Arianna's Universe

It's been a long time...indeed.

2011-01-22T21:15:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that October was the last time that I posted something here. I am not quite sure why I just did not feel like posting. Ari has been growing and given us tons to see, to laugh, to pull our hairs, to enjoy, to love. So, I guess it was just me not wanting to post. 2010 closed the year with many emotions and I guess all in the family felt exhausted. But we look up to 2011 with hope that this year will be better than the last one.
I am looking forward to the spring. Ari said that she will help me plant tons of flowers. I think this year we will see our backyard differently and we will enjoy having the game (baseball) on the radio, some cold drinks, nice weather, and a beautiful and colorful backyard. Maybe we will play ball, or just play with the hose. All my nieces and nephews will be here and we will all get wet. That sounds like fun.
She also said that she wanted to bake cookies with me. I bought one of those frozen cookies that I just need to put in the oven. We will do the real deal soon enough. I am just trying to get myself out of the non-bake feeling for now. Those chocolate chips cookies look great and we can still do it together.
And I think all of these hits close to my heart. You see, I did not know I was pregnant until about 3 months, but I kept having dreams of this little girl that was helping me in the backyard, that was baking with me quite often, and that was playing tea parties with me. After the nth dream, I thought this is too weird. I remembered telling my friend Tiffiney that this "little girl" was pretty persistent. At that time, my brother's girlfriend was pregnant so I figure she was having the little girl (She had a boy). So, I guess she was trying to tell me that she was here. She was sending a HUGE HELLO! and I just could not hear it. Now, all those dreams are starting to become a reality. She has a voice now, and God knows we can hear her :)
(In this video, she had an itchy nose, but love her smile)

Time flies.

2010-10-28T19:09:00.001-07:00

Wow, I found this picture of Arianna. It was taken sometime last year. How quickly time goes by...

Grandpa's Birthday!

2010-10-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

After arriving from our vacation, it was time to celebrate grandpa's birthday. We did a very impromptu celebration with some good pizzas and a small cake. The kids loved it.
We were singing Happy Birthday!

Eating cake!

Hope your day was awesome!

Vacation - PArt 5 and final!

2010-10-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

We were at the Outfitters Store, Bob needed a new tent. Arianna loved the store. She wanted pictures with the big bear.

I saw this picture in a frame in the store, and thought it was adorable.

Leaving the store, I saw this peculiar leaf.

Last meal of the vacation, we went to the Log Pancake House and thank God they are still good.

Mike and Bob. Very good friends.

Whatever caught my daughter's attention...

Our meal consisted of pig in the blanket (Mike), Hawaiian pancakes (Me), silver dollars (Ari), omelet (Bob)

Few pics in our way out of the Smokies. Until next time...

Vacation Part 4 - The Aquarium.

2010-10-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

The first time that we went to the aquarium with Arianna, she cried all the way. We rushed and did not enjoy as much. This time, she loved it. She wanted more. She did not want to leave.

She was telling us about the starfish and her house.

Hello. Hello.

One of my favorite animals, the seahorse. Love them.

Mike's favorite moment from the entire vacation. We were sitting next to the huge tank and Ari and him were talking about it.

A leaf horse? Wow. Very impressive.

Papa and Arianna going through the tunnel. Arianna's new favorite thing are tunnels!

Grandma and Arianna enjoying some sharks.

I rarely get my picture taken since I am the photographer, but I was there :)

Interesting fish!

Loved the jelly fish.

This looks like a movie coming alive. The attack of the huge crabs!

Mollusk? I think.

We were surrounded by huge sharks!

More fish pictures.

And then it was us.

This is a new section from the aquarium - Penguins.

You can actually touched the manta rays if you want.

Ended it up our day with some dipping dots ice cream and some Mexican food.

Vacation - Part 3

2010-10-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

I bought this kit for Tiffany. I took the picture so you can see how the put the sparkles. It was not part of the kit, but I bought the extras because I think it adds so much to the kit. Here is the picture so you can see it, and decide whether you want it or not.

This is next to the quilting shop in Cosby, TN. We also went to an apple farm/ restaurant in Cosby. The food was decent, the apple fritters were awesome.

We also found this little restaurant. Apparently they were here for years, but we did not know until this time. They have a store in the first floor called "The cheese cupboard" and a very small restaurant in the second floor that sells sandwiches (about 6 different ones) plus chips. The sandwiches were small, but they were very flavorful.

Can you tell that it is a German restaurant?

I was not sure that we were going to see that much change in color since the temperature was still high, but we did.

Our best tradition yet (in TN anyway). We always go to Howard's Steakhouse and ordered the Steak for two! Still great! (Bob tried the trout )

Arianna felt asleep before her food arrived. We ate it for her. Ooops.

Arianna liked her Titi Evelyn.

I am not sure what we were doing in this picture, besides breakfast.

Ron and Evelyn were leaving a day earlier so I was trying to get some family pictures.

Arianna played really nice with Evelyn. Hopefully we will see each other in the near future.

The view from our parking lot.

The Cabin had a lovely double deck.

Vacation - Part 2

2010-10-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

Evelyn and Arianna getting familiar with each other. She looks great with Evelyn's hat!

This time Oconaluftee's Farm was a disappointment because it was under construction and they took all the animals, and they were not handicapped accessible and the bathrooms were not closed by and Arianna is toilet trained and she wanted to go and it took us 10 minutes to get there. If I knew it was in construction, I will have not gone this time. But, I got these few shoots from the place.

We were having lunch at Witch's overlook. Arianna was having fun collecting acorns.

The look above us when we were having lunch.

I think I took this shot when we were going back to the cabin.

Having dinner at Cracker Barrel. Last time was better, but I still like the biscuits.

In our way back to Bob's camp. It was the foothills parkway.

Big creek Campground. It has only 12 sites.

My view when Ari and I were trying Bob's cot.

Goofing around the camera.

Arianna having some milk. It was a little chilly.

Papa and Arianna trying the cot.

Bob made lunch for us. Thank you Bob.

Arianna was just running around and having fun with all the leaves on the ground.

Trying to capture the different colors in the trees.

Our vacation to Gatlinburg, TN - Part 1.

2010-10-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

This is the cabin that we rented for our trip. Masada was the name and the location was just perfect -between towns. So, it was very peaceful. Arianna let me do a pony tail and she kept it for a long time.

One of the places that we went to was to Bob's campground - Big Creek. It was beautiful and Arianna loved it. I foreseen some camping outings in our future.

She loves shadows right now.

I don't know why, but I love this picture.

Mike taking in all the beauty of the Smokies.

Arianna sitting on a huge rock! She was excited about it.

Mike and Bob working in setting Bob's tent.

Arianna was overseeing all the work.

The view from the tent.

Rocks + Sand + Baby = fun!

Arianna loves tents!

I took this picture in a crazy angle. But, the tent was next to a creek as well.

Arianna's latest artwork

2010-10-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

I love how colorful this drawing is! What do you think?

Photo Shoot!

2010-10-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Our friend Rick is starting a business is photography. These are just some of the picks that he took for us. Now, if you know Arianna you know these are just awesome picks, because she is just so shy with other people. If you are interested in having a family photo shoot, or any other pics let me know and I will send you his information :)

Moments in a toddler's life

2010-10-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

Rebecca gave her this pony pad with crayons that she plays with all the time.

The red bucket is her hat when she has it on, she turns into a princess. Great imagination!

She loves to play with her ponies.

and her cups.

and her train.

She was watching...what else? Little Bear.

Bix Box full of goodies

2010-10-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a big box that we found one day when we came back from work (September).

Then, I was surprise to get one beautiful bird house. I thought it was a squirrel's house, but I was more surprise to find out that was a woodpecker's house. How cool is that! I still need to paint it, but I am trying to decide what I want it to be.

Some cool LP's. Mike's favorite song.

Arianna had just awoken to an unusual nap. Her hair was all wet and messy, but she loved the candy ball!

Thank you!!!!!!!

The opening of presents -3rd year.

2010-10-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Normally, we opened the presents in the party so everyone can see what she got. But, she was under the weather and did not want to do it then. We opened the presents the next day. Everything was beautiful thank you!

She loved the polka dot box. She used the box for awhile.

This is the one gift that she has used the most. She loves to paint!

She was waiting for us to set her easel.

The first time that she used it. Needed papa to be next to her ;)

First easel's artwork!

Who does not like leggo? She does!

Arianna's 3rd Birthday Party

2010-10-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here are the party favors for this year just waiting for this party to start. This year I tried to really stayed within the party theme " Fisherman's Bear and Balloons". (Fisherman's Bear is Little Bear's bear). This is Arianna's favorite cartoon right now. She had asked me for a fisherman's bear awhile ago and when I was making it, it just hit me that this would me the theme for her birthday. I also put some oreo's cookies, cow tales, lemon heads, chocolates, etc...

Arianna was sick for her birthday. The day before she had a high fever, I was not sure if I was going to have to cancel or not. The day of her birthday she was still with fever, but the fever was less and tylenol helped her enjoy her day. Plus, having a blanket by your side is always a plus in her book.

This is Dennis's little girl she got better once Kerri's son came by. I guess it is not just our little girl that is so shy.

Kerri's son. He has the best cheeks ever. You just want to squeeze them with a big kiss :)

Arianna was playing with her cousins and friends on her swing set. She was going up and down on the slide.

Hello Mr. Glenn. He was having a blast as well. It had rained in the morning and we were not sure how temperature was going to be, but it cooperated and we had a nice day. No more raining until about 8 pm and we were cleaning by then.

Raven helped me with Arianna while I was busy she kept a close check on her. Thank you Raven!

And Scarlett, she did an awesome job of keeping up with my daughter as well. Both cousins are so good to her. I guess if she is the only child, I don't feel as bad because she has wonderful cousins.

This was the cake! I ordered a chocolate cake (her favorite) and this was the closest to a bear picture that Jewel had. It was cute though. We also had her favorite - pizza! Plus, I ordered some Portillo's salad, and we had something new - ice cream sundaes! Yummy!

We were singing happy birthday (and unfortunately our heads got cut, but you can see the kiddies)

Arianna and her grandmother sharing a piece of cake. The cake had fresh strawberries, and whipped cream for frosting. Our Jewel actually has a good baking section.

Here is the proud papa! He loves his White Sox T-shirt that I got for father's day. Maybe I should get him another shirt.

The kids started playing with the balloons. They created their own game where they will count to 3 and throw the balloon in the air, it looked nice. Then, they just started hitting each other with the balloons.

I wondered what the conversations between toddlers are...

Still playing with the balloons.

Now, it is balloon and swing...

Arianna's favorite part was when everyone let go of their balloons in the air!

Time for everyone to go. It was getting dark. Bye Dave and Tiff!

I think Glenn liked his bear :)

Myrna and family. Thank you for coming :)

Sarah trying to hide! I did get you with my other camera. I'll post some of those later.

My sister enjoying a relaxing moment after helping me a lot. Thanks Sis.

Myrna's kids getting their party favor. I hope they enjoyed the bear and the candies.

My good friend Jeaneth! She is soon to be a mom. Next time your here, you will be going after your little one as well. :)

Oh, here you are Sarah and Jamie. Thank you for coming :)

Nice picture. Maybe next time Paul can join us as well.

Thanks to my mom for helping me as well. Here is my cousin Marcela :)

Arianna was so tired by now, but we thank everyone that came to celebrate with us our little girl's birthday. Until the next one! (I forgot to contact some friends of mine for this celebration. Sorry, I would make it up to you :) )

Nature is so great

2010-10-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

I was so bad at the garden this year and nature was still so nice to us. Just look this beautiful rose! Wow.

Tony's Birthday!

2010-10-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband's birthday are right next to each other. So, after the feast from yesterday and since it was Tony's hard work (in the cooking). We decided to take them out to eat this time. We went to Leona's and it was delicious :) Hope you had a great day!

Leona's screw up in the singing! Alma and I were in the bathroom and we heard singing. So, we could not capture Tony's moment, but hope the sundae was good :)

Alma's Birthday

2010-10-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

My sister had said she wanted to do a family gathering for her birthday. Then, she scratched the idea. Tony and I decided to do that for her. Unfortunately was at last minute and some people could not go, but we were still enough to celebrate and enjoy a feast! We had portabello mushrooms with a delicious pesto sauce. We had some amazing steaks, and chicken, and guacamole, and rice... just delicious.

My brother and her bride :) funny to think that my brother is all grown up and a newlywed. Yikes!

How about Logan? Nice glasses!

All waiting for the steaks to cook. At this point our appetite was great to just dig in!

Mike was trying the boy's bed. It looks comfy!

I wondered what was so funny. I don't think my cousin knew either...

After the meal, Tony lighted the cake in the kitchen and walked with it surprising my sister once again :)

Everyone was singing happy birthday and waiting for Alma to make a wish and blow the candles!

Here to a wonderful year. We love you lots.

Happy Birthday Alma!

Paper dolls!

2010-10-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

Arianna's cousins are getting so big :) Here we are celebrating my sister's birthday (September12), but we went that day in the morning to a craft fair. I was expecting a lot more of the fair, but I still managed to find 2-3 things that were lovely. One of those were these doll papers for my nieces.

I think pretty soon Arianna is going to love to play with paper dolls!

Mommy's Date!

2010-10-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

I am so behind my posts. So, this actually happened a few weeks ago (September 10, 2010), but here it is anyhow. Mike was very tired and Arianna and I wanted to go somewhere. We decided we will go to the library and then for some ice cream. When we got to the library, we found out that they changed the hours and it was closed :( but then we went for some ice cream faster. Arianna's favorite flavor? Chocolate! Mom's was butter pecan. So, we shared a two scoop ice cream of our favorite ice creams. Arianna was so excited to see balloons and they gave her one. She went talking and singing all the way to the house. Nice date.

"It takes a village to raise a child..."

2010-09-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

I had heard that phrase/ quote awhile back, well back when I did not have any children. Now, I can really understand it after three years of wonderful and sometimes challenging parenthood. What can we say about year number 3?
I can start by saying that her cognitive development has exploded tremendously. She talks in full sentences and not like a parrot. She makes her sentences according to what is going around her. Like the other day she said to me:
"Let's open the polka dot present." Once we opened it.
"What is this letter", she said.
"I don't know", I said.
"It looks like me that the letter is a g, a big G", she said.
" I think you are right", I said.
She had a huge smile because she knew her letters.

Yes, she knows all the letters, numbers up to about 27, can count backwards, lots of shapes, recognizes her name and knows that her name starts with an A. She knows lots of colors. Loves to say stories and to be told stories. It has exploded. Now, with that explosion comes her realization that she has to follow some rules. Yes, toddlers do not like to follow too many rules. So, we got a few tantrums here and there. Thank God it was not that bad, but I hear that "terrible 3's" are worst than "terrible 2's". I guess God willing we will know if it is true.

So here is the list of things that Arianna liked this year: (Not in order)

1. TAPE. TApe. TaPe. tape. TapE. Anyway you write it.
2. To fingerpaint.
3. Books. Those are still one of her favorites. Her imagination has reached a new level.
Dr. Suess's Books. The crayola box (book). Tales of Peter Rabbit and Peter Cottontail and the Valveteen's Rabbit.
4. Softies. Purple Dog. Blue squirrel. Charly Bear. Fisherman's Bear.
5. Dollhouses.
6. Gum balls.
7. Colors.
8. Swing.
9. Playing with Grandma.
10. Purple dressers, purple shirts, purple pants.
11. Little Bear. Wow Wow Wubbzy. Team umizoomi.
12. Jamie's Birthday Card. (musical)
13. Beginning to like puzzles (more pieces)
14. Little pony.
15. Legos.

Sentences:

1. "I can't see it, but I know is in there"
2. "I can't go to bed now Papa. I need to wait for the moon"
3. "There is no vacation for mamas"
4. "It is ok mama".
5. "I love my cousins".

And I will end with a Thank You to everyone that has helped us one way or other to continue to be the best family that we can be. And I promised the next post will be about her birthday party :)

WPP #35, 36, 37 - So late...

2010-09-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

I took the pictures but I don't have set up a good system to process them. I ask Mike to help me out so I can streamline it and post my pictures faster :) anyhow, here are the pictures from those weeks.
#35

I am obsessed with fat quarters! Maybe because I love to make Stuffies? or I have deeper psychological need to make a quilt? ;)
#36

Meat. We had a great feast at my sister's birthday. I have lots of pictures, but I have not done the blogging yet. I am so behind in many things that had passed. I will try to blog a few entries, even if I am late!
#37

This little cutie is a squirrel made from recyclables sweaters! My daughter likes it a lot. I think is a great idea. To use something that otherwise would have gone into the forgotten boxes under your stairs or sitting in a thrift store forever... The blue part is the sweater and it is soooo soft.

52 Projects - #35 A whole lot of bears...

2010-09-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

For this week the project was a continuation of two weeks ago. I made ""Firsherman's bear" as a test. After much thinking, going back and forth, I decided to modify it a bit... No big nose, no mouth, just some nice button eyes! I tried to use some nice prints that really did not require much more. It took me 3 days and the day before the party I had the help of my mom and sister (Thank you!!) I mean after cutting 17 bears and sewing them, the stuffing part is where I was. I think all the kids were happy with their bears. I got 2 request for "big kids" as well. So, I am doing a few more this week.

(The letters from my previous project will be mailed no later than Wed. I am accounted for now ;) )

Arianna's 3rd Birthday!

2010-09-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

The reason this blog was started to begin with has just turned 3! I cannot believe how fast time is flying, I wanted to put a little entry yesterday, but was too busy with the party. So, here is just a quick pick from the birthday girl and I will follow with a more lengthy entry later :)

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

52 Projects #34 - Writing letters...

2010-09-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

I meant to write some letters a few months ago and I saw myself sitting yesterday, asking why I have not done that? Surely I can find 10-15 minutes to at least start a few lines. So, today I decided to sit my "rear" and write some letters that I meant to do. There are 5 total. The letter part is done, now I just need to do a little bundle for 3 of them. Two of the letters are going to Honduras and Bolivia. They are for the 2 girls that we sponsor through ChildFund if you are interested in help here is the link www.childfund.org . We had been part of this organization since 2007. I get letters and updates from the organization and from them too. It is nice.

The other letters are for my pen pals. Each of them are very unique and talented women. I wish we lived closer, but at least we are getting to know each other through paper. I feel happy that I finally finished writing them, now my brain can keep repeating me to do another thing :)

52 Projects #33 - Fisherman's Bear's Friend

2010-09-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

Arianna loves Fisherman's Bear from Little Bear. He is Little Bear's friend and he goes to sleep with him. I made a prototype which is not exactly like fisherman's bear looks, but the idea is there by using Fisherman's bear from the t.v. and a book that I have from Aranzi Aranzo. I still need to work some kinks and such, but I like my first try. Although the bottom part is a bit smaller than the top. It looks like the bear is a body builder :) Ari likes it though.
On a side note, I'd been out of my crafty side - or fairy crafty as I was calling it, but my daughter's birthday is trying to get me back in the mood. I missed it that is for sure :)

Gardwood Apple Farm and more...

2010-09-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

Today we went to pick apples (mostly) and raspberries to Gardwood Farms in Indiana. It was very nice weather wise, and all the family went. Ari loved to pick apples, but she had the most fun at the raspberries bushes. She kept telling me how little bear ate the raspberries and mama bear made pies. It was very cute.

Getting ready to go. We thought it was going to be cold (upper 60's) but it was actually hotter in Indiana than at home.

She was watching Little bear and Wow Wow Wubbzy. Both are still her favorite shows (Little bear is the first one).

Walking to the farm. We picked lots of apples. Honey crisp, Gala and another one that looked like Pink lady, but I am not sure what it was.

This is the tractor/wagon that took us to the back of the farm where the Honeycrisp apples were.

All smiles in the wagon except for Ari. It looks like she is not too sure...to have fun! Well, she is very shy when other people are around. But, when I asked her if she liked the ride, she said yes.

I loved the two pictures with Ari and Glenn. They loved to pick apples from the trees and the floor. How about the family picture? I missed few people, but I loved it too.

This was Ari's favorite part: picking raspberries. Maybe because they were smaller? I mean raspberries bushes were prickly and she did not care. I told her to be careful and she was very good.

Happy shot of Dad and son!

Lots of zinnias. I love all the colors!

After the farm, we went to Wendy's. We were very hungry and devoured all the food! It was a nice family get together.

But, we knew it was time to go when Ari kept trying to lay down on the floor. She was soooooo tired!
I still wanted to make a quick stop. In LaPorte, they have an "antique" store with lots of goodies. This is the only store that I still like. Ari was a sport and since she loves the store too, we both enjoyed!
Look what she found. She put the hat and I said you want a picture? She said yes!

Here are some goodies at the store, I wanted to buy this one for Ari, but she loved the top part and she said the bottom part was too prickly, and it was. It is wool so she did not want to hold it. Oh, well. IT was cute!

Ari outside the store, they have these beautiful and huge planters!

The next pictures are stuff that I bought at Gardwood so you get an idea what they sell:

Raspberries!

Tomatoes, (other veggies that I did not get), peaches, buffalo sauce, lots of other sauces...

They have their own bakery as well. My favorites are the apple cider donuts that are only sold on the fall, but the other donuts are very tasty as well. I also bought a peach muffin and some apple chips!

Lots of colorful honey sticks! They have lots of different honeys, marmalades, jelly, preserves, you name it...

The main reason why we went. We bought a 1/2 bushel!
Now, here are the goodies that I bought at the antique store:

Buttons, cards, vintage books and card, and paper dolls...I guess I am in a vintage mood right now :)

And since Ari likes ponies now, I found these guys at a very good price :)
Then we drove home and everyone except me are taking a nap...well I think I am going to join them now :)

WPP#35 -Renewal of vows

2010-08-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is the Chapel where Mike and I got married 9 years ago. The same Chapel that my brother got married recently. The weekend after celebrating my brother's wedding. We had the honor of going back to renew of vows just like we had done in the last 8 past years. We called it "recharging our energy for a full year". It feels like that. It is such a relaxing, romantic and spiritual experience that we get to enjoy with ourselves and in some parts with other couples that go as well. They are our yearly friends. We catch up in all the events: new pets, new babies, empty nesters, kids going to College, lost jobs, new jobs, retirements, graduation, etc... The news are very diverse and long. But, the meal is wonderful and the conversations are very interesting. We love to go there every year and so far we have make it. Just being in the Chapel holding hands listening to the ceremony (which is very short and funny) makes my year every year and it is done when we sealed it with a kiss. See you next year God willing. :)

WPP #33 and #34 - LOve and cuteness..

2010-08-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

My brother got married last week... main reason why I forgot to post my weekend picture. But, I thought this picture was just appropriate since love was in the air ;)

This interesting piece of art belongs to the restaurant that sometimes we order food to go. I found it to be somewhat ugly, but definitely a cuteness factor as well.

WPP#32 Arianna's 1st picture

2010-08-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

Arianna's first picture ever! So, she has known cameras since ever. We took a lot of pictures that the phrase "Say cheese" comes naturally. But this week she started to play with my camera and has realized that she can take pictures too! That was a big realization for her and for me since now besides posing and wanting to see the picture, she says to me " It is your turn (to pose)" so it is time for my little darling to get a camera of her own!
Can you tell what was the first picture about?

Sometimes...why bother with toys...

2010-08-04T17:42:00.000-07:00

when Arianna can find creative ways to entertain herself... Well, she still likes some toys (Balls, colors, pencils, littlest pet shop, little doll houses, etc). But, I love when creativity strikes and she entertains herself for hours, even if I need to be holding the hanger for those hours... Do you see her new love, the tape?

Who needs a spoon!

2010-08-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

That is right, who needs a spoon when you can use a straw to drink your chocolate milk (from your cookie crisp cereal). She thought that was the best invention yet (at least for that moment :) )

Arianna's latest drawings....

2010-08-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

I know the first one is supposed to be a dragon. She said "I just made a dragon!"

For these set I would call something like potato heads, she started to draw ears, eyes, nose, mouth, arms, legs, hands, hair, and sometimes eyebrows.

Another love that she has right now is painting with brushes... She loved to finger paint, but now that she knows brushes... well, she likes to paint daily.

I love that she loves crafty stuff :)

Goodies at the antique store!

2010-08-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

I said in a previous post that I will put a picture of the finds that we got at this antique store that we like now...
In this picture, Mike found a nintendo game and since he has the console he was happy, plus it was very well priced -I think 2-3 dls. I found some fat quarters, a one year transformer that will be for Mike's birthday. Yes, he will be one again! Some scrapbook stickers and some old greeting cards...

In the second picture, an old Star Trk guide, some more scrapbook (frogs and crickets), a few Canada patches...

3. A cute book about embroidery (mostly), some cute patches, lots of buttons at a super price :)! Yeah, it was a good day. Even Arianna found a pail with lots of shovels that she is using right now :)

WPP#31 - Nature alone...

2010-08-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

has given me these peppers ( plus about 5 more) without me... I feel bad that this summer felt too tired to do any gardening and the weather certainly did not help in the matter, but I am hopeful that next year I will do lots of flowers... maybe an all dahlia fest or Sunflower fest? Mmm.... so many idea :) Ok, plus some veggies too!

Conversations with a toddler and more

2010-07-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Ari: What is that sound?
Mom: I don't know
Ari: It sounds like a truck
Mom: Yes, I think you are right.
Ari: Why is making so much noise and going around and around?
Mom: Because it is working
Ari: Ah!

Then, she changed the subject
Ari: You like my bed? (Pointing at her toddler crib that we had tried for her to sleep on it)
Mom: Yes, it is beautiful.
Ari: I like my bed
Mom: Oh, that means you want to sleep on it?
Ari: mmmm, no mama that was my "old bed".

Then, she changed the subject by calling Misty...
___________________________________________

New obsession : TAPE, TAPE, TAPE
Still fear: To cat fur... which having 3 cats makes it kind of hard not to have some around even with lots of sweeping and cleaning.
Loving Cookie Crisp Cereal!
New fave books: The Best Cook Mouse, Foot (by Dr Seuss), A 3 series book of colors, shapes, and numbers, and a few more I can't recall right now... but daddy can add some...
Loves to dance and loves to see the record player.
Goes around "fixing" things with tape so don't be surprise if you come home and see tape here and there...
Still loves to color :)
Favorite color: purple without a doubt, but pink is close too.
Loves dresses
Loves her blue shoes.

Pool...and bowling

2010-07-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

We bought Arianna a small pool because she loves water and it has been too hot to do much outside except getting wet!!

Rebecca got this little toy from McDonalds. I gave it to her and she has been playing with it for awhile now.

Love those eyes :) Hopefully I can get the bangs straight, it is so hard to cut her hair since she is moving all the time!

WPP#30 - Smile!

2010-07-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

I saw this cookie at the bakery and made me smile... Hope you smile too!!!

Lately...

2010-07-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

It was a busy weekend... on Saturday we went to a picnic and then we went to Gardwood's Orchard to buy some fruit and honey. It is not cheap nor more expensive than Jewel so we prefer to help the small business plus their fruit is delicious. We wanted to pick whatever fruit was in season, but it was TOO HOT to do it. So, we just bought quite a bit including those apple cinnamon donuts!
Then, we went to an antique store in La Porte, IN. It is one of my favorites and found quite a bit to buy. I'll post some of the goodies later.

So, here are some of the favorite things that Arianna likes right now. The vanity that her aunt and uncle bought her. She puts on there the stuff that she uses quite often like her owl and colorful cups, the big cup has her brushes and Charly that was on the floor when I took this picture.

In a side note, we had banned Ni Hao Kai Lan!! She was watching an episode yesterday and there was one of the characters having lots of tantrums and angry issues, yes they were trying to teach him to relax and such, but Ari only understood the first part and today she was acting exactly like him, tone of voice, sentences, the whole thing... and for the few episodes that I'd seen this character is always getting angry and until Arianna can understand the whole concept, this program is bye bye! Thank God she is back to her normal self, but no more Tooey or Toolee or whatever name... :)

52 Projects - Week #26 Amigurumi Punk Bear!

2010-07-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

I went back to one of my favorite hobbies and that is to make little crocheted animals called Amigurumis! I have not done this in awhile...I did this for a new penpal... if I can hide it long enough before my daughter tries to take it away again :) Yes, I am making one for her since she liked it so much.

The first two pictures there is no mouth and nose yet, but I was too tired already. Today, I finished it. It always amazes me that even though it is tiny (about 3.5in) it takes quite a bit to make, but love them anyway. How about that hair? I think that is why my lovely liked it. She even posed for me without asking...

WPP #29 - Gumballs!

2010-07-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

Thank God for gum balls (most of the time anyway - meaning when you have some quarters for it!) We went to an antique store and Ari was tired and excited for all the goodies in there that she was in overload until we saw the gum ball machine, then she upped her game by asking me for not her usual 2 "balls", but 4... oh well at least we got to see most of the store. After we left, in the ride home she finally felt asleep, she was so tired.
But, I still love gum balls myself ;)

Week #25 - Photography and the end of the 30 days journaling challenge!

2010-07-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

As my previous blog entry stated, I went to a beautiful outdoor wedding (ceremony) and then a banquet hall. I had always wanted to capture those beautiful moments. I imagined myself being a great photographer ( that is not even close to the truth, but still we can imagine, right?) So, here are those moments that I capture...

Just love it. I love that the imperfections, add to it. At least in my eyes.
Also, I finished the journaling challenge!! Yeah! Here are a few pages...

WPP #28 - Nature and love

2010-07-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I attended the wedding of two great people. Their love reminded me that even though we hear so much bad stuff out there, we are still finding the time to find love above all. That is quite refreshing to see...

New drawings...

2010-07-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

I love this painting from Arianna! It looks so abstract and yet I like the geometry and the contours of the lines... Yep, it is a keeper :)

She draw "her family". Awwww, I am the one in the left with my new blouse and hair. Mike is in the middle with whiskers and all. She is in the right! She kept saying "This is my family".

My little girl's face and energy :)

2010-07-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures of Ari when we went to Glenn's birthday party... and I realize now that I see them closely that she is growing so fast and in front of our eyes...

52 Projects - #23 and 24 Journaling and crocheted flowers

2010-07-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

I decided to participate in a 30 day challenge, and most of the pages were done last week so I combined that for my 52 projects, but did not have the chance to write about it. Here are some of the pages that I made, each belongs to a different prompt for that day:

This is my cover...

Write about someone that impacted your life :)

Blogs that you followed (5)...

Some goals for you right now.

Favorite shows, music, food, hobbies...

What are you wearing today?

For this week, I crocheted some flowers and added to a barrette so you can attach to your hair. I made 16 with different antique buttons as the center. I was very happy how they came out. These guys are part of a swap that I am participating.

Birthday (3)... Glenn.

2010-07-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Glenn's birthday was a nice picnic with great food. I like the canopy. It was a hot day and having coverage made it even better.

The chef grilling some chicken kabobs and burgers...

Arianna and Glenn were playing with water balloons, water guns, and balls.

The cake was very good. It was even hard to cut. But, everyone wanted a slice so no choice ;)

Glenn about to blow the candle.

Opening presents. He liked all his gifts.

Ann and Nathan gave one of the best presents. The gift of babysitting and to take Glenn out. Their first outing will be to the zoo. That is a wonderful gift to any parent. :) (Could not decide which picture to put)

Oh, Apollo said present as well. You are a beautiful Uromastyx.

All in all, it was a beautiful day to celebrate one year more.. Happy Birthday Glenn!

Birthday ...(2) Phoenix!

2010-07-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

Phoenix's birthday was pretty nice. He was happy. He ate pizza and played outside. He loves strawberry/vanilla cake. Ari loves chocolate. We bought both kinds :) We made both super happy.

He loves "Toy Story" the movies and what perfect timing for number 3 to come out. So, he got toy story toys. Have a super happy and wonderful year :)

A few birthdays...(1)

2010-07-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

My mommy's birthday was a few days ago. Daddy got her a cake and a nice bike to celebrate. Now, we need to set up our picnic basket so we can go and have fun! Also, thank you to Gaby for sending her a nice bouquet of flowers. Very nice surprise. To Tiffiney, thank you for surprising her with a cake and some nice crafty stuff as well at her job. To everyone else, thanks for your gifts and good wishes. She is really happy.

WPP#27 Is it Baking time?

2010-07-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

I realized that I don't bake during the summer... must likely because the weather is just not conducive. But, I'd been starting to crave some baking... Maybe it is my oven that misses me :(

Nice finds!

2010-06-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

I went to the thrift store and found some great finds. One of my new obsessions are OWLS, and this one is a cutie! Arianna loves him so much that he sits him next to her and talks to him about the stuff that she is drawing :)

How about this pair? Arianna loves the "pink" one, although it could be a bit more orange... they are little and she puts them on her castle to take naps.

This is a 1978 Tea kettle from Sears and Roebuck. It has a stamp on the bottom. Pretty cool!

Love this truck that I found. It was supposed to be for Mike, but Arianna likes to put all her little pet shops. All in all it was a good day at the thrift store :)

WPP # 26 Life...

2010-06-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Life finds its way. That is what this little guy proves. I bought a Tiger's eye mini tree/bush about 3 summers ago. This year there were 2 little trees about 3 ft and 5 ft away from the original! I could not believe it. But, they were there saying "hello" to me. I gave one away to someone that loves to garden a lot. I think it will get the love that deserves, and I kept the other one even though I need to move him somewhere else with enough space :)

Our Father's Day outing!

2010-06-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Arianna was teaching daddy how to do some awesome drawings. We went to Sesame Inn.

I was in the mood for sushi and Mike can eat the Thai food. A perfect combination.

Yummy! Yummy!

This was outside about one block away. I thought it was pretty.

Paths. Paths.

Clematis - what a beautiful flower to come to... (One of Arianna's favorite)

The Aftermath...

2010-06-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

After last week horrible storm, we ended up with some damaged trees. This one was the worst and almost hit our garage if it wasn't for the electrical wires. Now, that was not any better, but at least Com Ed came before it snapped and nothing happened. But, I still feel sorry for this tree. It is beautiful. It will still survive, but got a huge blow :(

After the storm...

2010-06-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorites bush/ flower from my yard. It is a hydrangea -something like wedding bliss - it does look like the perfect bouquet!

These Asiatic lilies are not mine, they are my neighbors but they grow soooooo high that I can see them through our fence. I'd never knew they could grow so high and the color are just beautiful!

Love the orange color in these milkweed. My butterflies certainly like this bush a LOT!

How about this hydrangea? It is almost 3 years since I planted it. Maybe I will try to make the soil acidic so the flowers turn blue!

And finally my tiger's eye. It has grown soooo much since I planted it. It even gave me 2 sapplings that are growing wonderfully. I am planning in keeping one and giving one to a co-worker that loves gardening. Besides something tells me I am going to get even more in the future ;)

52 Projects #22 - A cube for work.

2010-06-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

I bought this cube at Michael's -- sometime ago. I forgot to take a picture before I added the paper, but it was brown. I managed to find some pictures that I could use for my cube. Most of my pictures are in the computer and the ones that I print are usually for some purpose. Anyway, I found some good ones :) Here is how it looks before adding the pictures.

Here is with the pictures done:

The picture in the left is one of the first times ( I think this was THE first one) that Ari went in the swing. She loves it so much now. The one in the right was last years Christmas. We had finished to decorate the Christmas tree and she was very excited.

Sorry, this is fuzzy (picture), but you can see the birdie. It hit my window (not too bad) and I was outside protecting it until he could fly again. One time before, another bird hit the patio door and the hawk got to him before me. I know circle of life and such, but I don't want to see that in my deck. So, I was outside and I was able to take a picture of the bird and then it flew away. In the right, it is a picture of our Great Smokies Trip. We loved it. Maybe we will retire there? who knows :)

This picture was taken when we went to Holland, MI to see the tulips. It was so cold and rainy, but we loved it. Ari was about 9 months or so. I need to add some more glue to the corners or buy some nice stickers to secure the corners. Or do you have a better idea?

I kept trying to make her smile and she was trying to be funny. So, here are the best pictures of the bunch.

WPP #25 - Earth Day.

2010-06-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

I took this picture awhile back, but while I was searching for something else I found it. It made me stop and consider how we are treating "earth" lately. (well I know it has been more than lately) but for everyone sake let's hope we learn something from all the messes we are making :(

52 Project #21 A blog lift and addition of new pages!

2010-06-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

For this 52 projects I decided to give a lift to my blog - since it has been the same for awhile. But, I wanted to learn how to add buttons on the side for the the crafty projects that I am participating - 52 projects and 30 day journal challenge. It turns out it was very easy (once you know how to). So, my project went even further... a few projects before http://creatingpeacefulthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/04/52-projects-wk-13-adding-blog-pages.html was working in adding pages to her blog. I finally did it. Now, I can see my weekend pictures, my 52 projects all in one page, and Arianna's artwork as well. Go to the right side under the About me profile and see my pages :)

WPP # 24 Doll House

2010-06-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

We are getting to the point where my baby or toddler is liking castles and dollhouses. I bought a doll house kit about 2 years ago... I think I was pregnant and I did not know yet what I was having, but they had an awesome sale and could not pass it. Now, I need to start working on it. I think it will be ready when she turns 5 if I am lucky ;).
p.s. I found this doll house at a thrift store awhile back (was it 1 or 2 years? don't remember now) for my nieces. They outgrown it, now has come back to us and Arianna loves it. I never thought when I was buying this house that it will come back to me.

Betsy and Misty :)

2010-06-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

The other day two out of our three cats were taking it easy...

What? I am trying to sleep! Go bother Misty, meow!

Oh, no! Not me!

Soup and tea party!

2010-06-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Soup! Arianna likes some kind of soups...especially the "Dora's soup", the "Little bear's soup", the "Blue's soup", the "alphabet's soup"... and she is getting really good at feeding herself! (The bowl used to be Mike's when he was little!)

Playtime! Our play time involves lots of tea parties... and more tea parties...and the farm... with lots of little pet shops animals and...

We have a new friend in our play time. His name is Charly! (not Charlie or Charley) He comes to our tea parties too!

Jamie's Graduation Party

2010-06-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Jamie's Graduation Party !! We are very proud of your accomplishments and we are happy that we were able to go and have an awesome time! Here are some of the pictures for you to see!

We were making tacos! The food was just delicious...

I bought Mike this shirt for his birthday and he loved it. I think he looks great in it :)

The table was set and the party was going...

I love these pictures :)

Time for cake!

Relaxation and stories ended the day. It was just perfect!

Congratulations Jamie!

Cancelled GRill Party Not!

2010-06-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

I was so tired that the Garden Party that I wanted to do was cancelled. So, I called everyone but I could not get hold of my mom until two days before and when I did she said "What? I am still coming!" But, I cancelled I said. She said , "I already did a lot of stuff for the party". Party was back on. (We ended up having pork chops, chicharron, steak, rice, beans, guacamole...) On Saturday, the family came and had a very good grilling party. My mom even bought me the only tomatoes and peppers that made it into the ground. This is the first year that I don't go crazy buying plants - mostly flowers with some vegetables. Maybe I can still buy some flowers for my empty pots...

These are the flowers that my mom bought.

My clematis that I planted 3 summers ago! This year is doing wonderful :)

Arianna loving her swing and slide!

Thank you mom. You are awesome :)

52 projects #20 - Wedding invitations

2010-06-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

For this week I'd been working in my brother's invitations! I thought that I will be done in a flash, but it is taking longer than expected... still love it. I am trying to help them. The invitations are actually from Martha Stewart's collection and I tried to use the "templates" that she supposedly has in the website (that came in the package), but I can't find it. Has someone use some of her cards? Do you know the templates that she is talking about? I am using Word and it is taking longer. I have some projects that I want to do, but duty calls right now ;)

WPP #23 Tea Party!

2010-06-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

This post brings the child on me totally :) This is the first tea set that Arianna loves. She wants to "Tea party" all the time. I loved (and still do) tea sets. I used to get one tea set every year for the first 12- 14 years of my life. Now, I wish I could had kept some of them. But, hopefully I can keep this one for her. After all, it is the first one!

What did you love when you were little?

52 projects #19 - A haircut!

2010-05-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

My husband hates to get haircuts... apparently this is the case since he was a little boy. But, his hair was soooooo long that I had no choice but to try to cut his hair. I am not a hair stylist. The scissors and I only see each other when cutting fabric or paper! But, here it goes.

Well, it is long, right? This is when I was getting ready to cut his hair... Arianna got a little scare and we put a cartoon that she likes so she could ignore the noise.

wow, so much hair gone... and I was just working the back part.

First shot, work in progress... second looking at lot better.

The forehead and side burns were not easy. For the forehead since he has a widow's peak cut too much and he will have like a hole in the hair.. .for the sideburns... trying to match them is the hard part. I got so nervous around here, but he was calm like a clam.

Done! He started making poses too. You are so funny, sweety. Now, time to clean. It looked like I grew a little monster with all the hair!

WPP#22 - My craft swap box!

2010-05-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

I can't even remember now when I got my craft swap box in the mail, but I just took the picture yesterday with Tiffiney's help. She rearranged all the goodies while I whipped some guacamole for our grilling day. We had our families coming to have some arrachera, pork chops, chicharron, chicken, salsas, sour cream, cheese, white rice and the guacamole. I had planned to do a garden party awhile back, but I canceled because I was just not feeling up to it. But, I called my mom on Thursday to tell her that I was canceling and she said no! I am still going I made a few things already!! So, I said ok. So, it was back on - just like that :) So, big kuddos to my mom because the day turned out beautifully. Thank you :) Now, on Monday we are planting a few pots!

My drum...

2010-05-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

It is not new news that Arianna loves intruments and the other day we went to toys'r us and found this drum from FAO Schwarz. I remember that store when it was on Michigan Avenue. It was very expensive for the most part, but it was beautiful to look at all the things they had. That was the first time I saw the Steiff Bears. Wonderfully made and wonderfully expensive. But coming back to the drum, Arianna goes around the house marching...

In my daddy's shoes.

2010-05-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

She loves to put our shoes. Normally she goes for mine, but this time I caught her trying her daddy's shoes. Yes, they are backwards. They normally do that. I am not sure why. Does it make more sense to put the right shoe on the left foot and left on the right one? I guess so.

We had Grandma stopping for a little to pickup her mother's day present after having some delicious Chinese.

Some days I do so much that I make myself so tired and this time I could not go to the bed or the sofa to take a nap.

Mommy loves this picture of me being silly in the car.

I had just woken up from my nap and realized that mommy had a present from her craft swap. We opened it together. It was beautiful. Maybe she will take some pictures later of what she got.

Woken up and ready to go!

My new hat...

2010-05-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Ann brought me this hat from her trip and after awhile I found it and decided to give it a try. I was moving so fast so my mommy could not get me, but she took so many shots that I guess she found some decent photos to show up!

By the way, I love pinwheels!

Scarlett's Big Day at American Girl Dolls (because it was her birthday present)

2010-05-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

We picked up the girls and I thought they knew where we were going because of the dolls, but Alma had created some story...

A few shots while we were going through a lot of traffic. We found out later that they had a protest so that is why there was a huge amount of traffic.

Parked downtown I normally don't like to go there. But, this was a special occasion. We stopped here because I thought that was the entrance to the mall where the store is, and it was not. Cute pictures nonetheless.

Here is the real entrance, they still did not know because I made sure they did not look that way. But after this picture they knew and boy were they happy!

Here are some pictures of the store. It is really overwhelming if you are a child and an adult, but for different reasons ;) Kids cannot figure out what they can pick (if it is only one thing) and adult's wallet just tremble.. hehehe.

Even Arianna liked a babydoll that came with a small bear. We bought it and she would not give us the bag. She carried the bag for a good while.

We tried to go to their cafe, but it was full which in a way it was a good thing. It was not cheap, for food that was ok (so I read). So, we told Scarlett what she was in the mood and pie came in the conversation so we decided to go to Baker's Square. When we were leaving we took the all see through elevator and Scarlett was very excited about it.

In the ride to the store we had a movie that kept them pretty entertain!

Happy at the restaurant after we filled their tummies with mac and cheese, chicken and pies!

Hope you enjoyed your day Scarlett!!!

I love my swing!

2010-05-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

We had bought one infant/ toddler seat to replace with one of the ones that came with the swing and it so happens that we don't need it. She learned to swing in this one! Here are some pictures to remember :)

We caught you.... Jack!

2010-05-24T09:34:00.000-07:00

So, we found out that Jack loves to drink water from sinks, bathtubs, or even the toilet if we don't close it. Now, I have proof. He behaves quite well when we are around and not so well when we are not around looking... He thought I was not looking :)

52 projects #18 - Pom Poms

2010-05-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

For this week I'd been practicing pom poms. I thought they will be easy, but I encountered a few glitches. I'd been using leftover yarn because I don't want to mess up the one that I want to use for 2 projects that I have in mind. The first one I want to make some barrettes for my daughter/ nieces and their dolls! The second one - I want to do a wreath that I saw made of pom poms and then you can add some other touches. They are so beautiful.
So, can anyone give me some tips? How to make sure they are perfect all around? I was using a pom pom maker, but they were coming loose. Do I need a different or specific type of thread to tighten them? Here is a picture of what I have in mind. I might change it a bit , but the pom poms are still there :)

http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/blog/2009/11/diy-pom-pom-wreath.html

Here are my best pom poms so far...

WPP #21 - Old wonderful shoes...

2010-05-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

These shoes were my daughter's favorite. She worn them until ...well you can see how the look. I tried to throw them out a couple times, but she will always asked for them over and over. We bought more shoes and she will still ask for the brown shoes. She learned to walk in this shoes. She first jumped in them as well. She run. She did pirouettes. She learned the color brown with this shoes. She loved them. I think they did an awesome job and I felt sad when I threw them away. I supposed I could had keep them, but I cannot keep every single thing that she or I liked or reminded us of something. But, I wanted to remember them here, and I took a couple of pictures so they will not be forgotten... those old wonderful shoes :)

WPP#20 - A flower...

2010-05-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

Went to a bridal shower and they had this beautiful center pieces. Reminded me of the ocean and our trip to Cancun. It was very beautiful :)

Week 16 and 17- Late.. .but here it goes.

2010-05-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

For these weeks I decided to work a bit in the garden - pulling lots of weeds and getting an idea of what I need to replace and what I can leave longer hoping it makes it. Last year we planted a lot of new plants so I am still hopeful that most of them will make it... but so far one hydrangea seems not to :( Combining gardening I decided to take a few pictures of how my garden is looking so far - so that gives me 2 of my hobbies - flowers and photography and after having a very 2-3 busy weeks I managed to download the pictures...

This is the tree in front of our house :) It gives this beautiful purple flowers around May then the leaves turn green :)

We have a couple "renting" in our property. Here is the girl!

This is a new guest moving in the house.. Can you see what it has in his mouth?

This picture looks magical! Sun and flash... Can you see my purple irises coming up? (Well, no flowers yet)

This is a lilac that I planted last year. I did not expect flowers, but it is doing better than I thought.

This bush was here when we bought the house, but it has grown quite a bit in the last 3 years... the birds love it, and this year it gave us a lot more flowers than normal.

Our burning bush help us to protect the birds when they are eating from the bird feeders and in September - October it turns into a super nice red...

This side has a lot of new plants.. the "mini tree" in the corner is a Tiger's eye (planted 2 years ago) and the strawberry bush next to it in the right was planted last year. Plus, my water bath is new since our previous one broke. We are still trying to find the perfect bench...

Mike's favorite evergreen tree is a lollipop bush and when we bought it looked down in its luck - the poor thing. They were practically given it away for 35 dls from the 135 or so regular price. We figure we did not have much to lose and took a chance. Well, it has thrive and looks so lovely. It is one of my favorites now :)

One of my two Japanese maples. This one was planted last year and it is bigger now than the one I planted 2 years ago!

Lots of rhododendron and azaleas were planted last year. So far, 1-2 seemed dead but the other eight are doing great! I am still giving them a chance for the other 2... Once I thought one of my clematis had died, left it one more year and the next year came back more beautiful than ever... goes to show you :)

And here ends some shots of our backyard !

WPP#19 - Love and a paw

2010-05-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

I'd been playing with my cricut so much that I needed to buy a new sheet for it :), and I realized when I was trying to decide whether I will buy one or not that Jack (my cat) had signed my sheet. Can you see his signature? It also reminded me that I just got a bag full of old candy... old in the sense that I used to eat it when I was about 12 -13 years old and it is candy that you cannot find here, but that my aunt sent me :) Yums!
Also, this weekend and each day we should remember our love ones, but for this weekend Happy Mother's Day to every mommy (love u ma) !

52 Projects - #15 Batman Blanket

2010-05-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

I actually finished this one last Saturday, but could not post because it was a gift for my sister in law and I wanted her to be surprised. I mailed it to her first :) I did not do this in one week. It actually took me almost 2 years to do. But, last week was the only thing I focus because I was so close and wanted to finish. So, here it is. I was so happy I was able to finish a big project. Now, I feel energize to do something else :)

These are some pictures of how it looks in the front, and I took a picture of how it looks in the back. A lot of times, when I see a project I always wonder how it looks in the back, but they seldom put a picture. I know it is not as cute, but sometimes is good to see so a newbie can get an idea of what to do in the back. So, here is mine ;)

And Arianna saw the blanket and liked it. She said "Mama is wonderful". Then, she laid down for awhile and when she was not looking I put it away. Now, I am making her a blanket. :)

WPP#18 Stars and Planets..

2010-05-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

When you were a little girl did you want those fluorescent stars on your ceiling? I did. Arianna loves her turtle (when it is all dark you can see the stars) that her Ann gave her so long ago now. I found this planets that light up as well. So now, we are going for the whole Universe for her :)

No ponytails!

2010-04-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

Arianna does not like to have a ponytail, but she is ok with "piglets". So, here are the first pictures where she actually did not take them down within 5 minutes. She looks so adorable. The only problem she kept moving so much it was hard to get a good picture, but you get the idea.

We went to Crackle and Barrel for breakfast. It is one of my favorite restaurants and Arianna likes it too! She was playing and singing.

Then, we went to Jo Ann Fabrics and she loves crafts... I know not a big surprise there. I hope she keeps liking it as she gets older.

And finally Target, we knew one day she will want her own cart and she did. She saw it and did not want to let go. She is a proud owner of a shopping cart now.

52 projects - #14 Loom Scarf

2010-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

For this week, I focused in finishing my second scarf that I made in a loom. I tried a different stitch because the first one (even though I love) the stitch is too loose for a baby blanket that I want to try. Then, I found out a different one that has a tighter stitch so I tried it and loved it! I know I should think Spring, but I am happy that I finished the scarf before the winter ;)

Someone asked me about the Swap Craft, there are different ways, but the one I am doing you make your project for 30 persons and mail it to one person, that person makes your package consisting of 30 things from the other people that participated and mails it to you. When you send your package to her, you add some money for the shipping back... sometimes it is hard to let go of your creations, but I kept one for me and I think that hopefully they will like it and use it and appreciate it like I do. I view it as sharing something from me to you. So, in that sense it is easy to let go.

WPP #17 Betsy in a hole...

2010-04-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

Oh Betsy, I know you want to help me with my future project...

The little red house school

2010-04-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the Little Red House School on Willow Springs, IL. Last time we went was when Ari was about 3 months or so. That time we had the stroller and she slept through the hike.

Inside the school they have a lot of amphibians and snakes. Ari looked at each cage with awe. It is amazing to see through her eyes. They sure look at things differently.

Arianna was explaining something to Papa. How nice of her.

They have this caw that makes a lot of noises and jumps from one branch to the other branch. He was injures and can't fly anymore so they take care of her.

They also have a lot of dead animals... Well, I think they say that they died from either accidents or natural dead.

Here starts our almost 2 mile hike.

They have 8 stops and benches all around so we stopped a few times to let Arianna and our old bones rest so we can continue.

I love paths. I equate paths to decisions sometimes. Should you go right or left? Your whole life can go one way depending in that decision.

Isn't it amazing that this used to be 99th St?

Took this picture for Ron and Evelyn!

Arianna was checking this boulder. Yep, it is sturdy to climb!

Two different settings in one place!

I took a picture of this bird. I am not sure if it is the female Robin or the Towhee that lives in here and looks very closed to the robin.

In our way to the car. We had finished the 2 miles trip and Arianna walked about 3/4 of the way. :)
By the way, they had built a "big house" next to the old school.... open on June. We are going back then!

Family outings...

2010-04-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

My cousin Carlos came from Canada to visit and we were able to get together for a fun day of Sushi and Hamburgers. Arianna and Mike stayed home because Ari was sleeping, but my sister was able to come with us. It had been a long time since all 4 of us were together...

Then, later in the week we were able to go back to Chuck's restaurant for breakfast. It is our new breakfast place to go to when we want some awesome pancakes! They expect lots of kids and they have crayons ready which Arianna loves! (The picture below I snapped it while she was wearing her hat which a lot of time she does not want to!).

Rain...

2010-04-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Arianna has started to make stories with her stuff animals. The other day she was eating a yogurt and she had her owl next to her and she was saying: " Ok owl, you sit there. I need to eat my yogurt. Yummy." Later, when she was done eating she told him " ok, time to play. What do you want to go? Do you want to sleep? No, let's play." Then, it was something about moon and night, but I could not get the whole thing.

Bummer, it was raining and Arianna wanted to go out to play. I told her we needed to wait until it stopped raining and she said "I likeeeee water".

Then, Papa came home and they started to play!

Cute!

52 projects #13 - Felt Flowers!

2010-04-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

My swap craft is coming soon and I needed to finish this project so after 31 flowers (30 for the swap - one for Arianna) I am done and very tired. No scissors for awhile! But, I like the end result. I was going to do something different for the center, but liked how the antique buttons look so I went that route.

It took me about 3-4 days to cut all the flowers... phew!1 I was happy when I was done with them. Putting them together was actually fun!

The best model ever! She was actually shy in the beginning, but build her courage :)

Realized that I like the mustard- burgundy combination too much, but I tried to make each one different :) First time working on felt flowers and one day my baby will help me to make them again :)

ADDED later: The pattern was an idea from a magazine that I get Southern Living. Although my flowers are style different they are the same in that it uses four sets of "flowers" to make one flower. The actual shape was done by me using a quarter and a compass :) , but I am sure there are something similar somewhere. Also, that means that I cut 124 flowers to make 31.. phew so yes I was very happy when I was done with the last one. And finally, family helped me as well. Arianna either modeling a flower or telling me if it was perfect or awesome or ok and throwing some of the leftovers in the garbage and Mike helping me picked the buttons for each set of flowers. :)

WPP#16

2010-04-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

Picture taken at Little Red House... It is a really good place to visit. Another post with more picture will be coming soon :) but this is my WPP for this week.

52 Projects #12 - The beginning of two projects and the end of one.

2010-04-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

I am afraid that I could not take pictures because my battery needed to be recharge, but there are two projects that took some of my time this week. I joined a Swap Craft and I needed to start the stuff that I am going to make since I need to do about 30 of something I could not get too glamorous meaning too lengthy. I decided to live in a Felt world. I kind of went crazy and bought almost if not every color I saw and after drawing many ideas that came to my mind I think I settle down in 2 different ones. Next week you will see pictures of all of it.... I am in a Felt world for sure!

My second project is another loom scarf with a different stitch... I am about 1/4 done!

And I am very excited about this super long project that I am doing the cleaning of the last stitches, yeah! Can't put pictures yet, but very soon. I cannot believe I am about 98% done :)

So, sorry for no pictures... but this week was full of get together with so many awesome people. In oone of those days, we went bowling with Ari and she loved it. I did not take my camera, but Mike managed to use his phone so as soon as those are downloaded I will share at least one. She was so great and just loved it. She made me smile so much that day. Those are the moments that fill my life with joy and I love when I can embrace those moments totally. Who knows maybe she will be a great bowler!
Have a great weekend!

WPP#15

2010-04-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

"Our" Cardinal found a partner! Must be Spring Love :) They seldom are together to take a picture. They are nearby, but never in the same frame except for this shot...then they flew apart again. They seem to like the bird feeders that we put in front of the house.

Easter 2010

2010-04-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

It was chaos for a moment when the kids saw the eggs lying on the carpet. We went to plan B since it was raining badly (and it was not supposed to rain..." but it was equally fun). The kids had fun.

All the kids including the munchkins collected eggs. I thought Santana and Arianna will just stare at the other kids, but nope they put quite a bit of eggs in their baskets. The girls helped them too. How nice of them.

Besides the eggs and after the rain squashed my map hunting for the treasure. I came up with another solution. I wrote the name of each of the kids and hid it in the basement. I told them that the Easter bunny said that they needed to work as a team, and unless everyone found their name... no treasure can be unlocked. The same went for the rare eggs. Each needed one of each. It worked. Everyone helped everyone, the smaller eggs where first come first served.
I did buy a small toy to each of the kids: Surge and slinky dog from Toy Story, batman car, project runaway for the big girls (they came with the templates to draw dresses, hair styles, etc...), and a car for Santana.
Plus everyone got a notebook and a box of crayola. (Well, the crayola was needed for school, but they loved it).

I picked one picture that I liked from each kid...

Everyone started playing together...

The adults in the other hand were relaxing, but having fun as well.

Food was good. People were great. Ari gave us a big tantrum at the end of the night, good thing is that she felt asleep and woke up her normal self. She is after all 21/2 years old. But, overall was a good night.

Indulgences

2010-04-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

Browsing for ideas for a friend I came across this set that was being auctioned at ebay. I loved it (even thought it is missing 2 states which I will complete myself). It has 2 things that I love - flowers and cross stitch. Even more, the cross stitch part can be done in parts. Not a big piece of fabric to start with, excellent size to put away and have close by when I get a bit of time. I can try to set a goal of 1 or 2 flowers per month and not feel overwhelm. The only problem? A lot of people want it. Maybe for the same reasons? So, I bid as much as I will pay for it and went to work (the auction ended while I was at work). So, I did not know until next day if I won or not.
As you can tell, I did :) I looked everywhere else for the set and I could not see it. I know the set was made in Denmark awhile back, but I don't know the year. This as you can imagine will be a big project and I will start as soon as I decide what type of fabric to get. Yeah, it is an indulgence... but I hope to make it into a quilt for keeps. Now I set myself for the record. ;)

52 Projects #11 - Middle Eastern Spicy Chicken Shawarma and Rice Krispies Squares.

2010-04-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try to cook something that I had not done before. We always try different cuisines, and although we had gone to Middle Eastern restaurants I don't remember ever eating Tahini before so I found this recipe in one of my magazines ( Cooking Light) and decided to make it a project!

Spicy Chicken Shawarma Ingredients:

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground coriander

5 tbsp plain low fat Greek style yogurt, divided
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1b skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp TAHINI
4 (6 in. ) pitas, halved
1/2 cup chopped cucumber and plum tomato and pre-chopped red onions!

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients with 1 tbsp yogurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 2 garlic cloves.

2. Add chicken; toss to coat.

3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken mixture and saute for 6 mins. or until browned.

4. While chicken cooks - Combine remaining yogurt with the rest of the lemon juice, garlic clove, and TAHINI. Stir well.

I found out that this brand is really good!

5. Spread the mixture in your pitas equally.

6. Fill each pita with the chicken, cucumber, tomatoes and onion. Decorate with some grapes or more of the veggies!

And for dessert I made Rice Krispies with Mike. I had never done squares, he has. :)

I could not believe how easy they were. I am sure most of you know how, but here are some pictures of ours.

Not very flat, but they were very tasty :) We need to work on that part.

WPP#14 - Penny

2010-04-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

I had another picture in mind, but since Misty (another kitty of ours) is a bit sick - she gets from time to time diarrhea and we need to trim her butt to help her out. She is, after all, in a medicine for life. I am planning to take her to the vet so they can check her out (just in case). But, that got me thinking about Penny. I still miss Penny. And sometimes I miss her even more when I think of my grandmother. She loved Penny. I get comfort believing that they are together. :)
This picture was taken around 2001-2002.

52 Projects #10 - Scrapbook, doodling and a doll...

2010-03-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took some pictures so you can see how the Cricut looks: Shots of how it is when it is closed or open are posted first.

Then, you can see all the lights going on once you program what you want. Can you see that little "drop like" cartridge on the right? That is where all the information is stored. Then, you press what figures you want and how many. Hit Cut and it goes. ( I always program more than I want because you will save from wasting paper - which is one of the negative things of this machine. In the other hand, the blade cuts more and you need to replace it more often, but I figure I will used some of the extras in other things)

Then, you hit unload paper - and you can start to peel the paper.

I have a box where I leave the extra ones for later...

Found the scrapbook I wanted to use - A black cover with ivory pages. The picture took longer to figure out... but this one is the classic one. It is the first picture that I can remember of us together. The one where I wanted all the beanies that he had given me ( and some that I bought myself) to be in the picture. See, instead of flowers I wanted beanies. So, I still have a lot of those although I have given a lot of beanies to charities by now. We did go crazy for those critters for awhile. You see that camel? It is one of my favorites.

And after playing with the pieces - this is the configuration that I liked.

Looking for the picture I found some scrapbook pages that my sisters in law and I did the first or second week after Arianna was born. Oh, our baby :)

And finally... here is the doll that I managed to finish today! Here is the before picture. It took me awhile to pick a face I wanted to draw.

And here is Anita! (well, that is where this little girl is going...)

Here are some faces that I did for my dolls....

And some doodling it... I am trying to decide if I want to color these 2 drawings or not?

It was a nice crafty week for us :) Arianna started to draw faces. I will take some picture of that for a future post :) Have a great week!

Honk Honk!

2010-03-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is the first ride that Arianna has in one of those car carts at Home Depot! She loved it.

And then we needed to go to Kohl's to buy some clothes for Mike's job. She hated this cart when she was younger. This time she was better, but she was getting so tired.

We tried the Indian restaurant by Orland Park Taj Mahal and it was very good. Mike got the Frontier Chicken (Right side) and I opted for the buffet and found out that I like Chicken Vidaloo (may be misspelled)
and their Rice pudding. Arianna was very happy that she was singing and she was also a bit silly. ;)

Then we went to our evil store Barne's and Noble , evil because we like a lot of stuff, but we only bought a magazine per person. Arianna picked one book and I got her a really cool puzzle (about doggies). There is a picture of it below.

Then, we came home to play a little in the yard and to re-fill the bird feeders and Mike hanged 2 more bird houses!

We were so tired that we came inside and rested for awhile. How was your day?

WPP #13 Bird Bath

2010-03-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Thinking about Spring even though it is not sunny and it is cold... but knowing that my plants are showing new buds gives me hope!

Chuck's restaurant and Openheimer.

2010-03-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

Caught them eating! Arianna likes french fries again!

We went to Chuck's Restaurant for breakfast and it was delicious. The first time that we went was for dinner and I tried their BBQ. I was not that impressed. But, I gave them a second chance and ordered something different and it was very very good. The breakfasts were excellent as well. Mike ordered french stuffed toast and I ordered chilaquiles with a side of 1 pancake. We will definitely go back. Arianna ate her bread and just a little of the pancake.

We also managed to go to see the mostly monologue of Clay Jenkinson's portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer (the so called " Father of the Atomic Bomb). It was excellent, but I will leave the details to Mike. I am sure he will write a review in his blog. We met with Clay and John Williams (from 720 WGN) afterwards! [Last time I took a picture with them, but this time I was too tired for that, but we talked for awhile] If they ever do another show, I highly recommend it!

2010-03-24T23:43:00.000-07:00

Is that time of the year? I was getting ready to go to work and we were seating outside when I heard a bunch of noise coming from upstairs! Well, it was up alright. A lot of geese talking and flying! I loved the patterns - the last shots they were getting in a single line...

Very nice!