What's Wrong With These Pictures?

For those of you who knows our family, it's obvious, right?

Was it my longer hair or that my daughter's almost as tall as me at 11? (ok, something's wrong with that, too, but that's not it...)

Is it the change in the outfits and hairstyles? Nope!
Or the big smiles being displayed (after much begging?) Not quite...
Or how about this ultra rare, almost impossible, can't believe it happened, great smile on my face right next to my husband's gorgeous one? Close... Nah!

What's amiss is that our eldest, who is now a college gal is not due to be home until mid-December. So until then, you'll only see the four of us in group pictures.

2010 has been a whirlwind for us, for sure!

Enjoy the cold!

After 18 Years...

...and much prayer, one of my heart's deepest desires came true: For my eldest daughter to turn 18, go to college and that I would still be around to see it.

L has turned out to be all that I imagined her to be: Kind, stubborn, friendly, firm, sassy, intelligent, funny, beautiful and strong. She is amazing, just truly amazing...

L-Infinity

November 9, 1992

Monday, 9:35 PM

8 lbs. 9 oz.

21 inches long

Happy 18th birthday, Sweetheart! We love and miss you. Can't wait to see you next month!

I am blessed... and grateful to have a child among three who is learning the world on her own armed with the gospel and strong sensibilities that most teenagers only dream of.

We have the Key!

Today, along with two of my neighbor/great friends' birthdays, we drove ourselves down to a title company TO CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE!!! Yeah!!! We picked up the key this afternoon and finally told and showed our children. Whew!

We found it January. Saw and toured it in February. Bought it in March. This beautiful 2-story, brick facade, double column elevation built in 1989. The inspection revealed that the original owners/sellers took great care of this house. We lucked out.

All throughout, NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, but a few people whose help we needed, knew. Not even our children. It was quite stressful keeping it from them and my side of the family, but we just didn't want any of our hopes dashed. Mr. Man and I fell in love with this house. I knew this was our house the moment I saw the pictures on our realtor's site. So we got sneaky and did it on our own.

Onto the surprising our children... We pretended to have our realtor lend us a key to see this newly "emptied" house that's on the market. Immediately, they loved it! That's just from the front lawn! Once inside, we told them that we have to be careful, stay together and tour the house, one story at a time. We started with the downstairs (Foyer, LR, FR, DR, K, G, Storage, Laundry), then we went upstairs to all the 4 Bedrooms and 2 Bathrooms.

(1 hour before we took the kids, we went back into the house to put up the signs with their names on it in each of their future rooms. Mr. Man hung it up on the window blinds since we didn't have any tape with us)

We steered the kids into the Master first. They loved the separate walk-in closets and the hidden commode (we love that, too). They loved the raised ceiling and the bay and big windows. They loved all the storage in both bathrooms and the separate sinks in the Master Bath. Then L-Infinity happen to open the first closed door... in it was her sign-"L's ROOM" and she was shocked! Then J-Pony opened the one across- it had her sign then I-Dude opened his and saw his sign. L whispered, "Wait, does this mean, we want this house?" "Or... Did we already get this house?" Mr. Man nodded. They raved about their own walk-in closets. And that's when the noise factor rose and the kids simultaneously offered their design ideas and cell phone batteries were quickly spent. It was a great sight to behold...

It was the best day of our lives! Finally having a home we can call our own... Our move-in date will be delayed about a week as they refinish the ceiling and rid it of the awful "popcorn" texture on all the ceilings!

Even better... We managed to keep the kids in the same school district and the same church ward! The kids will still be close to their friends in the neighborhood. Why? It's 2 minutes away from our current apartment! That means we save money on movers!!! What a great blessing indeed! My heart is full and honestly it hasn't really sunk in yet. Give me until late May...

Again, I apologize for no pictures... our systems are still being polished. But I promise, very soon!!!

'Til next post!

FHE: Extended Valentine

Last night was a great dinner, but as often what happens with holidays, Mr. Man and I end up having an "extension" to our celebratin's!

With the leftovers from the giftcards we got last Christmas, we hit Olive Garden for lunch! Can't beat a FREE lunch (Again, thanks, Mom and Dad!)
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We both had the "Tour of Italy" (Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna and Fettucine Alfredo) fare and what a choice it was! The soup that came with it, "Potato with Sausage" became one of my instant faves!
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Then we went home and gathered the kids to the next phase our extended Valentine's Day celebration- to see this movie we've been waiting for:
Screen Rant.com

It was worth the wait though justifiably, we were disappointed that the movie's creative license condensed much of the back story that made the book series, "hard to put down".

It's a rare opportunity for us to have Monday FHE (Family Home Evening) because of Mr. Man's current work schedule, but having an FHE is what's important to us. Family time is very important to us and we savor each week we get to put that FHE stamp on it, helping to infuse its blessings and divine importance to each of our children...

How do you keep up with FHE in your home?

SH Day 6- Drip, drip... Whoosh!!!

That's what we woke up to this morning. Water streaming from our bath's ceiling vent. Our bathroom is directly underneath the kids' bathroom. It could only be one of two things: either the tub or the toilet overflowed. I don't know about your children, but mine do not take baths early in the morning...

I-Dude and J-Pony, the two groggy and stunned culprits, had different, and not helpful, reactions (speechless and totally shocked) to what happened while Mr. Man leaps out of bed to assess the damage then just as quickly, gathered all the towels (ewwww!) to sop up the rising flood (the result, 1 inch of water and 1 foot wide perimeter outside.

Good morning, Mommy and Daddy! :-)

We made sure that "Daddy" took care of upstairs and I took care of downstairs. After so much "eww de toilette" (no I didn't spell it wrong, just making a point), I assertively informed Mr. Man that we are replacing our towels, TODAY! (thank goodness for paychecks!)

Then we also realized that our original "project" is not gonna fly as our "budget" went out the window; and if you know me well enough, high budget means NOTHING WILL BE BOUGHT OR EVERYTHING WILL BE RETURNED.

After a quick trip to the storage and returns of the materials from the original plans, we ate lunch and went to Ross. With my eye singled on the a new but similar angle, our project materials list was completely crossed out and we were under budget by almost $50.00! Yay!!!

Tonight, dinner was all leftovers, meaning completely FREE!

Food Budget Trick: Eat with your mouth, not just your eyes. Chew your food and let your brain taste it. I insist that no one asks for a second helping until they show that their plates are empty. I also insist on not piling on too much food on anyone's plate if it's a new dish or a favorite dish. If a new dish, it shows how much we like it and if it's worth our money to cook it again. For a fave dish, I prevent overeating and waste on plates.

Other than that, it was pretty uneventful... Mr. Man and I went on our "Smallville" date (FREE) and did our taxes. Oh yeah, the kiddos, all three, yes, all three because the bathroom was filthy on top of the disaster; were sequestered into manageable shifts to THOROUGHLY clean the bathroom, I mean dusted, mopped, wiped down, swept and sanitized!

So... How was your Friday?

I'm Grateful For... #2

My children and husband... They mean the world to me; they give me hope and reason to love others.

Dissolved But Not Forgotten

I used to belong to our church boundary called the "...3rd Ward", but tonight it was dissolved back mostly into the 2nd Ward while a few families, including us, now belong to the 1st Ward.
I saw so many in tears; and rightly so... For six years, many families formed such great and strong bonds of friendship that 6 years was a painful jolt that in one night, the same families would have one less day, the most important day, to associate. You see, we now have separate buildings to meet on completely opposite sides of the area.

As for me and my family, it was a mixed blessing... We only have to get up earlier and have new leaders to guide us. We still have the same great families that make us happy to go to church on Sundays and bless our lives with their kindness and friendships. Some of those other beloved families now belong to the other ward and we now have to find extra time and work harder to keep our friendships which in reality are not really that hard to do.

I will mostly miss my courageous Cutie Crew. I say courageous because every Sunday that I'm there, they brave being with someone who not only look different than they do in most aspects, but also, someone they collectively chose to trust and love back during those wonderful singing and play times. They are amazing toddlers... They played well together, they knew each other and that unconditional love that only innocence can maintain was always so strong in that room that you can't deny that there is a loving and perfect God who watches out for us...

So long "... 3rd Ward". I will miss you, but I will never forget you...

A "Date" to Remember...

In Hobby Lobby last Monday, we also found, or I should say, Mr. Man found his son his first model car to build. He was as excited about finding it than I-Dude was in learning how to put it together! Here he is with all the pieces out of the box... (Mr. Man took his pictures)
After several minutes of concentration and hardwork, I-Dude manages to complete it all on his own! Look at that grin of accomplishment! ;-)
Tonight, we also decided to make good on our date to try out Joe's Crab Shack that we've set when we first saw the sign by the freeway, TWO YEARS AGO! Mr. Man took me to Marshall's so I can spend my giftcard in finding another top to use for our date but I couldn't concentrate and none of the styles called to me. *exasperated*

How do l look? Am I ready for our date? I know, a momentary lapse of cowardice to bring you a photo of moi! (yes, my hair is naturally wavy and the hubs love my long hair, so no cutting it this year!) I don't wear make-up normally but I do wear them from time to time. You just can't tell half the time because of my skin tone.

Anyway, we left Marshall's empty-handed, but I hinted that I wanted to wear heels to our date (for the obvious height gap; let's just say that even with heels and my hair pulled straight up from my scalp, I'd still be a few inches shorter than my darling hubs.)

Look at what he got me! We went to Payless and I found this uber cute pair of dark purple, 3-in heel, ruffled, peep-toes! I love them!
This is what it looks like from Payless dot com... Isn't it gorgeous? Mr. Man thought they were S-E-X-Y! Sold and cha-ching! My second "NOT ON SALE" pair my whole married life. My first one, my wedding pumps...
I can't tell you how good it feels to have a baby-sitter at a moment's notice!

Well as you can tell from any establishment with a "Shack" at the end, it is no Four Seasons. We walk in and each table, mostly booths, were occupied with families, FAMILIES! Awkward phase 1- check!

Since Mr. Man is a mechanic, any blingage is a no-no, so often, his wedding ring sits in my jewelry box. Tonight, it sat in the box, but I had on mine, so at Joe's, I looked like a cheating married tramp in hot looking getup of purple overblouse tank, straight cut figure-fitting jeans, high heels, dangling earrings, luscious curls down my back and red lipstick to boot! Oh the looks I attracted... Awkward phase 2-check!

We had to wear bibs to protect ourselves from the embarrassing accidental explosion of cracked crab shells. Did I mention my hair is naturally thick and wavy? Well, putting on that bib took a little longer than I thought only to find later that I DIDN'T manage to tie it at all! It fell down to my *ahem* front, stopped by *ahem* my "twins". So... I had to look for a wet wipe on our table, quickly get the "crab guts" and smell out of every nail and whole hands, quickly grab UP, then RETIE my bib! I was so relieved I didn't have any "accidents", but... but... I was more concerned about my new shoes! So I kept looking down while Mr. Man was staring at me, letting me know that he approves of my "purty" look. He had to eventually ask me if I dropped anything or if I got anything on my legs. TRAMPY PERSONA COMING OUT? lol Awkward phase 3-check!

Overall, I realized that the date was a true success. We kept people guessing if we were married-to each other; Mr. Man had all eyes on me and I looked and felt H-O-T, as in I looked good! (Haven't felt that in a while and it felt amazing!) I told the hubs that it felt like we were on an "early dating" sort of date- and we didn't talk much about the kids! We enjoyed the shellfish, each other and the fact that we just strengthened our marriage...

Hope you, too, had a great Tuesday!

Tax Free BTS Weekend

Today until Sunday, it will be "Back to School Tax Free Shopping Days" here in our area. To take advantage of that, the kiddos and I walked to Kohl's this morning. See, the kiddos didn't mind carrying all the bags. Yes, I helped of course. We started out with the clouds threatening to "cry" again but after (as proof in above photo) the sun was also happy with our haul!

We were able to get everything we needed: (clearance 60-80% off) sneakers, placemats, shorts, undershirts; and two lunch boxes for well under my budget! It helped that Kohl's sent out those $10 giftcards in the mail and that they were doing their "$10 for every $50 spent" deal. Mr. Man will like that!

Great shopping, exercise and being together. Can't beat that great feeling!

Still getting ready!

From Annie's Eats blog
We cleaned some more, got school supplies together and planned more meals. And I finally baked some focaccia bread! It was so fun having to bake with olive oil!

I know some of the friends I know from AZ are already back in school, but for us, we still have a few days to get ready... First it's the "Meet the Teacher Night".

The kids enjoyed visiting their new teachers and classrooms last night as well as popcorn. For J-Pony and I-Dude, I had to meet a total of three teachers, their respective grade teachers and the LEAP instructor who teaches every grade.

The funny thing is, they go to school, I get their first homework! What's up with that?! I needed to bring home the Emergency and the Lunch Program forms.

Oh well... I guess I better start on it!

Annual BTS Fashion Show

It's that time again! Another school year's a-startin' and the stores' are a'buzzin!

Well our household is not any different, but to make things more chic and unique, our theme this year is aptly labeled,

"Hand Me Down Haute"

Since every summer we sort their clothes, we found out this year that most survived the "modesty" and "wear" check. So... We mixed our still great lookin' fashion from last year and the hand me downs and a few new ones we got and these are how our "super" models looked liked! Can you say, "When is school starting? I can't wait!"

Let's start with I-Dude, shall we? He's ready for 2nd grade!
Here he is, happily sporting last year's tan cargo pants from Target, with a slight rip at the knee accompanied by last Spring's clearance find; a dark gray "TEXAS" and helicopter shirt from Kohl's.

With the same pants, he preppied it up a bit with a brown & red striped collared shirt from Ross and white socks from Walmart in a camo/brown pair of last year's sneakers from Payless.

Switching to another new pair of dark denim from Ross and gray velcro sneakers from Kohl's earlier this Spring, he's "rockin' out" with this new red with black trim tee from Ross.

Pairing another HMD with his OP baby blue with camo strip shirt from our next door neighbor with his dark denim from Ross, gives his look a casual and ready for a fun day at school!

Next up is our very own, J-Pony who just turned 10 this year and is ramping up her own style!
Let's check out this "school/rider/all weather" look in a purple/plaid collared tee combo from Ross this month. Her tall black boots were from Kohl's from last winter's clearance and last year's stonewashed slim jeans from the Children's Place.

How about this "school is on" casual look in the same jeans, brown sneakers from Ross last year, white socks and a HMD black tee with music notes graphic from her big sis, L-Infinity. She is looking mighty ready to tackle that Choir audition in this ensemble.

She is loving those jeans, with another great looking HMD white tee with an adorable penguin print from L-Infinity's school stash last year. With her hair down, school will be a breeze!
Of course, her signature color is still red, so she's looking chic and so much a 10-yr old with this red and plaid overtop layered tee from Ross this month and another stonewashed denim from last year. Math, Science, English, bring it on!

And finally, we have our "senior this year" trendsetter with a retro twist, L-Infinity! She loves to scope out Hot Topic and Pac Sun for that "just right" look for school.
The trend this year is to be bold and outstanding! And with that "highlighter" yellow with a pocket tee over a dark gray tank (Pac Sun & Forever 21 this month) and skinny denims from September 2007, the look is nothing short of awesome!

Fall, come now for she is ready for ya! With another pair of jeans from two years ago, paired with a new burgundy tee, a chic scarf down the front, a pair of sunglasses on top of her head and black flats, she will have a "smooth" transition into the next season!

Just call her Converse Girl as these purple ones are her latest acquisition for her collection, from Journeys this month. She turned a regular black bead necklace into a fashionable multi-bracelet! And with that black and purple Depeche Mode over a great dark denim tee from American Eagle, also this year, her "new" look is complete!

Winter's bitter cold? That's no problem for this ensemble of new black short coat, white scarf from Forever 21 and last year's black boots from Kohl's! Nice and toasty!

Another successful BTS Fashion Show! I can't wait to see all three actually sporting these looks come August 24th!

Happy "Back to School" everyone!

I'm Addicted to Baking! (Really!)

Ok, confession time... Way back when I was a new bride, one main reason that would keep me awake at night were actually two things: "What does it mean to be a Mormon wife?" and "I hope he doesn't like homemade breads." Silly right? Not to me; at the time, those really worried me! I even thought if I cook well enough, he won't ask me to bake anything. Didn't work...

I was scared to find out, IF, my new hubby, "Mr. Proper Mormon RM Man", expected me to be this "quick learner" in the ways of being a Mormon wife. I've heard the horror stories of "barefoot and pregnant while smiling all the while" stereotyping of the so-called, "Molly Mormons". Or the often preached, "be meek and submissive to your husband" bits all my life as well as in the church. I thought, "Not me, I definitely wasn't that kind of a personality. I can and do speak my mind!" But that wasn't the cause of my "wake up sweating" moments, it's the "homemade bread" thing.

I was really naive about what LDS wives learn and end up mastering since I heard and see a lot of talented women in every ward I've been in. It was dizzying to take that all in! One fact, I knew, I didn't know how to make bread and let's just say that the first time he mentioned it, I felt cold all over! I knew I couldn't bake outside of brownies and I was soooo pathetic with cookies. "Bread? Bread?!" (My earlier attempts, I made some of the Filipino dinner rolls a couple of times, and each batch turned out like rocks. They were awful!) You have no idea how much I researched and produced gourmet sandwiches to distract him from wanting homemade breads. LOL But he always managed to mention it and hoped that I would keep trying.

But now that I've conquered my fear of baking and I don't really know how it got started (oh yeah, with his banana bread, back in Gilbert, AZ using the recipe from a Dole Bananas packaging). It was a total "exhale and celebrate" moment when my very first loaf of white bread turned out great! I'm sure you picked up on that from my previous posts. ;-)

So, in honor of that, I got brave and made Honey Wheat Bread! Yes, I crossed over to wheat flour! My own recipe, too! *woot woot* See, see? (sorry poor quality pics, cell had to do, left the cam in the van and hubby took the van)

While I was doing that, the girls decided to make some cookies! Chocolate chip cookies, the recipe, from the back of the Blue Bonnet Baking Margarine box. They were delicious! We shared some with the neighbors!
Ok, back to the sandwich bread... I-Dude and J-Pony helped me knead the dough. It was fun having the kids help. I will definitely have them help again next time.

(Psst... see the container, that's from IKEA, and I'm so lovin' that line that next week, I will buy some more of the tall ones to hold another kind of flour because I'll be making "Multi-Grain" next! And I just realized that I can make my own oat flour by putting the rolled variety into a food processor! Cool and money saving, perfect combo!)

This is what it looked like when it came out! While it was baking, I could smell the honey. See it's imperfection, just fine with me and Mr. Man, when I texted it to him, thought it looked delish!
Here's the heel, look at the inside! Doesn't that look like the commercial sandwich breads? It came out soft and subtly sweet from the honey. mmmm...

So now you know a little bit more of why I am so addicted to baking breads now. It was a fear to conquer! And guess what? I have hubby in love with me more... I can't sing him to sleep or scrapbook well enough to grace any magazine, but I can bake sandwich breads and it's making my marriage that much better! A nice bonus, for sure! LOL It keeps him wanting to come home after a hectic half week at work... I love that man! (And it helped that I aced my three different stints with Chemistry: HS Chemistry (Philippines), HS Chemistry Honors (California) and Chemistry 101 in college(California))

Thanks for reading!

Still Tired...

*panting* Cleaned smallish kiddos' room some more; rested, ate, cleaned some more. Watered plants. Folded clothes. Delegated. Organized books in kiddos' room (sell/keep/donate). More laundry (10 loads, probably more) and dishes. *panting* (when will it end?)

*panicking* Toys everywhere! Messy beds! More towels? Sunday tomorrow? *panicking more* Ok, ok, Facebook to the rescue- check on your produce and farm animals, that'll calm you...

Mr. Man called and reminded us that with all his OT, he'll be relieved (and VERY tired) when he gets home, so we headed to Kroger's for some milk, ice cream and more yeast. The kiddos love my bread better than store bought... *being calm* (ya right! woot, woot!!! Thanks again, Michelle!)

That's them, my babies... Just before we headed out. (Our "cloudy" forecast went out the window when yesterday hit 107 deg F!) Hot, hot today! (95 deg F!) This group shot was actually taken at almost 7pm. It's nice to see all three of them in one place again...

Two weeks before school starts for us! How about you?

Oh yeah, thanks for liking my new layout... (Psst... let me tell you a secret... I like it, too! LOL Made you "look"!)

The PC, still temperamental... Laptop, sloooowww intermittently... We think it's the net in this area since it's summer and all but not being able to click inside the site on the PC but ok on the laptop, just plain problematic.

FHE: Being flexible

Another Monday, another opportunity to do something together. As with any plans, the key is flexibility. That's how our FHE evolved tonight. We had planned swimming in the morning and some park and bookstore time, but...

I barely remembered that I had a Dental appointment in the afternoon. I was distracted with these beautiful glasses I found at Krogers, made by Libbey. Went to Kroger, but though 4th has come and gone, the glasses, still at full price! So I was told to call again tomorrow...

Afterwards, lunch then the dentist. Even with a numb half mouth, we headed to another, take note, another Half Price Books! (Adventure lady over here, yeah! LOL) We normally go just 15 minutes away, but this time, 25 minutes away, scenic route and all! *woot woot* (Cabin fever breaking!) ;-)

Didn't bring the ol' Power Shot so the LG EnV-2 had to do, but the incandescent lights were torture to whatever flash the cell cam had. Sorry if you had to put on shades now...

But look at this selection! Impressive! The whole store is much more organized and well labeled. The staff knew practically where each and every book was! Wow!
Doesn't that remind you of a great bookstore? Most of the books are new, too!
Here's I-Dude looking for another chapter book, but decided on a comp game instead. J-Pony was with Mr. Man and I didn't find time (ok, I forgot...) to take her picture while in the store.

Then, we hit Kroger's again in this new city we were in- for some ice cream since I couldn't eat anything worth chewing for a while!

But, the dinner got postponed until late and the moon didn't help either- looking like a big bright yellow light bulb in the sky! Your eyes are not playing tricks on you, those are the tree branches in front of our unit! Creepy cool photo, huh? I took that! (Given, by multiple trial and error) But I took it! Yeah, baby! LOL
Then, when I turned around to go back in, this little guy, or "Jimmy" according to my teen, L-Infinity, was calmly sitting on the front left of the walkway! Didn't budge at all and I took three pictures!
Then into the patio to join the brood for a very late dinner (don't like those much...) and couldn't help but admire my Sambac or "Sampaguita" Jasmine flowers. This plant has been with me since Arizona and it is such a thrill to see it bloom as some annoying bug eats its leaves every year and slowly kills it just before the Fall cold spell hits and I had to cut it down to a mere nub.
But this year, it's more lush, about twice from last year! Yay!!!
After, some Facebook time and nighttime prayer. Then Cece decided to lie down like a human with stretched legs and on her side with one paw under her head! How cute!

The kiddos had to give up the rootbeer float and swimming until tomorrow morning and we have to head back to the same Half Price Books and return a cracked CD game.

Lesson learned; Plans change and it's up to each of us to make the best of what's available without contention or bad attitude.

How was your Monday?

Too Hot Not to Swim!

Today was a rather dry 96 deg F with only 31% humidity.

We kept inside for most of the day, but since we promised a batch of brownies to Heather and we promised to pick up our neighbor's mail, we had no choice but to endure the heat! So... I also let the kiddos swim! I couldn't swim because I needed to act as the lifeguard so that I can see them both at the same time. Of course, I had the trusty Canon Power Shot with me and got some action shots!

Let's start with the "peek" move where I had to go in close just to catch those smiles.

Then here's the "big splash" move where you can barely tell who jumped in...
And here are the "random" moves where it's swimmer's choice.
I love these rare "we're cute" moves. This shot is worth keeping the camera a few years longer. ;-)
How about this "dolphin" move under the vacuum hose. Smoooooooth...
I also captured this "backwards jump" move complete with a "hi-yah!" LOL
Or how about this "standing on water" move where she looks like she's standing on the water! What explanation were you hoping for? ;-)
Or the "pinch and run" move so you can instantly breathe underwater. Clever move this one!
I was also lucky to have shot this great "run on the water" move where the body is angled just right to simulate, well... running on water! LOL

What great swim moves my kiddos can do, ha? LOL

I'm so glad the two smallish kiddos had a wonderful time swimming! I sure did had a lot of fun taking pictures!

Have a great weekend to all and stay cool!