the good the bad and the weekend

Hello, hello how are you my friends? What's new with you guys?
 nothing much with me just same ol' same ol' well I do have a couple of things to share.

For the good and the bad I 'd like to tell you  that Javier has been on a cleaning and decluttering mode for the past two weeks.  He does say straight out "I am on a cleaning mode" and he would start getting rid of things that "he thinks" need to be gone...well I warned the kids "your dad is on cleaning mode so If want things that you love, appreciate or want to keep and they are out of place or in disarrangement you better find a good place for them because he really is on a cleaning spree!"  That's the bad part :(

But the good good part is that cleaning does free you and makes you feel lighter don't you agree?  Besides, cleaning the pantry, cleaning file cabinets getting rid of old papers, cleaning out closets getting rid of clothes that haven't been worn in years I have been cleaning out my inbox as well.  I confess I am quick at subscribing to newsletters...but when I check my email I am overwhelmed and just delete delete...It's just sad for me because I wish I had the time but really don't.
So there! cleaning is the good thing :)

I'd like to also share that the first weekend of September we fiesta like there was no mañana.  It's been awhile since we've gone to a Birthday party and this one was NICE :)

 We went to a 10 year old twins Birthday Party Mexican style.  It was fun and I am sure to say that Emma was the one who had the most fun.  You see she was free to roam around the whole time! We could not keep her sitting down staying still.  I mean how could we?  she's only 18 months right?? So yes she was free to walk around, squeeze in between tables and chairs, smile, mingle,  talk to people, she ate candies, ate food, drank juice and all those things you do at Birthday parties. But it was hard to keep track of where she was among all the people and there was quite a few people. Sophie had the  most brilliant idea she's ever had!  we tied a red balloon on Emma's waist so that we could locate her quickly!

We also had fun taking pictures!  I am sad to say that with all the things I have to carry with Emma, diaper bag, snack bag, toy bag etc etc It's hard to remember and carry my camera too.
So these pictures were taken with my crappy cell phone camera.

So you see there in the background there's my little red balloon. pardon me my daughter. 

I also like to share that last Friday I completed another prompt from my 45 by 45 list!
Enjoy my 45th birthday! 

I turned 45 yikes!  I let nothing ruin the day because you know sometimes things do happen.
Honestly and truly I savored the day!
Emma and I went on a bike ride early in the morning, didn't do much housework (purposely).
Valeria came over from San Diego and in the afternoon all six of us went out to eat so I didn't cook :)
After that we went out and bought a chocoflan...if you haven't had it just click on the link to see all the images and your mouth will water I promise. Allow me to also mention that every time Emma saw the cake she would start singing "appy appy" her version of Happy Birthday.
Sophie has been good and helping me portion my slices.  She does watches after me because I could eat half a cake in one sitting and that is not a good thing.

It's been a while since we've spent an afternoon all together because of Valeria's work schedule.  

On Saturday we drove to San Diego and celebrated some more at my mom's.  

Then on Sunday Xavi had a tough game but the boys came through from a loosing score on the first half 0 to 2 they beat the other team 4 to 3 that was exciting!
then we finish the afternoon watching a movie at home and went to bed early on Sunday :)

So there, I actually enjoyed my whole weekend how is that??

I hope you have been good and hope this week is a productive one for all of us!

ps I know I only did about a third of the items on my list this time it is really a bucket list :/

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not for me

Not for me...

Boring, tedious, I did it because I wanted to try it.  My 45 by 45 list.  Reading poetry is what I am talking about. I gave it my all honestly.  I picked a short book so that I could concentrate  "The Selected Poems of Federico Garcia Lorca" a Spanish poet, playwright and theater director. I even was lucky enough to find one that had been translated, I had the English version and the Spanish version right on the same book.  I thought this would make it easier.  I took the book along with me to soccer practice and while we waited for Sophie.  I renewed it twice to have enough time.  I read and read, and when I lost my place in the book  I couldn't find my place back...that's how sad it was.  I went back to read over and over. I read the whole book and didn't understand a thing.  Maybe it was the poetry style? maybe was my mindset? Reading this book was so vague to me.   I did not enjoy reading poetry.  Why instead of saying things straight they give it that little twist?, that little twist that won't let me understand what they are trying to say. sigh.

I did manage to understand a little tiny poem

HALF MOON

The moon goes over the water,

How tranquil the sky is!

She goes scything slowly

the old shimmer from the river;

meanwhile a young frog 

takes her for a little mirror.

I know you have to experiment things to find out if you like them.  So, no.  Now I can say I read a poetry book and it's not for me.  One more thing crossed of my list.

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the good the bad and the weekend

Somebody give Summer a ticket!  it's certainly going too fast!!  two weeks from today my kids will start school.  They are excited and ready.  Here are the newest good and bads:

Xavi shined like a new penny with his new team uniform he is number nine and that number is one of my favorite numbers. He was looking sharp my boy :)

Emma is having fun at Xavi's games and practices running around at the park and sharing chips and cookies with the other girls Emma is the youngest of all of them :  Well in reality the girls share with her as Emma rather eat what they have instead of what I bring for her :/

While talking to the kids I mention the word "groove"  well apparently that's a no no nowadays :(

Talking about urban dictionary instead of saying what's going on? you say what's poppin'? : /

Sophia let me use her laptop to edit some pictures I was working on as the desktop is very slow. 

Once I was finished I told her she could trash them "okay" she said 

"I will send it to my hopes and dreams that's how I named my trash can..."

Ahhh Sophie stop being so melodramatic! :/

Yesterday was our seventeen year anniversary, we did nothing special at all.  Xavi had a game.  Javier remembered sometime in the middle of the month that July is our anniversary.  I don't know how to label this one happy face, sad face or squiggly face... at least he remembers the month is July. 

Oh that husband of mine!

This is nothing to brag or show off but last week we got up early and drove around the streets to find a homeless person.  There were lots of homeless. We found a woman in need, bad shape physically we went to McDonald's bought a breakfast Deluxe and an orange juice.  Drove back to where she was at and delivered the breakfast plate, she was very thankful. :)

Sometimes the kids or us adults complain about the things we do not have or wish we had more but we forget to give thanks for the things we do have.  There is real need out there.  I am glad my kids got to see it first hand and hope that one day out of their own hearts they have compassion and help those in need. So with this I cross off  item 29 on my 45 by 45 list.

And also last week I mentioned about the talk I had with my brother about investing and he told me to at least open  my investing account and I did last monday!  He also mention that I have to pay myself...that's something that I've never thought about.  Now I plan to save 10% of my shop profits and once I save some money I will start investing and since I wanna feel accomplished on my list because 45 is coming soon I will cross off another item yeah??

As far as the weekend, it was spent helping Valeria move in with a friend of hers.  Both girls rented their own apartment and both are full time college students and have two jobs each!  I remember when I had two jobs back in the day!!

This is how I felt about the anniversary thing!  

I hope you have a nice smooth week and buckle up in case the road is bumpy!

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gallery wall

This is something that I have been wanting to share with you.  I think I finished my gallery wall a little after Thanksgiving.  I wanted to put up something on my living room wall, initially I had a square mirror and two picture frames on each side.  I really wanted something meaningful for the family.

So I framed the kids art.  On the left side it's Valeria's kindergarten hearts and apples.  I think it's so cute how she wrote her and her dad's name.   On the upper right the big colorful frame is Sophia's abstract art. You see on the lower hand corner a child and her mother...well that represents me and her!  Now, the two wooden frames on the top left I painted with chalkboard paint to give the kids a chance to redo our portraits now and then.  On the bottom left it's a piece of pallet that I painted with chalkboard paint as well and made our family name sign.  That helps me complete another item on my 45 by 45 list "make something with pallets".

In the center it's the mirror that I mentioned I had there initially.  I was just too lazy to take it off.  At the bottom is Sophie's (her nickname is Moncy) and Xavi's portrait.  For some reason Xavi wanted Sophie's frame next to him.  It's funny because he just found out he is going on a snow ski trip with his cousins and my brother and the first thing he asked is Is Sophie going?...aww he loves her sister.  On the right is this living art wall decor with air plants that so far have not died on me.  I also made them out of pallets a bit crooked  I know but I am very proud of myself.. 

And finally here is the last section of the gallery.  Here are Vale's and Emma's portraits.  The fish and the flower Xavi made them with color chalk on 2nd grade and I framed them simply because I love chalk :) And finally the jazz frame that really has no meaning but thought it fit well in the mix.  I have to fix Xavi's crooked flower picture ha ha!  So funny I didn't noticed until I downloaded the picture.

So here you have it my whole gallery wall.  I am happy with it!  I love seeing it everyday.  

Have you done any diy projects lately?

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Bookworm

Sophia is a bookworm!  She really devours books.  I am really amazed at how much she loves reading!  I told her that every time she reads a book and there is a movie about it I would watch the movie with her.  I think it's fun to compare the book to the movie even though I don't read the books.  For me it's certainly faster and more convenient at this time...by the way I still have to watch the movie The Lover..

Every couple of weeks or so she has a list of books to check out from the public Library.  Among one of her recent reads was Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.  The story is about a high school senior and a dying girl that trough friendship become inseparable.  Although the story is sad I enjoyed very much this drama-comedy movie very colorful and creative.

She also read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee a classic book that deals with the aspect of history in reference to the Southern US in the 1930s. 

Once she finished the book we watched the movie we actually had to wait a couple of weeks for it because it had been checked out and it was on the hold list for me. The kids were discouraged at the beginning because of the fact that the movie was black and white...well I do have to confess that  I was a bit discouraged too.  According to Sophia there was a character in the book that was not in the movie and her and my favorite character was Scout that little innocent girl in the story.  I was surprised that Javier knew Gregory Peck who plays the fictional character of Atticus Finch the lawyer hero of the story.   In this story there is no vindication at the end towards African-Americans who were looked down upon and considered unequal so that makes it a sad ending  and a sad truth.

Classic book classic movie right? with this movie I cross watching a classic movie on my 45 by 45 list.  I wonder what's on Sophia's reading list next?

Oh and talking about Sophia she officially told me she's not wearing dresses until warmer weather!
Can't blame the girl!

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Happy post

Yes my friends today is a happy post!  Full of positive things!!

My husband changed the hard drive on this old computer and things run faster and smother! but not without a bit of frustration at first until I figured out how to do things on this 'old new computer' sigh...

Next, after almost two years of job hunting, frustration and disappointments Javier finally landed a job close to home!  No more 1 1/2 hours commute or having to stay down in San Diego a few days during the weekday. I will again have a full time husband that comes home every night!!  Now he can help me with Emma in the evenings, feed the dogs clean their poop of course, he can wake up in the middle of the night when the dogs are barking, take the trash bin out on Tuesdays and bring it back inside on Wednesdays, take Xavi to soccer practice (I will probably tag along on this one still because being at the park is relaxing really) referee Sophie and Xavi when they argue and many more things...welcome home honey we missed you!  But in all truth it's certainly wonderful that he will be at home!

Talking about soccer and practices Xavi's team has won 9 out of 10 games and tied one.  

So next week they are playing semi finals and we are hoping for the best! 

More good news!  I completed one more task on my 45 by 45 list.
Item number 4 which is knit a pair of gloves. 

I wanted to do a trial and was not going to invest a lot of money so I bought a couple of sets of double pointed metallic needles for a few bucks at a thrift shop and used my yarn scraps.

It was a success!  I was able to read the pattern and finish it.  You don't know how afraid I was of decreasing stitches :/  I used two different size needles therefore the two different colors I also was eager to finish the little project and tackle those decreases that I didn't it make it long enough that's why the mitten looks like an elf's hat or something weird I know :/

I learned a few things watching youtube videos:

• Using double pointed needles is not that hard, it's similar to using a circular needle (which I've used before) you just have to get used to managing 4 needles at a time instead of two.  A bit intimidating at first I must confess.  I saw in a tutorial that using wooden needles instead of metallic ones is better as the stitches will slip off the metallic needles if you aren't careful enough.  Lesson learned 
• When reading patterns you have to be very  VERY careful. (k stands for knit, p stands for purl and tog stands for together) Because how can you  k2tog p2tog? when the pattern asks you to k2 k2tog then you will end up with 9 stitches instead of 15 what the?? yea read carefully! 
• It's difficult when you start a project with only a few stitches, then it gets easier as you go by, because the project stretches a bit but by the end of the project if you start decreasing it gets difficult again. 

 But please don't let my word discourage you.   Knitting is fun and very rewarding! 

Here are some pictures for your delight or shall I say mine?

You should know that I  choose Emma because she is a smaller model  and I know what you must be thinking mittens or gloves? but please be easy on me.  I did little mittens :/  Let's just say I am being flexible with my list now.  My main thing was the challenge of reading the pattern as I am a beginner at that, using 4 double pointed needles was also a challenge as I have never used them before and of course finishing the task was another challenge in itself!  Please give me credit for this one.

I took these pictures as soon as I finished the first one.  I just couldn't wait to try it on her and of course and I just couldn't resist to take the pictures then.  A couple of days later I did the second one.
The final result and my little model hair undone are so cute! 

Still on my list I have to knit a hat and some socks ay Claudia!  

I also want to give the gloves a try but I am not putting that one in writing again ha ha ha!

So there you have it!  Too many good things that I had had to share with you all!

Hope you have an excellent week my friends!

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the lover

So this was difficult...prompt number 10 on my 45 by 45 list read at least 3 books.  During the summer I checked out a book and really didn't make the time to read.  I let it be overdue and as a good citizen paid my fine.  But just as the movie marathon I thought "come on Claudia you are almost there!"  I mean the first step was checking the book out right?  So I renewed it and gave it another chance.  I tried reading while Emma napped but didn't really worked out. The picture below I took the very first day I checked it out back in July, you can see Emma in the background still in napping in her baby swing. I found out that the best time for reading for me was at night right before bed when everyone was asleep.  It was so nice the house was quiet and I could really concentrate.  I also read bit and pieces right after I dropped off Xavi. This was at Sophia's schools parking lot she listened to music, Emma slept and I read...we made it work out.

The book was titled "The lover" an autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras.  The story of a French's girl's life in Indochina, her affair with a Chinese millionaire, her relationship with her mother and two brothers are all intertwined and filled with pain, love, hate and fear.  I won't deny that it was a difficult read for me.  At times I found myself lost and had to re read again. I did enjoy the book which was also made into a movie and plan to watch it soon.  

Two more books to go on this goal.  Any good books you've read recently?  This was a short book so I guess I was lucky too!

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Movie marathon

I have checked off another item on my 45 by 45 list!  Item 33 was that a tough one!  Movie watching staying up past midnight.  I go to bed at 8:00 or 9:00 at the latest and am a morning bird this goal was a bit ambitious.

Javier and Xavi were in San Diego Sophia volunteer to support me on this one since it was girls only in the house.  We made a list of movies that were interesting to both of us but ultimately I decided on three movies because after all it was my marathon.

First off at 6:00 pm we watched "The Duchess" on Netflix downstairs.  Although it said it was pg-13 Sophia had to run out of the family room a few times If you know what I mean :/ The movie tells the story of Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire.  She is an 18th century fashion icon and gambler loved by the whole country think of Lady D.  The Duke wants her to have an heir, which she hasn't accomplished, she brings home a friend and then this woman starts and affair with him. That beep! sorry but that just made us so mad!! Georgina has to accept all of his husband's infidelities.  She finally bares a son. Very good movie, I cried at the end very sad what this woman had to go through...If you haven't watched it I recommend it!

Second movie was a fail.  The life of Pi, I choose this one because Sophia had read the book and hadn't seen the movie and I had not watched it either. We started it at about 8:15 pm.  For this one we watched it upstairs on Sophia's laptop...on my bed...bad move.  Very bad move...It was very monotonous, a talking castaway lots of roaring and water all over...I nodded several times.  So did Sophie we actually had to often change positions and places on the bed to keep awake.  I started thinking we weren't gonna make it.  Well it wouldn't matter if Sophia went to sleep it was me that I was worried about.  But the thought of quitting in the middle and having to do it all over again gave me strength to keep on.  I was so relieved when the movie finally ended.   We had one more to go.  I hesitated but decided keep on going.

For the third and last movie I was very awake in fact I was wide awake. We watched "Revenge of the Bridesmaids".  It was a rom-com  as Sophia stated.  A romantic comedy to be precise, two women trying to sabotage her childhood friend's wedding because this one is marrying her friend's ex-boyfriend.  Funny, silly and entertaining, just what we needed to go on.  The movie ended at 12:15 pm just in the nick of time. It was gratifying finishing my task. 

Have you ever had a movie marathon?  How late do you stay up?...I used to be so much better at this :(

PS:  Luckily Emma let me sleep in a bit. I woke up at 7:00 am the next morning. Oh yeah on the baby news department we have a screamer and a roller!  She finally rolled over this morning she still needs a bit of practice.  She has discovered that when there is a conversation between two people or more she can get noticed by screaming her lungs out.

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star gazing

Summer vacation is almost gone everybody is getting that feeling of oh no!  school is about to start :(  Registration process is imminent and back to school is just around the corner. When this summer break started the kids wrote a list of things they wanted to do and one of them was star gazing.  Well, one item on my 45 by 45 list was to learn about the constellations and I thought why not do it together? One item off my list ;) To be honest I am not much of a star  person. I mean I took astronomy in college, I aced the class but that's what long term memory is for right??  

I did a bit or research, just ask Google and you will get an answer.  So, with the help of this page tonightssky.com I was able to plan our observing session it was a super easy way to find out "what was going on in the sky."  I did have to find out Hemet's latitude and longitude on this page. Earthsky was also a very helpful.  Our session was on Friday July 24th, we had smores, hot dogs and pickles the whole shebang you know or shall I say the whole enchilada?  It was just captivating seeing little bright lights appearing in the dusking sky.

While researching I learned that when when the moon is more than half lighted but less than half full it's called a waxing gibbous moon.  So we had to spot the moon in between two star like points. The star spica to the right or west and Saturn to the left or east.  Piece of cake visible to the naked eye.  We were to also look for the Northern Cross or Cygnus the Swan.  Sophia was the one who saw it first. I also showed Javier and the kids this page I came across 26 pictures that will make you re-evaluate your entire existence. It was an engaging and intriguing evening undeniable. All sorts of topics came out such as life in other planets, aliens, black holes, the sun dying out on us, the extinctions of dinosaurs and the funny jokes obviously came out "What if a black hole leads to Uranus and is that a constellation or a constipation?"  oh boy...

I also realized out how difficult it is to take pictures at night so I gave up pretty quickly...only a few to show you the rest should be pinterest fail

I should also mention that Friday was our 16th wedding anniversary.  Friday was a good one.  Oh and that moment when you find a 20 that you washed and put away in a skirt last summer happened on Friday as well!  Amen. 

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progress

yes indeed a bit of progress on my 45 by 45 list!  and blogging twice in a week BIG WOW!  right??

First thing, I am in love with the idea of handmade soap.  I first fell in love when I saw this video on the etsy blog.  Have you ever browsed etsy handmade soap section  It's filled with infinite exquisite, delicious, beautiful, charming and pleasing soapy goodies!  I mean isn't it amazing that you can mix herbs, oils and other ingredients cook 'em together and that whole gooey mess turns into an emollient bar of soap. To me is sounds very gratifying!

I have a pin board of soap making DIY recipes There are many ways of making soap cold or hot process made from scratch or melt and pour bases.

Now that the kids are on vacation we choose a homemade Oatmeal soap recipe.  Melt and pour is actually one of the easiest ways to make soap  using lye sounds a bit intimidating...I mean you need goggles and gloves :/  but one day I would like to try it as well.

Pretty easy to find ingredients, 8 cubes of Goat's milk suspension formula, oatmeal and almond oil soap extract.

I like to get the kids to participate on these things.  Xavi is always in when it comes to do handmade things.  Sophia on the other hand not so much.  It wouldn't come out of her but if I ask her to she will do it.  They liked helping out and could not wait for the end result.  I like seeing them work together.

 Well somebody was certainly bored! the littlest helper or at least spectator.

Basically only  a few steps, melt the soap, add the oil and the oatmeal then cool.  Pretty nifty huh??  full recipe and instructions here.

This is the end result  looks yummy to eat ah?  So there you have it oatmeal from breakfast till shower time! and at the same time one more item crossed off my list.

I'd like to share a morning laugh now:  So, Sophia was frantically looking for something in the refrigerator the other day "What are you looking for?" I asked her "the ketchup's sister" she told me.  Ok so I was puzzled "is it the mustard?"  I asked..."no that's the weird brother nobody likes" she told me.  I see.  "Is it the barbecue?" I asked..."yes that's the one!!"  Oh Sophie! left door at the top...

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spaghetti squash

As a typical mom I am always telling the kids to eat their veggies.  I am so proud to say that Sophia has improved so much, she now eats avocado, cucumber, spinach, mushrooms among other new to her veggies.  On the other hand, Xavi is a different story, he still refuses to try new veggies.  I hope that with age he gives them a try.  Sadly I am guilty of sticking to the same veggies you know the typical lettuce, tomato, onion, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms etc etc.  There are a lot of veggies out there that I have never tried before.  Just a couple of years ago I tried asparagus for the first time.  I loved them by the way :)

I came across this supper easy spaghetti squash recipe online. Since we must teach our children by example I decided to give it a try and introduce it to the family.  I've heard and read good reviews about this veggie.  It is low in calories, fat, sodium and carbohydrates.  In addition it's high in fiber loaded with potassium, Vitamins C and A and antioxidants.  Sounds good right?

The recipe calls for a spaghetti squash. Wash it and make cuts all over with a paring knife.  Bake it for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Cut it in half scoop out the seeds, then scrape off the flesh.  Mix it with 1/4 cup of butter and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  Done.

My father in law was visiting and he had the pleasure of trying it out with the family.  He said he had never tried it before either.  We all tried it except Xavi and we liked it. I think it has kind of a sweet taste and heard that it makes a great substitute for pasta!  Next time I will try it with a sauce.  

Well I've broaden my horizon, added a new veggie to my repertoire and completed one more item on my bucket list!  

Here is a morning laugh:  

Javier wanted to buy a couple of shirts, so we went to Kohl's per my request since I had a couple of coupons.  So it takes a little longer now to get to places with Emma, you know the car seat, the stroller, the diaper bag,  etc.  So we enter the store and the men's department is right at the entrance. Javier starts looking and in two minutes he's done.  He finds a shirt and picks three different colors.  What the heck??  I didn't even have time to get my phone out of my purse to look for the coupons! 

I knew this was going to be a quick trip but come on!!

Just one more laugh, lately I have been covered in all kinds of bodily fluids that a baby can produce.
I really mean all kinds!!

Hope your week is going great my friends!

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postpartum confessions

Pregnancy for me was really a roller coaster of emotions be it shock, excitement, happiness, fear you name it!  so many ups and downs too many in one single day at times!  I have some confessions to make. Looking back some of them seem silly to me now but oh so real and strong emotions at the time.

• I cried lots and lots all through  the entire pregnancy.  I learned we were expecting at 5 weeks. Early enough to have plenty of time to shed tears.  Like every time Javier would say "what are we going to do now?" but then again he did that with all of our pregnancies so I should have know better that the man was only freaking out. Thank goodness that stage for him was over soon or I really would have cried every single day!!  I cried when reading about the stages of labor thinking "I have to go through that again?? I also cried at the dentist, if you recall.  I cried when we made the decision to leave our home and temporarily move to San Diego. Heck TV made me cry.  Even after Emma was born I cried when breastfeeding wasn't going as planned :(  I had to introduce my expressed milk in a bottle to her and she gulped it so fast that it only broke my heart...hormones working at their best.
• I napped a lot!  Napping is really one thing I have never done.  I hardly ever find the time to nap even when I am sick, but this time around I found myself so tired during the morning hours that I just found myself napping in order to continue the day...I almost felt guilty I must confess almost but not quite to be honest I really enjoyed it...
• My belly popped out pretty early, I was really surprised.  I found myself checking out other ladies bellies.  Sometimes it was easy to tell if it was a pregnant belly.   I always wondered how far along were they?, what was their due date?
• I downloaded this pregnancy app called 'I'm expecting' from MedHelp I spent most of my afternoons browsing through the forums.  There were divided into age categories starting from 18 yrs plus (even there were 15 and 16 year old girls posting that they were pregnant!) I mostly visited the pregnancy social and the 35+ pregnancy forums.  I wasn't very active on it I mostly read the posts some of them were kind of like Jerry Springer fun because the younger ladies would post trying to find out their ovulation date because they needed to know who their baby daddy was this guy or the other??  what?? how would someone else know who your baby daddy is?  Ladies in their 40's and plus asking for advice in how to get pregnant.  Other ladies throwing a fit because of gender disappointed!! OMG drama drama :/  In my hours of insomnia this little app helped me pass the time.
• Since I learned it was a girl that I was expecting I started browsing the baby's department and gear specially the clearance section. Who doesn't love to shop for a baby?  I love to find a good bargain on clothing even if I have to store it in a plastic tub for 2 years :)
• Every Sunday afternoon when we drove to San Diego we stopped at MacDonalds where I enjoyed a Double cheeseburger and a caramel sundae.  It was my craving!  All that changed when the glucose testing started even way before they diagnosed the GD.  MickeyD was my guilty pleasure :(
• Once GD kicked in I kept a food journal, it was very overwhelming at first I've never had to count carbohydrates before.  Water became my best friend!  I wasn't allowed milk or fruit before noon and I learned how much a whole banana raised my glucose levels.  Planning my meals became easier with time and practice.  Confession time right?  well I did have a small piece of cake at my baby shower very tiny tiny one and later during that day I didn't test my glucose :/  After Emma was born I would glance and every restaurant sign and giggle wow I can have that now!  I was ready to eat.  I also walked a lot, I mean a lot.  I walked before Xavi's school started and before he got out of school people started asking me when was I due since they saw me walk every day!
• I constantly thought about the people that I left behind when we did the temporary move. Of course my neighbors knew about our situation, besides that I don't really have a lot of friends in town but the people I know from the kids' school wondered what the heck happened to us?  Since our decision was so sudden I didn't have time to explain or give details.  Now we are back with our new family addition and glad to see them again.
• I loved my Doctor and nurse!  I had a great experience at the hospital.  Everyone was so nice I mean everyone!
• Finally, I asked God for forgiveness for being mad a him 5 yrs ago when our last attempt to get pregnant failed. Yeah  I was pretty upset and wasn't understanding or accepting his way I just wasn't taking it.  I must confess I even doubted him.  He had failed me when I had put all my trust in him.  Big lesson it's his way and not ours!  His timing and not ours!

To finalize this long post...sorry :( I'd like to share these pictures.  Emma was born on a Thursday and the following Sunday it poured then the biggest and most beautiful rainbow appeared.  After the storm comes the rainbow right?  I am so thankful that God sent me a beautiful and healthy child.  Bonus, rainbow pictures is one more item checked off my bucket list which I am running behind gotta get working on it :)

Have a great weekend and a Happy Spring!

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indoor herb garden...in progress

ok, so this is my attempt to my indoor herb garden
am I cheating if I didn't start from scratch?
I am cheating If I am still trying to figure it out?

you should know I don't have the green thumb (insert a sad face here)

you should also know that I don't use fresh herbs much

but this is my attempt to do it

the only herbs I buy fresh are cilantro, mint and parsley at times

...most of the time they go bad in the refrigerator (insert a sadder face here)

 I searched ways to do an indoor garden,  it needs a least 6+ hours of sun  a window would do

I choose 4 herbs that I've used before or that I think I will use, I bought parsley, rosemary, sage and mint... there are so many kinds of herbs to choose from!

I knew I couldn't pot them on this basket. I saw this great an easy video tutorial, the herbs still being on their pots were stuck on a  jar with water and then the jars are set in a basket.  Pretty, I know.  Easy, yeah that too. Once I find the jars I will see how this works out, if not I will have to search for a tub or pretty planter to pot them.

Meanwhile I am admiring how my herb garden looks on my kitchen and the wonderful smell.  I will have to search for recipes to give them some use while cooking or making herb infused water ;) 

 I've printed this lovely chart

from Illustrated bites

wonderful artwork wouldn't you say?

I am studying studying!

This completes another prompt on my bucket list :)

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makeover

It was April of last year when my sister gave me a bob cut and applied a relaxer to relax my curls to make it easier for me to maintain the cut and keep it straight with the flat iron.  Oh how I love straight hair.  I think I was born to have it  but something went wrong... I inherited my dad's curls.

You see I have a love-hate relationship with my curls.  I hate angering the beast...by beast I mean my hair ;)  Sometimes curls go wild and just do whatever they want to do, I don't like hair on my face.  I don't like puffy or frizzy hair who does anyway??  well some people do but that's another story. At times hair products be it mousse, creams or conditioners leave a wet sticky look or too flat which I also hate.
Last week I was ready for a change.  I was missing the convenience of wash and go hair.

So yeah I told her go ahead cut it...
I came across NaturallyCurly a wonderful website where you can find everything about curls.  Lots of tips and info about fighting frizz, natural hair recipes, conditioning and much more.  Did you know there are different hair types? I didn't...from wavy to curly to coily and then there is wavy swavy, curly twirly and coily springly ha ha
and more in between!!

I've started using an old t-shirt to dry my hair. I've learned that towels can scrub hair and damage it. The t- shirt fabric preserves the natural curl pattern.   Instead of my regular hair mousse I've started to apply a leave in nourishing coconut milk conditioner and argan oil of morocco

these two are weightless and leave my curls soft to the touch.
If you suffer from curls you probably know what I am talking about
I highly recommend NaturallyCurly.  I keep going back often to get more pointers. 

With such short hair unless I shave it or wear hair extensions I cannot do much to it but bring the beast back!  but this time I am confident that I will tame it!

 I consider this my makeover on my 45 by 45 list
For now the beast it's calm I can't wait to see it grow again!! 

...to be honest I was missing my curls and I am glad they are back.

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