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!

Happy Memorial Day

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…

Hello Kitty birthday party

With any party it usually starts with invitations. The theme was a Hello Kitty tea party so I thought it would be fun to make the invitations like little teabags. I whipped the invite up in Photoshop and made the envelopes with vellum. The little tag on the end was the child’s name. Super simple yet fun.

Maribel has a friend that cannot eat anything with gluten so I baked everything gluten free so there wouldn't be any worries of crumbs getting on each other’s plate. The menu included Lays wavy chips which happen to be gluten free, flower shaped sandwiches in pb&j and ham and cheese on gluten free bread, fruit kabobs, and pink lemonade. The “tea” was sparkling pear apple juice served in teapots. 

On the tea table tempted with some melt in your mouth sugar cookies. Recipe found here using gluten free flour and royal icing. Yummm! 

All the girls got to dress up in teatime clothes and scarves. Everyone was fancy and fabulous!  I only wish I had snapped a photo of everyone but alas I could not be in two places at once. I'm still working on perfecting that ability... 

After a few games it was time for cake. I did a trial run of the cake because I had never worked with fondant before and I wanted to give it a try. My dear friend Hollee makes these amazing cakes and she posted a tutorial on making fondant and this is her recipe. After learning from my trial cake this second one came together much more smoothly and Maribel loved  it which was all that really mattered. 

After cake, cupcakes, and presents it was time to hand out the loot balls. There are all sorts of goodies disguised in these Hello Kitty surprise balls and I got to watch a couple of the girls unravel their loot, the look on their faces were priceless. 

Of course I made these really late at night several nights ago but I did manage to snap a photo of the content of one of the balls. Contents include stickers, hair clips, fruit erasers, Hello Kitty ring, Hello Kitty magnet, candy, and lemon sundae lip gloss.

Well I survived another party and yes, it was worth every minute when I saw just how happy and delighted Maribel was with her special day. I didn’t manage to snag many photos of the birthday girl since she was busy entertaining her guests and I was just as busy making sure everything went smoothly but I did manage to snag a few photos of her special day. Yay!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl! Here's to a great year of being 5!

I know I say this every year but next year I'm thinking pinata! 

well that didn't take long

It turns out that this little heart breaker has a boyfriend. Well sort of, you see it seems to be all one sided.

I dropped Maribel off at her little school and as I turned to leave a fellow father-parent stopped me asking me if I was Maribel's mom. Reluctantly I replied yes only because usually that follows with a "Do you know what your daughter did?" question but this time was different. This dad informed me that his son and my daughter were caught wrestling in class, Oh great here it comes.... and that he was asked to speak to his son because he was caught kissing Maribel. On the lips. *skreeeeetch* Okay, um excuse me? By this time I was having a rather difficult time holding back my laughter but the father looked so serious.

He then told me his conversation he had with his son, whom we will call J for anonymity's sake.

J's Dad: "You know J you can't be kissing girls on the lips. Your teacher asked me to talk to you about this."
J: "But Daa-aad I can't help it if I want to kiss my girlfriend on the lips. She's my girlfriend."

I guess Maribel is all this boy talks about at home. So what does dad say to me? "So I just wanted you to know that your daughter is safe with my son."
Um.........Okay.

So later I return to pick up Maribel at the allotted time and while walking back to the car I proceed to ask Maribel about this boy.

Me: "So Maribel, who's J?"
Maribel kind of pauses then shrugs: "I don't know."
Me (trying to see if she'll tell me): "Are you sure?"
Maribel: "Oh wait. Yeah, he's a boy."
Me: "So he isn't your boyfriend then?"
Maribel. "No. Wait, who are you talking about?"
Me: "Never mind."

This poor boy doesn't know what hit him. 4 is such a young tender age to get your little heart broken and naturally Maribel has to be the first girl to do it. If this is "only the beginning" then I'm in for a looooong ride.

>^..^<

imagination at work

I was washing dishes like a good domestic when Maribel calls from another room,

“Mommy come in the living room and meet my new pet…it’s a worm.” Lovely.

So I dried my hands thinking/dreading the grossest when I look under the makeshift cage to meet this new “pet” Maribel has adopted.

“His name is Wormie and he’s my new pet, but he’s not a real worm, just my jump rope I broke trying to swing from it.”

The next day she came home from school and ran to Wormie’s cage and says all endearing like, “Hey there little fella, Mommy’s home.”

I can only imagine the going ons that swim in this brain of her’s but I *heart* it!

Now my mission is to find where she was trying to “swing from” so I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

>^..^<

bitter sweet

Long weekends are bitter sweet. With the sweetness of the weekend still lingering in my mind while I face the bitterness of reality of returning to work for the rest of the week wishing for the next holiday already.
Right now I just want to remember the sweet.

Because it was so stinking hot I thought it would be fun to drop a pin in our bucket and play with the hose for a bit. Joe, again with his amazing gift of finding things uber cheap, found this darling Miss Spider sprinkler at the thrift store for pennies. Ya, like I said it's either a gift or he's got horseshoes, lucky rabbit's feet, silver spoons, or whatever lucky token there is shoved up his *you know where* and I like it. ;0)

Miss Maribel had so much fun just running around and around trying to dodge the the various leg squirting things and moving them so they would squirt others. Stinker. ;0) I would have to say that Miss Spider will get a lot of use this hot summer. Lot's of use and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the 4th of July.

>^..^<

a cinderelly wardrobe malfunction

Maribel is a great sink washer. She really is. She was so excited to wash gma's sink that she rushed her business forgetting to double check a couple things. Since my camera was within arm's reach I couldn't help myself. I wonder if Cinderella ever had this issue?

Of course I will be saving this photo for a later date. Like when she brings guys home to meet her awesome parents, later. Yup. I'll be that mom. Don't judge.

>^..^<

silly spring

So uh... does anyone know where May went? The last time I checked we still had some time to enjoy some spring before June comes bearing the gift of summer. I think Maribel is getting a little anxious for summer too in case you couldn't tell. She thinks it's hilarious when I try to snap a regular photo she cracks a silly face on the last possible split second. I gotta hand it to the girl, she sure knows how to make me smile. 

Happy uh, End of May?

>^..^<

so bright, so glorious, so...wet

You know that old saying, be careful what you wish for because I might get it? Well I wished it would snow while we were in Edmonton and boy did they ever get it. All 15cm of it. Yeah, I received a few hate-mails for it but I didn't care. It's been 8 years since I last saw snow and this was Maribel's first.

Because this was Maribel's first real encounter with snow I was curious to see how she would react to it since I have some friends who's kids aren't fans of the white flakes themselves. My sister likes to call it the "Devil's Dandruff." But alas I'm not surprised to find that Miss M is rather fond of ye ole white stuff.

Yup. My little stinky winky L-O-V-E-S the snow. She begged to play in it every millisecond and eat it. After catching her nibbling on a few questionable snowballs I introduced her to the fun part of snow; icicles.

But now that I'm back I have to admit, I'm a little relieved that I don't have to shovel sidewalks anymore. I love the snow but it came back to me the not so fun side of it, wet pant legs and socks that always seem to find that puddle of melted snow in the foyer.
At least I got my fix until next year. I'm just not sure if Maribel can hold out that long since she's already asking to chew on some ice cubes because they taste like icicles.

>^..^<

our sweet girl

Today our little onion is visiting the dentist to have a tooth extracted. It was one of the one's she was born with so it's been exposed literally since birth and has finally reached it's limit. Luckily it was starting to get loose so this is just helping it along. She's putting on such a brave face and yet is super excited for the tooth fairy's first visit.
This puts a new meaning to the saying "so sweet you get a toothache."
yuk yuk
I'm trying to use humour in a non humorous situation since I'll most likely end up on the floor. I don't handle the sight of blood too well. I get faint and dizzy and nauseous. I'm wondering if the dentist will give me a hit of the laughing gas...ya'think?  

>^..^<

under the big top

Today we celebrated M’s birthday with music, games, prizes, and food but best of all friends to celebrate it with.

We turned our backyard into a personal carnival with several stations to play. When M was just a baby I received a monthly subscription to Parent Magazine and in the July ’08 issue they showcased a carnival birthday party theme and I was in love and knew that someday I would have one of our very own. Well here we are 3 years later and now the “someday” has come. I kept the same games and set up because frankly why would I change a good thing? Right now I’m all about less thinking more doing. I’m still working on Balance in my life and this is one way I can do that. Anywho, back to the par-tay…

Uncle Phill was such a trooper! He managed to escape many attempts on his face but alas he could not escape them all. Muahahaha.

Other games included Ring Toss, Knock Down the Cans, Squirt Targets, and Clothespin Drop. The guests were able to visit each station with their game tickets in hand and play to their heart's content for some.....

Prizes!!!

What's a carnival without prizes, right? We had a wide variety to choose from like candy, noise makers, pencils, clown noses, plushies, bubbles, and oh yes more candy!!! :D

We even had our very own fortune teller reading lucky fortunes to our guests. Thanks Anna ;0)

Another hit was the photo op backdrop. All the kids took turns sticking their heads through even though I wasn't able to capture them all. But still I think they enjoyed it. I did see a few mom's capture a few snaps with their phones so that made it totally worth it.

This was the first birthday party with friends and as it was a lot of work it was also worth every moment.
Happy Birthday, my little darling. I hear 4’s are going to be fabulous!
Oh and next year it's gunna be a pinata because this momma is beat.


Links: Music-Amazon carnival music; game setup inspiration-Parent Magazine; Treat table and prize table-Elizabeth Kartchner; Tickets, Big Top table set up, photo op, striped bunting-Oriental Trading; carnival banner-Hobby Lobby; prizes, candies,-Wal Mart and Target; paper plates, table cloths-Dollar Store. yes. I blew my budget...by like, a lot.
>^..^<

relatively dramatic

I received a call today that little miss is having one of these days. She decided to test her chompers on a poor unsuspecting bud at daycare so we will be having the, "what do we use our teeth for" conservation and no t.v. I called Miss Patty and we had a nice conservation after I offered my apologies and assured her I fed Maribel breakfast this morning. I'm thinking some apology cookies are in order. Why does parenting have to be so tough?

>^..^<

sunbeam

Well the time has come that our little Maribel is officially in Primary. No more church nursery 'cause this chicky is now a Sunbeam. Love.
I knew when I was asked to conduct our opening exercises I might have a little issue with the tear ducts and.... I was right. I was great up until I saw my own little onion walk in holding hands and taking her seat. My heart was so full of love, joy, pride, and fear (yes, fear-you parents know which type I'm talking about) that my eyes couldn't fight back the flood any more. I love my calling so so much and I am so excited that I get to share it with my little monkey. :D

I'm gunna be a total wreck come Kindergarten.

>^..^<

snow? in Florida???

While freezing walking around Downtown Disney looking for a certain "man in red" something landed on my cheeks and stopped me in my tracks. It's been over 5 years since I got to chill with the white stuff. Sure it was fake but it brought back all those childhood memories of trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue, batting them off my eyelashes, and of course remembering how they loved to fly up my nose. It was pure bliss.

For our Family Home Evening we paid a visit to see this guy. Maribel was so excited that she didn't care that it was 39F out. I know, I know, living here has made me a little soft but this was chilly even in my standards. We made sure to bring along a super warm blanket but she shucked that as soon as it was her turn.

I got my wish. Maribel was more then happy to sit on Santa's lap and make her request for a Unicorn Pillow Pet. After all she has been good all year. Well, as far as 3 year old's go.  ;0)

She pointed out a few new grey hairs this morning. I pointed out that she put them there.

>^..^<