Christmas 2011

I was hoping to post this earlier this week but, We have had family visiting and since my husband and son are sick we aren't planning on going out for New Years eve so, here I am editing videos and pictures and realize that I haven't yet posted about our Christmas.
Christmas eve is never a relaxing event and this year was no different. We made a trip to L.A. to have dinner with the in-laws then on the way home stopped by my aunt and uncles house. We finally got home around 12:30am. After putting the kids to bed my husband brought in the kids Christmas gifts which were new bikes! They were so excited when the woke up at 7am!!! They said it was the best Christmas ever...hmmm I seem to recall that's what they said last year too.

 

  Just before Christmas my little Princess had a Christmas program. You can watch below.

Here is a video from Josh's Christmas show.

Easy Peasy Advent calander

Last year Nana came to the rescue with a beautiful Advent calender she made for the kiddos. I was lagging in the crafty department but, had I thought of this or seen this tutorial for an easy advent calender from The Mother Huddle,via Tip Junkie I could've done this in no time.
Now you all know that I don't sew so, instead I would purchase little sacks from Fabric Barn (a local craft store) and  tie them with the ties that come with the bags. Soooo easy! I may still make this and hang Nana's advent calender too, it's too beautiful not to.
 Now is the time to start your Christmas projects. Don't get behind like I always do and try to cram them all in the last week before Christmas!

Fall jar luminaries

I stumbled across some really beautiful tea light jar luminaires on a blog called Crafts by Amanda a few weeks ago and just knew I had to make some for myself. This is the kind of craft that's right up my alley. If it involves some sort of glue or paint I'm all in!
 I bought some spray adhesive for about $5, Bought 3 doilys for $3 and had some jars that I had no idea why my husband saved but was thankful that he did and some ribbon from my hairbow makin' days. All in all I guess this craft must have cost me around $9 for 3 luniairies. I didn't glue the ribbon to the rims so I could change it according to the the season or holiday. These were obviously Halloween themed so I will need to change them to Fall soon.
These would make a really beautiful gift for any occasion.As a matter of fact, I think I may just do that for my kids' teachers this year. Woo Hoo. teacher gifts DONE!


 Here are some photos of the ones I made based on the tutorial from Crafts by amanda.

Gracies 5th Birthday

How did five years just fly bye so quickly? Seems like just yesterday, I was moving back to my hometown, pregnant with my little Princess and now, she tells me on a daily basis that she's a "big girl". Oh I can't stand it.
 I don't know if it's because she's a girl or because she's the baby or maybe both but, I don't want her to grow up. I want her to stay little and my baby. My boys are growing up so fast but, never remind me of how "big" they are. She does it all the time and I'm starting to feel a little sad about it.
 We had a mini at home celebration because we plan to have a big, fun party after the Holidays. It's just too hard to try to plan a big party right before Thanksgiving and Christmas and we want her to really have a big one since she hasn't officially had a big one yet. I guess that's just what happens when you're the third kid in line.
 Anyway, she was super excited for her pink homemade birthday cake and when she opened her Lalaloopsy dolls she just flipped out! She didn't want to go to sleep because she would have to put them away, poor thing. I just love my little monkey so much it fills my heart to overflowing to see her excitement for such simple things.
 Happy birthday my little Princess. You'll ALWAYS be my LITTLE Princess.


A quick at home celebration for the Lalaloopsy princess.

Our Halloween Extraveganza 2011

Every year we get together as a family and have something to eat and head off for fun at the pumpkin patch....This year was no exception. We met up at Autie Erica's house for pizza and face painting fun, then headed out to play games, ride ponies and pick pumpkins... Here are a few pics from our Pumpkin patch o fun.

Almost everyone had me paint their faces before we went to the pumpkin patch.

 and off we went

Hope your Halloween was a fun family extraveganza. I know ours was!

First day of school for my little Princess

Here are a few pics I took from My little princess' first day of Transitional Kindergarten. Transitional Kindergarten goes into effect in California next year but, we our city was lucky enough to receive a grant to start a year early. this is a program designed for young kindergartners.
It doesn't matter at what level of learning you child is at, the program was designed to give the younger kids another year to mature and be ready for Kindergarten. My little Princess LOOOVVEEESSSS school (thank goodness one of my kids does) and has been blessed with a wonderful teacher.

Here she is all dressed and ready to go.

Dissmissal time. She runs to me like this everyday! I love it!

Here is a little video of the first song she learned in class.

This is a little video made on my little princesses first day of school.

Oh my negleted blog

I have been so incredibly busy since school started. I thought I would actually have more time on my hands. Boy was I mistaken. I seem to still have just as much to do and more. I have to try and fit all my errands into a small window of time before I pick everyone up from school, then make dinner, go to soccer and got o work...wha?? yes, I've been working so much more which yes is a blessing because I love what I do but, that leaves almost no time to blog.
 I did take first day of school pics and even recorded a little video but haven't had time to do the editing. I'll try to get those done tonight and post them later. Now that face painting has slightly slowed a bit I should be able to get caught up here.
I hope to have at least 2 new posts this week for you. Thanks for hangin' in there with me.

Love and busy days,
Shawna

School is almost here

 This summer was a busy one. I barely had a minute to blog..boooo. As you may or may not know I've been face painting up a storm this summer so, my weekends have been jam packed. We also moved at the begining of the summer which sucked and by the way I still have 6 unpacked boxes and no more room for anything!!!
 The kids will now be in better schools and my little princess will be starting Transitional Kindergarten!!! AHHHH!! When did she get to be so big.....booooo times two. I have begun the process of getting them ready, shopping for supplies, clothes, shoes and here comes the fun part.....accessories!! WHOO HOO!! You all know how much I love to make fun, girlie stuff. I started making my princess a few hair clips and a fancy new bracelet, which I think she may need a few more. I mean a girls gotta have options especially considering she'll be wearing a uniform(I think)...bleh. That's no fun! So we have to jaz it up a bit with cute accessories...Here is some of what I've been working on....

 I made a princess bracelet too but haven't had a chance to take a pic yet. I will when the sun is out. She has bows to match each of these OMG!! so cute!

Josh's 12th Birthday

Yesterday was Josh's twelveth birthday. Although we promised to have a beach party for him later this summer, we could'nt just let the day go by without doing something fun. Here's a little slideshow video I put together showing you how we spent our day....Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Frida!

Yesterday would have been Frida Kahlo's 104th birthday if she was still alive. To comemorate her birthday the kids and I read a great book for kids called Frida by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Ana Juan. It is a wonderful book that tells us the story of her painful life in a way that even young children can understand.

 It is important to share stories like these with my kids to show them a way to deal with their own feelings of sadness or pain. Sometimes, we don't realize that children have these same feelings and need a way to express them. I feel like painting , drawing and just being creative can help children work through these feelings.

 My kids were so impressed that Frida painted on her own torso cast and had so many questions after we finished reading. We will make a trip to the library tomorrow to find a more in depth biography to answer some of those questions.

 I purchased this book at a local bookstore called "Gatsby Books" that sells new and gently used books. I do believe in helping out local shop owners and this shop is great. Normally we would make our way over to the library but, I just couldn't pass on this jem.

 Friday we plan on painting our own self portraits like Frida did. I will post some photos of our masterpieces.

REJOICE, REJOICE, REJOICE

Praise HIM and all his Glory!! GOD has answered our prayers and Grandma is HEALED!! She went from breathing at 5 liters of Oxygen to breathing at 2.5 liters in a matter of a week and a half!!! If this isn't a miracle than I don't know what is. Her doctors are amazed and surprised at her progress. Can it be explained? Well, yes, yes it can..she was healed by GOD! She asked and she received.
It says in
Matthew 21:22
21 Jesus answered and said to them, Truly I say to you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you shall say to this mountain, Be you removed, and be you cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

Living in chaos

We should have been Gypsies. We have moved so many times in the past 10 years and my husband is not even in the military. This past move was one of the worst by far! This move was unexpected due to having a nutball for a Landlord.We had scheduled to move the week after we got back from our trip to the desert but, during that time things just came to a head with my husband and our crazy landlord.
 He decided to just move while we were gone. This is where the book Men are from Mars ,Women are from Venus would have come in handy. He told me he didn't want me to have to deal with her and her craziness which I think was a nice idea  but, it just ended up being more of a disaster. Everytime we have moved I have done ALL of the packing..I'm just more of an organizer than he is which isn't saying much but, I do know how to pack and move in an organized fashion.
 He decided to just grab everything from one area and throw it in a box. You can only imagine what the boxes look like. Everything is a huge mess, we are cleaning the house we are leaving and trying to organize the new one at the same time. I can't find ANYTHING! None of the furniture was placed where I wanted it, The cable and phone is all messed up and to make matters worse I can't find my cell phone charger!!! I was without a phone part of the time while in the desert and lost business because of it. ARRGGGHHHH!!! That is probably the worst part of this whole mess.
  So, if I haven't called you please don't be offended. I don't have my phone book and I am scrmbling to try to get through these boxes to find my cell phone charger. I know, I know why not just go and buy a new charger. Well, I hadn't planned on keeping this phone for much longer and don't really want to pay money for something I may just find in a couple of days so,here in lies the lesson....Always buy a car charger too. ; (

Trip to Grandma's house

Last year at this time the kids and I made a trip to stay with my Grandma while her hubby went to visit his kids in Minnesota. Even then, Grandma wasn't at her best but, she was still able to get around on her own and even go out to dinner with us.
 This year things were very different. We made the trip already knowing that she had a couple of close calls in the last 2 months with COPD and congestive heart failure but, we weren't quite prepared to deal with what was coming next. Thank God my mom decided to come with me and the kids because this story might have ended a lot differently.

We drove in last Monday morning so, that my Aunt could show me what I needed to do and to show me where to take my Gram for her infusion appointments for an infection from 3 years ago that was still being treated. After her infusion, she had an appointment with her cardiologist who suggested that she be admitted to the hospital  for "Tune-up" but, of course being the stubborn woman she is she said "NO" even with my Aunt and I saying "YES". So, off we went to have some blood drawn.

 Now in between the Doctor appointment and getting home she had another episode of congestive heart failure and to make matters worse they were throwing in Renal failure. Luckily my uncle who lives in the desert and is a Respitory therapist was with my mom and the kids and came to the rescue. I called him because we weren't sure how to use her breathing treatment for the Emphysema. When he showed up moments later he told me she needed to go to the hospital so, I called 911. The kids were sad and shocked because they only just said hello to grandma and now she was being hauled off in an ambulance. This must have been so scary for them but, God knew and sent my mom to take care of them so, I could do what I needed to help my Aunt and my Grandma.

 The next couple of days were a blur, no sleep, trips to the hospital, phone calls, flights scheduled, house cleaning, bad news and more bad news. The house was now packed with cousins, Aunts, Moms and the neighbors were gracious enough to let a couple of family members stay there too. For a moment there we lost track of what needed to come first...GOD. Where was God in all of this? This is why my mom was sent. She always seems to reel me back in when I'm spinning out of control. She reminded me that we needed to pray but, first we needed to know what my Grandma wanted. Did she WANT to go home to be with the Lord? Was she giving up? Was she just too tired? or did she want to live? Did she want to be healed?

We made a trip to the Hospital that night and asked her all of these things and at first her response was she just didn't want to be a burden to all of us anymore but, after reading the word to her she realized that yes, she could have healing and knowing that changed her answer. She said she wanted to to live then looked at my cousin and said that she wanted to see Angelina's baby. We rejoiced and prayed. She asked for her body to be healed and re-dedicated her life to the Lord.

The next morning there was only good news. Her CO2 level(the amount of carbon dioxide a person breathes out) had dropped from 60(she was told this was her normal) to 50.This is what people with this disease usually die of it's like breathing poison. Normal is 30. The next day her level was at 45 and her cardiologist said that if it was up to him he'd let her go home now. Her heart was much better and she was doing great all on her own.

 So,we went from calling Hospice to trying to get her cupboards ready for a new healthier sodium free diet in a matter of days. God is so good!! He's just good all of the time! She is home now and getting better everyday. This is proof that HE is our great healer. It was not my faith or anyone elses's faith but, her own faith in the promises of God that healed her. We will just keep praising him and thanking him everyday and hope that you will too.

A little peak into our trip to see Grandma June 2011

Oh My Daddy

 Our little Princess loves to create..hmmm. I wonder where she gets that from? Anyway while she was making a Father's Day card for my husband I caught her singing this little diddy. She just cracks me up! If you've ever watched Spongebob you may remember the episode where Plankton sings to his computer wife Karen "Oh my Karen, Oh my Karen, Ohhh my computer wife Karen" well, Gracie had just seen that episode and made it her own... Have a listen.

Gracie making a card for Father's day and singing her special Daddy song to the tune of "Oh My Karen" by plankton from Spongebob.

Revealing the new Bob hair cut

It's hard to believe that my little Princess had her first hair cut almost two years ago. She was such a wiggle worm and not very cooperative so we hadn't been back in a while. Nana trimmed her ends once last summer but, it hadn't been profesionally cut since.
 Well finally after much blood, sweat and tears....well, maybe just a lot of sweat and tears. I had decided that she absolutely needed a short hair cut. I was tired of her crying everytime we combed out her hair and tired of the tangles in her hair every morning despite putting it in a pony or braid. She just has fine hair and a sensitive scalp so, in order to keep the sanity, hers and mine, we made a trip to Valdimar Hair Studio in Cerritos to see our favorite hair fashionista Ivette Lemon.
 Here are some pics fromt he day...

Here she is getting ready for her big hair cut

 

 That's a lot of hair!

Making the first cut

She's already asking if she's done yet! Oy Vey! 

We won't go into details but, let's just say that my little Princess

was acting more like a frog!

And the big reveal!

Isn't she sooo darned cute?? this cut was just made for her!

I asked her to give me a big smile and this is what I got!

Now we're just sitting and admiring the beautiful decor inside the Hair Studio and maybe posing a little too.

and  Packing up to go. Bye Bye Ivette, see you soon because mommy LOVES my new cut!

If you're in the area or not call and make an appointment with Stylist Ivette 562-676-5128 or Owner/Redkin Artist Diane 562-301-4304  at this uber quaint hair studio. They are two of the best stylists around and have a full schedule but, always make you feel like you're the only client they have. What's so neat is that this small little Studio has some big clientele and you'll never feel like your not important. That's what keeps us going back.

You can find the Valdimar Studio at 17100 Norwalk Blvd, Suite 109 Cerritos, Ca 90703