here's what's up...

Right now I am driving across the continent with my Dad and making a few stops along the way while creating wicked memories that will last a lifetime.

In a nutshell. 

Tonight we are currently staying in some el cheapo hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi because our usual hotel is full. I’ve turned into a hotel snob during this trip but what’s killing me the most is being away from my little family for so long that I get text updates like these…

1^st update was a sad one…

I received an email from my local scrapbooking store announcing that they will be closing their doors in the New Year. This is so sad. 

The scrapbooking industry is ever changing and every time I hear about a local store closing it really is a sad day for the scrapbooking world. This is super duper sad for me 'cause now I will have to shop online and pay redonkulious shipping rates just to keep up. Of course I could just use what I’ve got but what’s the fun in that? I mean come on?  

2^nd update is another sad one…

My kitty Bijou hasn’t been eating much since I left. 

It breaks my heart to hear that since she doesn’t usually come out of her hiding spot unless I’m there so I had this bright idea to call the house phone and leave her a little message on the answering machine. You should have seen the look on my dad’s face while he listened to me leave the message…needless to say he had different feelings about my message. I believe his words to me after I hung up was, “ Do you really think your cat is going to think, “Gee, my mistress is telling me to eat, maybe I should start eating because my mistress asked me to? …” OK so it was a little silly….

And the most recent update which isn’t a downer for a change.... 

My little onion lost another tooth!!!

She is writing a note to the Tooth Fairy to ask if she can wait until I get home to come pick up her tooth. This melted my heart into a giant puddle. I already miss her so much like nobody's business and when I hear things like this it just makes me miss her THAT much more....*sigh* Just 3 more days until I get to squeeze the boogies right out of her! But in the meantime I will be hitting the sac so the Sandman can pay me visit and sprinkle some of that sleepy dust over me. 

Oh hey, speaking of the Sandman, doesn't that new movie The Rise of the Guardians look cool? I'm thinking this might be our Christmas movie we will see when I get back....ok I better get to sleep for real this time or I'll be in a rare form to drive tomorrow. 

playing catch up

Well September came and went in a flash and here we are in October already…cray-zay! So here I am playing catch up with hopes to actually get, get this, caught up! *gasp* I know, right?!? So I thought I would start at where I left off...the end of August. 

Maribel started Kindergarten at the end of August and now that the first quarter is finished (already, I know!! Where does the time go, seriously?!?) she loves school so much.

She gets excited when she has homework (we’ll see how long that lasts…) and she comes home every day with something exciting to share. She’s come home with a couple of battle wounds a few times but that has yet to stop her from enjoying her time at school.

Here are her thoughts about Kindergarten:

What is your favourite subject? Art and PE (Physical Education)

What do you love most about school? Wellllll, I do love my friends

Who is your best friend? Um.... Charles and Franklin

Do you like school? Um hmm (that means 'yes')

hello there

So you know that moment when I haven't seen someone in what seems like a really long time so you get all excited and say ,"Hey!!!" "Hey!!!" then you realize that you really haven't done anything new or different so you have nothing else to say.....................yeh................
Ooo but one thing that I've been occupying my rather scarce free time with is Becky Higgin's Project Life. I never thought I would ever be organized enough to do it but it's actually quite easy.

Since I'm already a Mommarazzi all I have to really have to do is write down my daily thoughts and jots. I don't journal a ton, just a few highlights of the day each day. Then I figure which pics I want to use that week and map them out. That way when it comes to putting it all together I already have little sketches to work with and it goes nice and smooth. :)

I started this a little late in the year but I'm considering this like a trial run and so far I'm making plans to continue this next year. I have a pipe dream to back track the previous months and get them done for this year but I'm not holding my breath. My #1 rule I made for myself is to not stress over it because if I do then I wouldn't continue so no stress. It's working so far.

Not much else going on right now other than getting Miss Maribel ready for Kindergarten.

But I'm not quite ready to go there just yet.......

in a blink of an eye

This week has flashed by so fast, like a blink. Thankfully I had my phone on hand so I would be sure to capture  every little detail...

1) my Monday button
2) I swear that wasn't how I left her this morning...
3) our newest member of our family, introducing June a Florida Box turtle
4) practicing pin curls for the upcoming graduation
5) gotta protect those curls
6) all that hard work and bazillion bobby pins paid off

7) free flowers from Publix + washi tape tags = last minute teacher's gift for Maribel's last day
8) so proud of our preschool graduate
9) celebrating at Golden Corral. they. have. cotton candy...
10) determined to get wet despite the constant threat of rain
11) it was a popsicle for dinner watching Teddy Ruxpin with Teddy Ruxpin while nursing a scooter scrape kind of evening
12) a new found drink that has swiftly become a favourite. I hate lemonade so this should say something...

13) morning photo to start the day thanks to my mini photosnappin me
14) someone stole me seat *cough* Milo
15) hiding in my scraphaven debating whether reorganize or just leave it where I know where everything is
16) my weekend score of vintage teacups and silver platters
17) second breakfast. she eats like a teenage boy..................
18) finally brought out a few of the scrapcubes from the closet. this was by no means an easy feat

And speaking of blinking...this is what happens when you do just that... She graduates from preschool. I'm still in shock of it all....

Hopefully this week will slow down a little so I can catch my breath. Well I'm a 'glass is half full' kind of gal so what ever this week has in store, I say BRING IT!

weekend fever

There’s something about working out the rest of a week from a long weekend where it’s that added bonus of working a short week but then you get weekend fever. The workweek is never short enough and the weekends are never long enough. Why is that?

 Well I do know one thing, this weekend while Joe is busy learning new work duties (yay for a sort-of-promotion) I plan on playing with this chickie-poo.

Our weekend agenda:

-Boring old errands (gotta get them out of the way first thing)

-crafting with some of the fun stuff she got from her birthday

-reading library books while eating freezies

-watching movies inside a fort lit up with bulb lights whilst eating theater snacks like popcorn and Mike and Ikes

-scooter rides around the neighbourhood

-bubble time

-and last and most certainly not least baking and decorating cupcakes. 

It’s gunna be busy and maybe a little messy (note that cleaning isn’t on the list…) but it’s gunna be fun. Happy Weekend everyone! 

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Muver's Day

My mummy who is watching me from up above...   

It's the end of the day and as I began posting my daily photo for the Instagram thread Photo a day May, so many thoughts and emotions came flashing by as I thought about Mother's Day and motherhood. Warning this may get a little sappy...

I first was woken with "Mummy, Happy Muver's Day, check under your pillow!" I guess I was sleeping on this card the entire night and didn't even notice. She's so sneaky. 
While we were getting ready for Sunday service she practiced the song that the primary children would be singing later that morning. I always melt into a blubbering ball of tears every year that I hear the primary children sing. I get so overwhelmed with emotions of how blessed I am to have been given such a precious and wonderful gift. 

We live so very far from our birth mothers so while I called mine on the phone, Maribel made this special card for hers. We delivered it the fastest way possible, posted on her facebook wall. Gotta love technology and social media.

After tucking my little red head into bed safe and sound with her favourite stuffies and sweet music, I recluse back to my room to take one more look at my Mother's Day goodies. 
I can't help but be grateful for this wonderful gift of motherhood. 

Today in one of the talks a mother related a story about how a mother was in a shopping line with her kids and while being typical kids in a checkout and a lady behind her says, "Aren't you just loving every minute? Treasure every precious moment because they grow up so fast." 
It's so true. As I look at how much my little onion has grown in these short years I really do try to enjoy as much of it as I can. I mean, I'm not perfect and yes there are days that I countdown til bedtime, but overall I have heard and have been told that they grow up so fast so I am doing my best to really enjoy this journey. I have been given this gift. Such a special gift she is to me since she was literally given to me to raise as my own and to love so deeply.
Adoption is just another word for More to Love. 
And so now I will bid you all a wonderful Mother's Day or "Muver's Day" as Maribel says it and take to bed a very full and happy heart. 

apples to apples

Apple #1
She's 5:

She loves to play outside.
She has a pretend pony named Chili (which really is body pillow.)
She rides Chili until he bucks her off so she can flop on the floor.
She wears boy scout shirts because it’s her favourite colour.
She has a cat named Milo and loves him bunches and bunches and bunches and lots.
She torments loves Milo and decorates him with soap and glitter and antiperspirant.
She wishes she had a sibling she could torment love.
She likes to cut up blankets and sheets with mommy's scissors.
She loves painting with nail polish, especially bathroom doors and furniture and her legs.
She likes to hide things like honey under her bed.
She also loves the smell of perfume and spraying as much of a brand new bottle as possible within a two minute time frame.
She really loves driving around on her scooter dreaming about when she gets to drive a car.
She's 5!

Apple #2
When I was 5:

I played outside all day.
I had a pony named Bye Y’All.
I would ride Bye Y’All bareback around the yard till I either fell off or got bucked off.
I lured Bye Y’All into the foyer of our home because I realized that I wanted an indoor pony instead.
I wore bellbottoms because I was cool like that.
I used to dress up in my mom’s clothes and play “Mommy” to my Siamese cat HoSann. She bit me a lot.
My little sister was too little to torment play with.
I used my mommy's scissors to trim my own bangs. And slpit ends.
I rode my tricycle down the back stairs and cracked my head against the wall.
I used to sneak bottles of vinegar and hide them under my bed to drink later.
I drove my mom’s car off our driveway into the ditch while she was unlocking the property gate.
I lit our couch on fire burning old comics in an ashtray.
I was 5.

Soooooo I guess it's true what they say about apples that don’t fall far from the tree. I shouldn’t complain anymore. She could’ve been just like me…

beach bums

There's one thing to be said about living in Florida and that is you gotta love the beach! Either way you drive (other then north-ha ha) you are bound to hit sandy goodness. I guess it's only natural that Maribel loves the beach as much as she loves blueberries. I mean she's a Carlberg and it comes with the name.

On Saturday I loaded up the car and my little onion for a little trip to our family favourite, Cocoa Beach. We love this beach with all of it's natural beachy goodness of shells, sea weed, sea foam, jelly fish, crabs and feathers. And I can't forget to mention the perfect sand for turning anyone into mermaids.

Luckily we never got hit with any rain so we were able to catch some decent waves and sand time. Even if it did rain nothing was going to spoil our special mommy/daughter date. We had a nice picnic on our blanket. I filled the Tiffen box with sandwiches, crackers, pretzels and some delicious strawberries and grapes with yogurt for dipping.

My niece Sherry sent me her little Flat Stanley for a little vacation so this is him enjoying what Florida has to offer. So naturally you can't go to Cocoa Beach, Florida without paying a little visit to Ron Jon Surf Shop.
This lucky fella gets to accompany me everywhere I go like the beach,church,  my place of work, I even have a little Disney planned for his visit which will be fun to document.

I only wish that when it came time to send him home that I could go with him. I'm running out of Canadian Smarties and yes, I do eat the red ones last...

Happy Earth Day

For Earth day I thought it would be fun to make some reusable bags from old tees since I can't seem to throw anything away. Hoarder? Possibly. I found this super duper easy tutorial on Martha Stewart that shows you how to make them. They were soooo easy to make. If you can sew a relatively straight stitch, then you can definitely make these!!!

I even made one from one of M's old t shirts that is too small and too stained to donate or give away. She loves that she has one too.

Of course we had to take them out for a spin. Maribel used hers at the beach to hold her select beach toys. She kept asking me if she could get it dirty or wet and because they wash like any old tee it didn't matter what she did with it. She liked that answer.

I used mine at the grocery store. The cashier and bagging associate loved them and kept asking about them and how to make them etc. After quick instructions I overheard, "What a great use for all those old t shirts I have." Cool! Now I feel all close to Mother Earth and green and stuff which reminds me, I forgot to pick up some granola, ah nuts...

On another note...
Tomorrow I am beginning my journey of documenting our everyday life for the Week In The Life with Ali Edwards. I did it a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the journey. It can be viewed here. Last year I only managed to snap a few photos so I never did finish creating the album. This year I have my album all set up and the journal pages printed so all that I have to do this week is be snap happy and have fun.Yay!

There's nothing like having a plethora of pictures to get my scrap mojo going. I just hope I remember my camera tomorrow morning since I have a tendency to forget little things like that...

natural

There are times when I look at this girl and I am in awe that I was chosen to be her mother. When ever I am glum she brings sunshine with her and knows just how to perk me right up. She really makes the best friend a mommy could ever have.

That's all I have for today, short and sweet just like she.

superhero t-shirt cape

For the Superhero activity the kids were instructed to come dressed as their favourite superhero. Maribel doesn't have any superhero dress up stuff so I went web surfing and found this uber easy tutorial on how to make a super cape from an old t-shirt. If you don't have a sewing machine don't worry, this one is no sewing necessary.

I already had tee that I picked up from a thrift store months ago and all I had to do was snip and sew on the lightning bolt and mask. I also hemmed the edges for a cleaner look but it's not necessary. You don't have to but my snipping skills (or lack there of) were showing and I wanted clean edges.

When she was asked which superhero she was she would tell them that she was Superman and Supergirl's kid.

The mask I just used a leftover Pin The Bow On Hello Kitty blindfold from her birthday party (that we forgot to play-oops) as the template and just sewed the two pieces of felt together. But I cut out the eyes of the top colour first becuase I wanted the bottom colour to show through. I reused the elastic from the blindfold since it was already measured out. Hey, it's just one less step.

This is her trying to smile after crying. I guess this super girl's weakness is shrub thorns. Poor thing, her legs got all scratched up playing in the bushes or the "woods" as she calls it but still had a smile for me...well, sort of. Okay, now I just want to go and give her another hug...and poke her dimple. ^.^

I can't help but recall the line from The Incredibles where Edna says, "No capes. Do you remember Thunderhead?"

I also created a movie for this activity. You can check it out here if you haven't seen it yet. It was a high budget film *sniff* totally.

superheros are righteous

Saturday was our church’s primary activity celebrating superheroes and how they choose the right. I was asked to help with one of the activities and because I love primary so much I jumped at the chance to assist. I was given a story to reenact about choosing the right and instead of trying to round up a bunch of friends I went another route. Take a look...

Of course there are outtakes…that's half the fun of film making isn't it?

Thanks to my awesome sister in law, the video was a hit and I haven’t laughed so hard in so long. I mean, the soccer ball never moves during “game play” but their feet are going a mile a minute. It makes me laugh everytime and the kids loved it too. After Maribel's group watched the video she said,
"You're awesome Mommy!"
Gawsh!

Naturally I think she's pretty awesome too.

Brownie points if you can guess who my ALL TIME favourite superhero is. Your clue is in my costume...

one more day

I figured since it’s Easter Monday back in Canada I would carry the Easter celebrations over one more day with a bunny inspired bento that I made for Maribel last week.

For the top some yummy grapes ripened for nibbling along with some cherry Jell-O in a flowered cupcake cup.

And for the bottom box a little bunny cut from a classic pb&j with a few fruit leather carrots surrounded with bunny tails-aka mini marshmallows. 

Funny tale about these fluffy little balls of confection…when I went to add them to M’s lunch the bag was nowhere to be found. I mean NOwhere. I searched high and low quite literally and even in my #1 suspect’s room while she still slumbered only to come up empty handed and a little defeated. So when the little sneakerella woke up I had to ask…

Me: Maribel, do you know where the marshmallows are?

M: No

Me: Are you sure? I wanted to put some in your lunch today

M: Oh wait! Maybe they are in your (bed) room.

(after a brief moment and some rustling coming from under my blankets at the foot of the bed)

M: Oh here they are. How did they get in there?

M'yesss how did they get in there???

As pictured here we had a similar instance with the parmesan cheese that mysteriously disappeared. I still haven’t found the empty container.

surprise Easter egg

Happy Easter! 

Last night while walking and talking with her Grandpa about Easter then Maribel said, "Grampa, Easter candy and stuff is nice but Easter is really all about Jesus".

It brings my heart so much joy to know that she gets it. Lately we've been talking a lot about my mother and how she's busy doing the Lord's work on the other side and how we all will be reunited again. Such peace that knowledge brings. 

Of course she had fun with the Easter tradition of hiding/finding eggs scattered about the lawn and enjoyed the pleasures of her Easter basket. It's amazing that she ate her supper after filling up on copious amounts of jelly beans...that's my girl! 

After returning home from our Easter feast it appears that we haven't had our fill of eggs just yet, only this one didn't come from the Easter Bunny...

It looks like our turt Eloise had been hiding one last egg for us to find. I couldn't help but laugh while watching Joe scramble around setting up the incubator all giddy and hopeful. Eloise had already laid her eggs (that were unfortunately unfertilized) so this came as a complete surprise. In about 30 days we'll be able to see if it's a fertile one or not so I'll keep you posted if we're going to be grandparents or not.

I couldn't help but wonder after watching Joe walk in and out of each room muttering to himself and forgetting why he went into the room in the first place, obviously distracted, that this is just a glimpse of what he would be like if I'd ever be in labour and need to be taken to the hospital. It made me giggle. Out loud. 

I hope you had a wonderful Easter!

for the love of icing

I have always enjoyed baking whenever I did it but I secretly wished I knew how to decorate my baking better. For the longest time I wanted to take cake decorating classes so that I could make pretty edible things versus just edible things. My first real effort at decorating a cake was for Maribel's birthday, only for hers I used fondant. It was fun, and I was overall pleased with the results but I still wanted to learn how to make roses and borders and all that fun stuff.  

For my birthday I received Wilton cake decorating classes and I could not have been more excited!!!!!! <<< Hence all the exclimtion marks. There were 4 lessons (once a week) and in each lesson we got to learn a new technique, fun tips, and if you were at my table, a whole lotta laughs....

Lesson 1 was more or less an introductory lesson and we had a little hands on with some prepared icing. We practiced filling the cloth bags with icing and played with couplers and tips. We also practiced on cookies but I ran out of time so I only left with 4 semi decorated cookies. Not worth photographing, I thought. Only 2 made it home....

But I did practice with the star tip and filling a cake in between lessons on this Super Man cake for my SIL's BF. It was a learning process for sure, like make sure you outline the details of the cake after adding the dirty icing or else you won't know where the cape ends and his arm begins. Now he looks like he only works out one side of his body like, a science experiment. 

Lesson 2 was to bring in a cake to ice and decorate. We learned how to ice the cake all pretty and smooth-ish and practiced with some round tips. I chose the cupcake pattern because in the book it looked super cute and fun...um yeh....not so much with my cake. After adding the carefully squeezed confection goodness it ended up looking like a pile of icing intestines or a nest of baby mice...you pick.   

Sooooo I should have paid more attention when picking my colours for my icing..... It wasn't until it was too late that I realized what I had done. Of course Joe got excited when he noticed and asked, "Ooo you made me a cake?" I was starting to feel like my goal of making "pretty edible things" still needed some work.

Lesson 3 we got to decorate some cupcakes like flowers. Yay, right? I actually felt like I was making some progress. Definitely a step up since the boobie cake from the previous class.

Can you tell which one Maribel had her eye on? Yes, I totally let her have a cupcake before bed.

Lesson 4 was the final lesson where I learned how to make ribbon roses from icing. As a kid I always favoured the corner pieces of cakes because that was where the most icing was with some flowers. Since my final cake was round I made sure that my piece was from the left side of the cake...

So now that the classes are finished I received a lovely certificate showing that I now have some mad skills with an icing bag and I'm not afraid to use it! I loved this class and would recommend it to anyone who wants to take their cake decorating skills to the next level above  just smearing canned icing with a butter knife, which was me last month.

Next up is the Gum Paste and Fondant class. Stay tuned as this should prove to be interesting....