My Good King

Knee deep in construction again-- getting the living room, dining room, hallway, and kitchen painted removing the old wall unit for the heater having new baseboards put in It is a huge job. It will be four days tomorrow (there's only two of them), and I PRAY that they get done tomorrow. Originally they said it would only take two days, but the spackling took forever (especially in the kitchen), and the weather did not cooperate, lol! The last thing on the list that we have to hire someone for is to do the wiring for lighting in the kitchen, dining room, and electricity to the garage. THEN I'M DONE FOR A VERY LONG TIME!! Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely grateful that we have the opportunity to make our house a home and help it live up to its potential. I thought it would be years before we would be able to make any improvements. But I am tired of the clutter everywhere, tired of all the dust, and biting at the bit to put stuff on the walls and decorate for Christm

Haven't had one of these in a couple of months, but we were BUSY this weekend! Saturday morning started off slowly (just the way I like!). Then I did a little photoshoot with the kids for our Christmas card (you'll all have to live in suspense till you get the card (hopefully sometime this week ; ) ) Then, after some serious editing of my favorite photo, I went to Costco to get a gazillion photos made, ran various errands, came home (with the pictures) and started the cards. Saturday evening we went to a Christmas party through Carlito's job (got home around midnight) Sunday I went to church, raced to Toys-R-Us to buy a birthday present for Carlos' classmate, came home, got him dressed, took him to the party, and from there went to my cousin's house for a family gathering. Whew! Got home around 5:00 and needed to have some "me" time. I don't do well with busy weekends. So I went to Barnes & Noble to recharge my batteries and--believe it or not--s

She really is her Daddy's girl. For a while now I've been wanting to do a layout about the special relationship they share, but have been putting it off because I knew the journaling would be time-consuming. Well, after having lunch with a friend this weekend--and buying a new digital kit :), I became inspired. I am truly so grateful that Ashley has an amazing relationship with Carlito. I am so happy for both of them. And here is the layout: If you can't see it (thanks, Teena, for the "heads up"), you can click here and you should be able to see it. Journaling reads: This is one of my favorite photos because it so clearly epitomizes the fundamental nature of your relationship. The depth of your love for each other is so evident in both pairs of eyes--you are so comfortable with each other. What a priceless treasure God has given you, Ashley, and the best part is that you get to take this relationship completely for granted. You just get to soak up all your Daddy

Just wanted to post a layout (digital) that I did over the weekend. I just wanted to have some fun and let the creativity flow. I have plenty of other things I should be doing, but I'm taking a 10-minute break to (hopefully) recharge my batteries for the rest of the evening--I'm fighting the urge to take a nap. Oh well. And I just realized that if you click on the layout, it will show you a bigger one if you want.

I feel like I'm sooo behind this holiday season, especially this week. I feel like my life is completely out of control right now--there's so much to do and time is running out. But can I say a very simple word when someone asks if I'll pile a little more on? No, I have the hardest time saying "no." I already had planned that I would stick to my prior commitments this week ... and that's all. The rest of the time would be devoted to online Christmas shopping (because I actually detest shopping, but if I can sit my lazy bottom on my computer chair, credit card in hand, and click away, I can actually make it through without a headache.) Well, I'd been sticking to my plan (aside from several trips to the grocery store because in my disorganized state of mind I didn't plan our menu this week) ... ... until yesterday when I picked Carlos up from school, and the PTA President asks me what I'm doing in the morning. I quickly scan my brain, certain

Ashley had her first performance of the year tonight. She belongs to a show choir. Here are a few pics: Happy to be the center of attention: Her pouty look (we're very familiar with this look at home, lol!): Just another one: very "upset": And Michelle (my sister), I can just see Natasha following in her cousin's footsteps in a few years ;) And Chris, maybe this could be Isabella :)

We have a very unique situation in our family. Ashley and my husband share a birthday. And my husband, being a twin, shares his birthday with his twin sister (obviously, lol!). So we celebrate three birthdays on the same day--November 27th, to be exact. So this Tuesday we celebrated all three birthdays at my in-law's house. My brother-in-law wanted to have a surprise party for them, and I was all for that as long as Ashley was included. So we decide last Thursday that we're going to do this--something simple, with close friends and family. Then I find out Tuesday morning that it's going to be a HUGE party with about 80 people invited, including a harpist, valet service for parking, catered food, with caterers waiting on you, etc. Needless to say, I was just slightly out of my comfort zone. I'm not a classy person by any stretch of the imagination, lol! But it really was a very nice celebration. Sorry, but I can't resist sharing "just a few" pics. So here g

you will definitely relate to this video: Ashley showed me this one. It's about your typical nail salon experience, and it totally cracks me up. I hope you enjoy it as well :) It plays on a stereotype, though, so I hope it doesn't offend anyone.

This was posted on Teena's blog, and I just couldn't stop laughing. I want to share with my "many (lol!)" blog readers who don't know Teena, and therefore would be deprived of a good laugh! Enjoy!

It's always so "wow" to me when I'm going about my business as usual, and "out of the blue" God answers a prayer. I think He's answering my prayer. Time will tell. I've been praying for quite a while about what to do about employment. I want to find a job that I can do only during the day when the kids are at school--I still need to be available to take them to school and pick them up because sometimes my husband needs to go to work early. I have thought about various jobs (subbing, tutoring, doing something with technology 'cause I'm good with computers, finding a business I could do at home that doesn't require much training, etc.) , but child care is usually an issue and for the life of me I can't figure out what I could do from home. I'm soooo not business-oriented. It is so important to me to be there for my kids on a regular basis. I enjoy taking them to school. I enjoy being the one who gets to pick them up from school (exc

I had a great day yesterday. Not because the food was great (it was.). Not because the event itself was spectacular (it wasn't out of the ordinary in any way.). I had the best time just hanging out with my in-laws as I helped to prepare the meal. I went to my sister-in-law's house around 10:00 to help prepare the food. It is truly so humbling to spend time with them. When I spend any significant amount of time with them, it is always a wake-up call for me that I still really have so much to learn about what it means to be a family. My brain literally turns into a sponge and I start to notice all the little things (which I'm sure they take for granted) that bind them together as a family. I love watching them interact with each other. My sister-in-law has five kids ranging in age from 20 to 11. When I arrived, the entire family was in the kitchen helping to prepare the meal. There was no arguing--no whining or complaining. They knew what was expected, they knew t

I have had such an itch to scrapbook lately, but have not been able to set aside a block of time. So, between spare moments yesterday and today, I put this digital layout together. My girl is growing up. Journaling reads: This is the first summer that you took sunbathing seriously. You still very much enjoy swimming, but you are definitely cognizant of the "tan" factor now. I'm glad I caught this moment. I'm sure this will be a familiar sight over the next several years. On another note, for any family members who might be interested, we are going to Mely and George's mansion (yahoo!!), where I will be helping Mely prepare a traditional Thanksgiving feast. Looking forward to spending time with them ... not looking forward to being in charge of the cooking--that way if something doesn't come out right, it's my fault. There will only be about 30 to 40 people. No pressure! :) Have a lovely Thanksgiving feast, y'all!

Today was your general run-of-the-mill day, except that I didn't really have dinner planned. So I was late preparing dinner, which means we had to eat after gymnastics (as in 7:00 p.m.), which is really late for us (because then bedtime gets delayed, and then Mommy gets very cranky!). So, I'm rushing to prepare dinner amidst the "I'm hungry" commentaries from Carlos every few minutes (tack on more pressure and guilt every time), and Carlito calls--he's actually coming home early (as in before 8:30 p.m.)! So, we will all get to eat together as a family (which actually hardly ever happens on weekdays)! So my lack of planning worked out well (for once, lol!). And it got even better--he brings home this AMAZING chocolate cake from a co-worker. These cakes are seriously to die for. So incredibly moist and creamy. He bought him one last year as well. This is the fancy packaging (apparently this is some famous bakery near Beverly Hills): This is what the cake looke

In honor of Thanksgiving (and inspired by Teena 's blog, lol!), I just wanted to post what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving: my salvation the power of God in my day-to-day life that I am privileged to live in a prosperous country where I get to worship God openly and I have basic rights that every human being should have all the military men and women--and their families--who work hard and sacrifice more than I can ever really understand to ensure that we continue to have those freedoms--Hi Ronalyn and Samantha ! the amazing family that I am blessed to have, including extended family that I don't have to worry about a bomb killing my husband and/or children when they go to work and school, respectively the age difference between my kids--I really enjoy having two kids in different phases of childhood at the same time. When I have a need for conversation, I have Ashley; when I need unconditional love and affection and innocence, I have Carlos. that I still get to be the

I bought this scrapbooking magazine several days ago, and was inspired by one of the pages. It's a Thanksgiving book created by this mom and her kids. They took pictures of things they are thankful for and created a book. This soooo reminds me of my teaching days :) This must be the mom's book: This is the child's book: We spent an hour or so creating our own Thanksgiving book this afternoon. It was so much fun! Here's Carlos' version so far (yes, he glued the kitchen picture upside down!) : and here's mine (yes, that's a typo) : Ashley was in bed before I had a chance to ask to take a picture of hers, so I'll post hers tomorrow. AND ... I'm way-over-the-top excited about this : I actually know who this adorable little girl is! I actually know the face of this girl on the cover. No, I sooo don't know them personally--not even close. I happened upon her mommy's blog and we just had this amazing connection. Her mommy's an amazing scrapper

I just checked my comments from yesterday's post. Does anyone know what settings I need to change to avoid strange comments? It looks like some Portuguese-speaking internet company wants me to change to their service. I think I need to change my settings to make those strange-looking letters come up that you have to type in before you can post a comment. If you have any idea how to do it, would you let me know in a comment? Or if you have my email, that would be great, too. THANKS!!

So sorry I haven't posted in a gazillion years. I really don't have any excuse except laziness ... and I think I've been going a little crazy with all the remodeling going on. I'm getting desperate to have a normal "house." Don't get me wrong, I feel blessed bigtime that at least we can make these much needed improvements, but I would love to have everything in it's place again, and not have to deal with a ton of projects. Enough depressing junk ... on to the fun stuff--like our new kitchen. I like it so much I could spend all day baking and cooking in it :) Here's a general idea of what it looks like: (loving our new stainless steel fridge--it's really nice to have rich relatives, lol!) By the way, that hole where the fan is is for a dishwasher :) This is a close-up of the sink area. I like to do dishes here. It even has a soap dispenser so the countertop can look neat. I especially enjoy looking out the window as I'm preparing dinner a

So ... I finally have a mostly-functioning kitchen now--a functioning brand-new, huge, porcelain sink, and a stove and oven that are hooked up again. I feel like a new person. Probably sounds silly, but I was honestly going crazy without a kitchen. The kitchen table, the portable dishwasher, and our old fridge were all stuck in our tiny living room, there was kitchen stuff in bins everywhere (including the back porch), and I just felt so cramped. So I feel like I have a new lease on life now. I felt so elated on Saturday when everything was functioning, I just wanted to celebrate. But I had to keep dinner on Saturday simple (Adobo, Rice, and Salad) due to time constraints. So I pledged that Sunday dinner would be a spectacular celebration of our kitchen. And I thought I would show you how to make this (in case you should ever so desire). I am going to format this post "a la Pioneer Woman." If you guys want a user-friendly recipe, just email me, okay? If you don't have my