for dinner and a movie with friends! Actually, yesterday after she picked them up, Dan was asleep on the couch and I laid there thinking...I love the quiet! But after about 20 minutes, I was bored!!! My kids bring so much entertainment and life to our house that I can't imagine one without them:)

Well that my friends is what we call a "rabbit trail"! So we were at Beachwood and enjoying our food, when Dan asked if I wanted to try his blue cheese grits. Now I have never tasted grits before, but I also have never been too excited to try something that looks like mush! I politely said 'no thank you' as he held the fork in front of my mouth waiting for my taste test. But he was not going to let me get away with not trying one of his favorites...and this is where he got me! "But your taste buds are always changing" he said with a beaming smile. This IS what I tell my children all of the time! So I took the bite reluctantly.

I love trying new things even if it doesn't look appealing. Though, there is something about comfort that can keep me from finding my new favorite hobby, book, restaurant or even friend...kind of like a pancake getting stuck to the skillet when it's ready to be flipped. I don't want to get peeled yet, but when I do I find that when I'm cooked well, I taste better......WHAT!?! Ok, I was trying my hand at an analogy that obviously turned weird:)

With that said...I am looking into some new blog platforms. I don't have the following (YET!) to justify paying for my own domain, so it needs to be free. The pancake sticking, is the fact that I love Google! It's simple, it's attractive and super convenient...but I am trying new things!

Flip me over! :)

***Also, in case you were wondering, the blue cheese grits were ok. The taste was there, but just as expected, the texture was gritty mush:) 

March Product Feature!

Every month I will be featuring a product that is near and dear to me. (I only refer products that I believe in)

Right now I am thinking of my kids' immune system. We have heard of so many families being hit with colds, flus, stomach bugs, bronchitis, you name it! Joslyn and Holden did get a bit of congestion last week, but so far they have kept away from these illnesses!

Biomega Jr. is a great way for my children to get their Omegas from a healthy fish oil!

Holden takes USANA's Usanimals, Vitamin D (during the winter months), Biomega Jr. and Active Calcium. Joslyn takes USANA's Body Rox, Vitamin D (during the winter months), Biomega Jr. and Active Calcium.

Exercise, sleep, healthy eating (everyone has a different opinion about this category), water and a supplementation program, are the steps that we have taken in order to live a healthy lifestyle:)

Now of course, I cannot say that these products have kept my kids healthy. I am NOT a doctor! But we keep taking them :)

Holiday Cards

With the overwhelming access that we now have to professional photo cards, the options are endless! I have started a card on 4 different websites.... Tiny Prints, Shutterfly, Minted and Pear Tree Greetings. Obviously card design is a huge factor, but all of the sites have 100s to choose from. Paper quality is important, the price is important (they are just going to be thrown away!), and quality pictures.

Price...that is what it is going to boil down to!

What photo site are you using this year?

Courtesy of Michael Stonis

Halloween

Halloween is by far my favorite holiday! Although I wish it happened more often, when do you ever have everyone outside walking their neighborhoods...together? Dressing up, acting a part, candy...?!? Yes, I have a sweet tooth like the rest of woman-kind:)

Dressing up for our family, usually happens more often due to themed birthday parties! For Halloween we plan out our costumes well in advance, since I am the ambitious mother, who likes to make the costumes from scratch. Here are some not so great pictures of past costumes.

Joslyn- Bumblebee (bought) Mom- Garden Fairy

Joslyn- Dorothy (bought) Mom (not pictured)- Wicked Witch

Tinkerbell, Princess Tiger Lily, Lost Boy, Peter Pan

Holden- Lost Boy

Tinkerbell, Lost Boy

Alice and Mad Hatter with Bama!

Queen of Hearts, Alice, Mad Hatter, White Rabbit

Darth Maul and Lord Sidious

Poison Ivy

With Uncle Bugsy

Bat Girl (I hate sewing vinyl)

Sally and Jack Skellington

Holden decided yesterday that he is no longer going to dress up as Jack Skellington, rather he would like to be a cowboy! Well, since I am awful at tailoring (no patterns for me), I only made to his coat as you can see....so I was very willing to let him be a cowboy (we have the components for that costume)!

A Readjustment!

So awhile back I wrote a post about how Dan and I had a series of discussions dealing with me doing to much! Here is an update.

I love homeschooling Holden for preschool. I especially love that all of my pins on Pinterest were going to good use! However, after careful consideration and thought, I decided to put him back in the classroom. He was doing great with everything, he even looked forward to that "school" time each day, but my concern was the "socialization". Holden had progressed so well socially last year at preschool. I mean he was coming out of his shell, playing with new kids on the playground...he was comfortable (he still needs to be warmed up to a new place, but he eventually does).

It turns out I'm the kind of woman who gets something in her head, decides and does it that day! So on Tuesday, I decided to go to the preschool down the street from our house and see if anyone had dropped out of the program. Sure enough the lady said that there was a spot....so, I signed him up right there! His first day was yesterday, and he loved it! I told that I would be working in the classroom, but that it would not be for awhile...he said "that's ok mom, I like to be by myself there." Basically "mom, it turns out I really don't need you" :) I know that's not what he was saying, but for a momma's boy, I was happy that he enjoyed this preschool!

I did tell him that on the days that he did not have school, that we could do "homeschool":) It turns out I'm fun! His favorite are the science projects. Here is one of the bubble projects for B week.

So now you ask, "what will you do with your time, now that you have three days with no kids?" Are you kidding me? I have plenty to fill my time with :) I think first things first though, I need to organize my house!!!! So if you see me pinning a bunch of home organized pins, ask me if I'm actually using them!

Having Holden in preschool, has also made Dan a little more comfortable with the idea of me being a Brownie Troop leader...I think! My first training is this coming Tuesday night. I will keep you updated!

Picture Day!

Today Joslyn had picture day at school. She said she wanted her hair straight and wanted to wear a dress. She did not have a dress that was clean (don't worry, I'm doing laundry while typing), so we went with a cute grey shirt from Forever 21....did you know that they had a little girls section? She wore it with sparkly grey tights and a lace purple skirt...I know you can only see her shirt in the picture, but she looked cute! I also straightened her hair :)

While walking up to the classroom, I asked her how she was planning on smiling...she smiled her fake pose smile, and I said "looks great!" She said "remember how you said that I have a fake smile when I'm taking a picture? Well, is it that smile?" Ugh! Breaks my heart! I made her feel insecure, less than perfect...me! Her mom, the one who is supposed to assure her that she is beautiful and enough! So I told her, "you look beautiful, no matter how you smile! When I said that before, it was because when I see you smile naturally through joy or excitement, it makes my heart swell. It's infectious and it makes people want to be around you, so they can feel that joy too! This smile is just as beautiful...it's just that you are thinking about smiling, so it is missing that joy! Try thinking of something funny or something that makes you happy and then smile. If it comes out forced, I will still love it and show it to everyone!" With that she gave me one of her glorious smiles and said "Mom, I love you!"

"I don't know why she tries to do it all"

Last year I laughed my butt off, while watching the Sarah Jessica Parker movie "I Don't Know How She Does It"! Watching her run around trying to accomplish everything for her career, kids, husband and appear to have it all together...was exhausting. There were some things I could relate to: the laying in bed and can't sleep because you are thinking of all the things you need to get done, the idea of keeping with all of the other moms, the checking on your kids in the middle of the night...well, we can relate as moms!

I started thinking about this movie this last week, because I am trying to do everything and my husband thinks I'm crazy. It all started when I was getting ready to sign up Holden for preschool (last year's preschool wanted him to participate all day for 3 days a week, since it is a heavier load...too much money!), I was looking through our city's parks and recreation courses for the fall and found a ton of activities for preschoolers! Karate, science club, soccer, cooking, arts and crafts....well I got to thinking that I could enroll him in a bunch of classes and do the education part at home. 1 hour four days a week and he would have more one on one time learning. He would get his "socialization" through the city's classes and I would still save money!

So I presented the idea to Dan...it did not go over that well! His concern was that I was taking on too much, with coaching my daughter's soccer team, working our business, volunteering at the elementary school and not to mention I just applied to become a Brownie troop leader:) His main concern is that the house won't be clean (laundry, dishes, etc. not Better Homes and Gardens status). I joked that it doesn't get done anyway, so it won't make a difference :)!

I bugged him about it for quite awhile, until we (I) decided to do a trial run. Worst case scenario, it is not an ideal experience and I enroll him in preschool after Christmas. I think the issue will be more about not really have time to myself, but the truth is he starts kindergarten next year and I will have plenty of time for me! So Dan...the house will be clean next year:)

I realize that all of this is very ambitious, especially for a procrastinator, but today when someone asked if he liked his school....he said "I love my teacher"! Aww, melt my heart!

My question today is: How much is too much for us moms?

Super Moms can fall too!

I love blogging! It's like an unpersonal diary, that strangers can be influenced or impacted by my story. Unfortunately I have not always shared my complete story with you...dun, dun, dun! The way I function is, by not vocalizing my emotions until the situation is cleared up. I had every intention of introducing myself to you in a honest way...my favorite blogs are the ones where the author is genuine and raw! So here is a little piece of insight into what I have been experiencing the last year and a half. In fact, it might explain why I haven't been totally present on this blog.

 Two Mother's Days ago my mom and I had coffee and just hung out to talk...she seemed a little off, but I didn't think too much about it. Little did I know that she had much on her mind as she was going in for a core needle biopsy on a lump she had felt under her arm. The week prior to this, she and I went to the gym together and in some healthy competition, she overdid it a little. She thought that she might have pulled a muscle because it was pretty sore under her arm. The next day she noticed that her "pulled muscle" was quite swollen and starting to feel like a lump. She called her doctor about her scheduled mammogram and her lump. He suggested that she come in so he could just check it out. So the day after mother's day, she had a scheduled biopsy.

 My mom has breast cancer, what horrendous news for a woman who is so full of life and on the brink of turning (only) 50!

 The doctors said that her tumors were fast growing and that they were close to her collar bone. Within two weeks she had started her chemo treatments to shrink the tumors away from her bone, what an awful toll it took on her body. Nurses saw her as doing too much, but also told her that if she has energy than to use it. They were constantly surprised by her energy levels. I am surprised too, but in a different way! My mom has always fought and pushed through anything that has gotten in her way. As a single mother working long hours most of my life...she had to push through, which is something I have always admired in her! This cancer though, has reminded me that even she could be taken back by something so vicious...why did I need to learn (even at 31!), that my mom is not Super Woman! The woman who would stop at nothing to make dinner, work hard, be a Girl Scout leader, climb trees and play in the mud with my kids!

 My mom found out about an organization that helps patients with breast and ovarian cancer, through resources and financial needs. As someone who has seen many people battle and lose to cancer in her life: Brother Lymphoma, Father Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Friend/co worker Pancreatic Cancer and two other co workers; she jumped at the chance to support such a cause and take part in a 10k walk as a future survivor and representative of those she knew. The walk took place in Long Beach and right in front of the salon we work at. When the owner of the salon caught wind of this event, she decided to form a team in support of my mom and the three stylists who have passed from cancer at our salon. Our whole salon has supported and took part in this walk. Since the owners' involvement, my mom has done a couple of interviews for the walk and for some newspapers, one of which is under a caption "Local Heroes" (not a coincidence to me)!

 The walk was a great milestone in her journey. She was turning 50 five days after the event and two weeks before that was her last chemo treatment! We walked proud, knowing that she was fighting a battle and winning:) My Super Mom shortly after that walk, had a double mastectomy, radiation treatments, and then found out that she tested positive for the BRCA-1 gene! She had a hysterectomy as a preventative measure for the gene a few months ago and is now seeing a great oncologist, who like us believes in the power of alternative medicine! Her odds are great of never getting a recurrence of cancer again, but as most of us know that doesn't mean she won't! We are hopeful and grateful for every moment with the best BAMA in the world! Please ask any questions... I will try to post up moments from this last year as they come to me, since I know that there are a lot of holes:)

Has it really been 2 months?

I have been wringing out every last.drop of summer! The fair, the beach, the pool, frozen yogurt, eating out (a lot), birthday parties, swim lessons, camping, business convention,  berry picking....oh my goodness that is not even all of it! I have a draft list of partial posts up the wazoo, plus a running log of future posts in my brain!
My goal is to do 2 posts a week, more will end up going up this month so we can play catch up!
Since I am a one track mind kind of gal, I am super focused on my daughter's 7th birthday party. We are starting off the weekend with Disneyland on Friday (her actual birthday), and on Sunday we will celebrate with friends and family! Can you guess are theme?

So anyway, what have you been up to this summer?

Birthday Blues???

Ok I do not have the birthday blues...I am actually wondering what year that will hit me! I don't know about you, but I am 32 and I still do not feel like an adult. I sometimes feel that I'm pretending and someone is going to find me out!!!

I look at my kids and think....you can't possibly be mine, I'm just a kid! I do hope this feeling of youth lasts as long as I live. My Grandmother once told me "No one said that I had to act my age, so why should I start trying?" So true! I guess I can be a kid as long as I want to be.....plus my children love it when I'm silly, singing and dancing in the car, skipping around, making goofy faces at people, laughing 'til I'm crying or coloring with them on the floor! God forbid the day that I can't play on the floor!!!

My daughter's favorite thing to do with people is listen to their stories (memories). Almost everyday she says "mom tell me a story". I usually need a trigger for a memory, so Miss Imaginative will start rattling off topics until I remember some kind of memory! Her favorite are the ones that remind me of how much she is like me!

Anyway...my birthday! Last year I forgot to celebrate my birthday, because I was so wrapped up in my son's birthday party (his is the day before mine June 10th)....I do go a little crazy with the details, but I love doing it! (Pictures to come soon) But for the better half of last year, I thought I was still 30!!! My husband, of course, corrected me of this....so I was adamant that I had to celebrate my birthday this year! Why is it so hard for mom's to be selfish? So tonight I went to P.F. Chang's in Long Beach with my family and this weekend I'm going dancing with friends, Woot! Woot! Party on the dance floor!!

I am 32! I can't forget this year!

No T.V. Week Part Two!

I realize that I was quite negative about this early on! One of my main thoughts for accepting this challenge, was to figure out a routine to update my blog more consistently! Well...how many days has it been?

It has been 4 days! Out of those 4 we have, played 5 board/card games, went on 3 walks, read a little bit each day, had every meal WITHOUT the TV on (it's a big deal for our family), talked, asked questions and connected. I can't speak for the whole experience, since it is not over yet, but I feel the purpose becoming more clear. We should abstain from technology or anything that keeps us from truly connecting as a family, on a regular basis. I think I might present the challenge to my family, to do once a quarter and then eventually once a month... EEK!

The benefits have already been tremendous. I do still feel the need to look for the remote when I sit on the couch after putting the kids down and also when I wake up to get the kids ready for the day. But I am aware and hopefully will refrain from reaching for that clicker every time I'm ready to relax or entertain my children!

Has your family ever given up anything together? If so what was it and what was the result from doing so?

Pinterest Inspired!

I finally made a pinterest inspired craft! I used an old frame added some paper and stickers....and a lot of ideas! I wrote on the glass with a dry erase marker and wa-la....summer fun!
My favorite idea is Holden's "lay in the grass and watch the clouds"! So precious...

No T.V. Week!!!

This last Saturday my beloved husband came home with a wonderful idea....a fast from television. What a great thought....we have abstained from the tube for a day or two before, but have not committed to a whole week! So you can imagine my excitement at the mention of the opportunity to BLOG about something new, besides my failed cooking:)

He talked about a week, a few weeks...a MONTH! Whoa, hold on there...let's just start with a week! I started making a "mind" list, we can do some pinterest crafts, we can go for walks, we can swim, go to the beach, cook together, read...the list was getting so long!

On Sunday, I was home alone while the kids were hanging out with their Dad. I was continuing my Dawson's Creek marathon on Netflix, when my family walked in the door shouting "ooh, NO T.V., Mom!" What?!? Now mind you, I was not cheating, because I was unaware of our start date. So imagine your husband turning off the T.V., just about the moment when Joey was going to kiss Dawson for the first time!!! I was floored and totally agitated!

I really loved the idea of no T.V., but I HATE when someone tells me what to do! There is something in me that just boils and turns rebellious at the thought of being told what to do. So I did the obvious and reasonable thing....I ignored him for the night!

This week in Google Search!

So I have fallen a bit behind this week! But I did make two french loaves of bread, a gluten free loaf, start preparation for our upcoming boutique and prepare for camping.

Unfortunately, I have nothing to show for it....except my Google Search!

Camping Recipes
Smores
About.com
Camping Cooking Supplies (we are borrowing one from my dad)
Stoves
Camping Checklist

Marriage books...don't run and hide!

This is what I am reading right now! Love & War by John and Stasi Eldredge.I took a break from all of the fiction I was reading, when my husband presented the idea to me that we should read some marriage books together! We have quite a lot of young married couples around us...that maybe we could have a more broadened understanding of marriage along with our experience to give advice and mentor!

My husband and I have a firm perspective that we will never have it all together...so even if the only thing we get out of these books benefits us, then I think that will be ok! So this is the first of many to come.

Have you read this book and what do you think?

Monday-Spring Break

Today we went to Mother's Bay in Long Beach! I love this place, it is perfect for smaller children and relatively clean for a beach!

I was able to relax and lay out for 2 hours and the kids were completely entertained by the sand and water!

They played so well together, that when we heard the ice cream truck pull in to the parking lot, I decided to reward them with a Spongebob Ice Cream. Which stained there skin for two days, yuck red dye # whatever can't be good for you!

Spring Break!!!

This week is Spring Break for my kids! I love surprising them with one fun activity each day. Since we are in Southern California, it's not that hard to come up with interesting things to do!

Monday - Beach Day and buy new swimsuits at Old Navy
Tuesday - Discovery Science Center (we bought membership and have only used them once in 5 months!)
Wednesday - LA Zoo (this place makes me mad and depressed, but the kids love it)
Thursday - Hollywood Sign :)
Friday - Centennial Farms and maybe Tanaka Farms
Saturday - Tide pools (if the weather is nice)
Sunday - Hang out with Bama (mom and dad are going to a wedding)

What were/are your spring break plans?

Egg-tastic!

Today I made an upcycled easter dress for Joslyn, out of an skirt and dress that were mine. I started on Holden's button up shirt (which I have never made one before) And now I'm boiling eggs at 7:45...yes it is late, I am a last minute kind of mom who now has explain to her very excited daughter why she is unable to decorate her eggs tonight since it's bedtime:(

Tomorrow! We will decorate eggs, fill plastic eggs and I have to go to the store and buy the kids' basket stuff... each year they get new bathing suits and sandals. It's a strange tradition that I kept from my mom. I always loved seeing what my mom would pick out for us!

What are some of your Easter traditions?

4/1-4/6 Google Search

Decorating Easter Eggs:


melted crayon eggs
9 Easter Egg Decorating Ideas
Embossed Eggs
Creative Egg Decorating

Easter Crafts


Egg Shell Votives
Funny Bunny Plush Doll
Confetti Eggs

Easter Cooking


Homemade Peeps
Chocolate Eggs
Boiling Eggs
Hot Cross Buns

Sundays!

This is a fun bike ride with my daughter before the meltdown:)