La Familia Aguiar

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday...

2011-06-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

1. I get a good chuckle out of how different the hubby and I are. I absolutely LOVE plastic and don't care for glass at all. Whenever he drinks something it has to be out of a glass, not plastic. Whenever I drink something it has to be out of plastic, not glass. Yes, we have settings in glass and plastic.

2. I have started (ahem, my third attempt) Fat to Skinny, in hopes of getting rid of all this weight. I had my last baby almost 3 years ago, it's far past time for the weight to be gone.

3. We have been running for a total of three weeks, not consecutive weeks, but three weeks. Okay, okay, three days for each week, so 9 days, BUT...I am up to running at a VERY s.l..o...w.... pace for 1:30 minutes without stopping, YAY!

4. Redbox is now renting Wii games, and they happen to have the Michael Jackson game...WHAT??? I say it's time for my best friend Jen and I to have a dance floor night again, haha! We've got the strobe lights ready!

5. Papa Chulo has been doing awesome with potty training. He only had three accidents all of last week. Go papa, go papa, go!

6. One of my dear, precious friends, Marisa found out she's having a girl! I will have my first niece, yippee! I can't wait to get to making girly things <3

7. I can't wait be involved and serve at the Superstropolis VBS next week! It all looks like so much fun for the kiddos.

8. Confession...I'm addicted to my iphone. I love that I can read my Bible in bed at night, without the need for a light. I also love all the apps that can keep me searching for hours. Oh technology, what would I do without you?

9. We watched the movie Iranium couple of weeks ago, which had me wondering how it was to live without electricity. I like to watch the show Hoarders on Netflix, where many of these people have been without gas, electricity and water for quite some time. This got me to thinking about times back when people lived without gas and running water, technology, and so many other things we depend on today. I'm not gonna lie, the thought of an electromagnetic pulse bomb freaks me out! That was a lot of nonsense I just types out...watch the movie.

10. We finished reading Strawberry Girl and we are on to read How to Eat Fried Worms. Tomorrow we will make some type of dessert calling for strawberries, and after we read our next book, we will be making mud pies with gummy worms...fun!

26/52

2011-06-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

that's big boy chonies to you, YO!

Out of the Loop

2011-06-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

for almost 2 months that is! Shame on me, I know Jen :)

Hopefully I can eventually catch up since I have my first nephews little pics to post, a very special little 5 year old's birthday to post, and a few shots from an on the spur {LOVELY} vacation!

Ok...off to catching up on this week!

2011-06-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

I love FaceBook in that I can quickly and easily update my status with pictures and the things being done at the moment. Blogging isn't so easy and so it's somewhat on the back burner and if I remember to post, then I do, and if I don't, well then...that's just sad. FaceBook can't be made into a book of memories like my blog can, so I think I will now turn Thursdays into a collection of some of the many status updates on FB.

Here are a few from this week, if you aren't on FB, there usually daily pics that you are missing out on...sorry!

6/13/2011

Symphony: mom....why does it smell like KFC hot sauce?

Me: because I was using vinegar to clean with

Symphony: what is wrong with that vinegar?

Hahaha! I guess the smell hasn't dissipated quickly!

6/14/11
ours was a perfect pool day until my son pooped in our very small above ground pool and it came out his swimmer diaper! I didn't notice until I saw him out of the pool... secluded. I asked Symphony if he pooped in the pool and she said "no, but me and Bella are taking a bunch of corn out!"....{gag} we had corn for dinner last night!

6/15/2011

this morning the girls helped me make my bed. Bella said "first put the chocolate on!" (my chocolate brown sheets), "next put the frosting on!" (my white quilt)...oh to be little with such fun imaginations!

Ten on Tuesday...

2011-06-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

1. The kids and I have enjoyed reading Strawberry Girl together in the evenings. I've enjoyed cuddling up on the couch with my babes, or cuddling late in night with Symphony (when the littles are asleep) and reading it to her before her papa comes in to rest <3

2. I've decided that I want to be a runner...for some reason people running in the area make this a strong desire for me. Why? I've always hated it and how hard it makes my breathing! Anyhow, we've started the Couch 2 10K app on my phone, now if only my ankle will heal up from the last attempt that put me out 3 weeks...ugh!

3. This week is for potty training, and I think we just may have it nailed by the end. I'm praying this was the last bit of diapers we will ever have to purchase!

4. On the potty training note, my son wants to live in the bathroom 24/7. The kid pees so many times in an hour! Icebreakers are now our new best friend...they're his reward for each successful go at the potty!

5. It's summertime, but we have been playing catch up on Symphony's math curriculum. For some reason or other she fell behind by 60 lessons...yikes! How that happened, I don't even know. I am so very proud of her though, she has scored 94% and up with 3 100% in a row on her math tests. She's a smart little cookie!

6. The weather here in sunny California is warming up, yay! We purchased a little 3'x10' pool for the kids, so guess where they'll be...or guess where I'll be making them be, haha! It was the pool or passes to a water park with three kids, two of which don't swim very well on their own yet. I can only imagine the stress of keeping an eye on all three, by myself...no thank you!

7. I'm loving Pinterest, it could seriously swallow any extra time I have...if I allow it to. It's such a lovely place to gather up ideas of things and decor and all that lovely stuff!

8. School will be starting, um well we haven't officially stopped yet, in August, and I have started ordering curriculum. I can't wait to study the body with my girls for Science this year. I know there will be many "oohs" and "ahhs".

9. I'm hoping next week will be a week of continuing to decorate the girl's room and start up my son's room. I kind of stopped for a couple months, but I want it done and over with. :)

10. Saturday will be spent with some really good treats and eats, hopefully! We'll be at the IE Food Truck Fest....I think I'm most excited about the Roller Derby and not the food, haha!

25/52

2011-06-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

First off...where is the time going? We're almost half way through this year!

A combo of some little snapshots of Summer reading. Symphony can move into so many different positions in a short period of time :) Thank God she's not in a public school for they'd surely assume she's ADD! I am so very grateful that I have the privilege of schooling them at home on our own time, our own schedule, and the very subjects they are interested in learning and discovering new things about.

The other morning I woke up sobbing, my breath taken away sobbing, because I had to enroll them in a public school. My heart was crushed that I didn't get to spend my day with them teaching them new things and seeing their little faces light up with delight as they learned something new, or being there as they experienced the happiness of success or the need to be encouraged to go on. This dream was one that continued to surface even if I woke up, and I was so upset with it, but it also opened my eyes to take advantage of this time to the uttermost!

Anyhow, enough of that, here is my little, big girl....reading

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-20T09:49:00.001-07:00

Ten on Tuesday...

2011-04-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

1. Saturday was a VERY productive day, despite a MAJOR headache. Some of my many projects
were completed and I am just in love with the outcome thus far...

(some of the hoop art finished and hung, and curtain to cover the horrendous closet!)

2. We have been talking about what to do in the backyard for what seems like years, and I think we

have finally come to some middle ground in agreement. I can't wait!

3. The girls each read their 15 books which meant In N Out (yum for 4 of the Aguiars, and yuck for

me! I just smiled and "enjoyed" it with them). They were so very cute as they placed their order

and gave the cashier their award to redeem. I'm so proud of you girls!

4. WalMart was my saviour this weekend. I never thought I could actually like that store, but they had

exactly what I needed after going to four separate stores and being unsuccessful in finding what I

needed.

5. I can't even say how refreshing it is to be back home to fellowship. To see old, familiar faces, and

to meet new ones and start friendship up has been so encouraging to me.

6. Still waiting for baby Josiah to arrive...my first nephew! After he's born I say they start working on

my first niece :)

7. I, or we finished the Kids Art Display Wall. It's totally simple, but oh so cute to see the kids

enthusiasm to add their pieces to their board. Symphony cam straight from school and added her

rocket ship she made. I love it, and kick myself for not thinking of something like this before.

(there are 3 boards, one for each kiddo)

8. The girls have this digital ATM bank, and the batteries are wasted...why has the humming from the

lifeless battery been going ALL DAY LONG? I haven't had a chance to pull out a screwdriver, so

I am forced to hear it's annoying inconsistent hum.

9. It's the little things in life that make me happy....like clean bathrooms and finally finding a laundry
sorter that has quality removable bags! Yes, I'm stoked!

10. What a beautiful week this is as I reflect on God's unfailing love for me, His flooding grace, and

unending mercy. Have a blessed Easter Sunday.

16/52

2011-04-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

My little guy came down the stairs ready to go. He had his little hat on and *knew* he looked adorable. He gave me those sweet eyes, and one of his avô's looks and was just the little charmer....I had to take a pic! There are so many little things that this little guy does that remind me so very much of his grandfather, with the latest being sticking out his tongue when he's so very excited.

On one of my many shopping trips to the ..dreaded.. JoAnn's this weekend, I took my little bambinos. While in the letter aisle, Symphony decided to pose with a letter. I made each one do the same, only Symphony didn't have an "S," so she improvised :)

This little guy is fascinated with snails, FASCINATED! He has his little spot in the backyard that has the best snails, and it's where he goes immediately when the back door is opened up. He'll find a snail or two and keep them with him for a good couple hours in the backyard, and then bring him in for a cartoon or movie, and a nice little evening. Little conversations are the norm with the snails, as well as many tears when it's time to put the snail outside to go back to his family. I just ♥ love ♥ this little picture of him with the snail on .my.banister.

A Today's Project Will Be...

2011-04-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

I am determined to make this today...my kids NEED a place for their little masterpieces to be shown off, because finding it on the floor isn't cutting it!

I will post pics IF I am successful!

kid's art display found here

Chocolate Chip ♥

2011-04-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

"and "tiss" it, and hug it, and bite it (aaawrrr), and lick it, and "tiss" it, and hug it" and it goes on, and on, and on!

My son and his great love for my "chocolate chip"....a beauty mark on my should that has become his comfort and skin to skin love! CRAY..ZEE..NESS!! But oh, do I ♥ this kid!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday...

2011-04-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

1. I have projects like crazy that I seriously need to get working on...

2. My nephews arrival is getting closer and closer .cannot.wait.

3. With my nephews arrival I get a new model to practice my camera on .eek!.

4. God has blessed us in an amazing way and we are so overwhelmed with God's faithfulness,
   provision, goodness, and unending love that He continually pours out into our lives. We have been
   blessed abundantly and we know it's only because of Him!

5. I'm failing at potty training my son...I haven't even tried, even after I bought a potty training chair for
   him VERY late one evening due to the disgust of his diapers! I need some discipline!

6. The girls will be starting gymnastics next week, and I don't know who's more excited....me or them
   :)

7. My DBA is due this week....I can't believe that BellaSymphony has been in business for 5 years!
   God has blessed us with this little business and provided so much for us through it. I thank God for
   His wisdom and direction in guiding me through it all. I am well aware that we have done great
   only because of Him.

8. I want color in my home! Blah beige isn't cutting it for me anymore! Do I dare say I want to go
   back to white walls? They're so much more cheerful and I can bring so many colors in!

9. My kids say some of the funniest things. I really nee to have a day to share their funnies on this little
   blog here :)

10. Summer is almost here, I can feel it (or I'm wishing I could!). I need some time for reorganizing, lots
   of purging...*LOTS*, and time for fun.

15/52

2011-04-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Someone got her braces on {well the bottoms}....isn't she just gorgeous?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday...

2011-04-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

1. Spring Break is here...and we are NOT doing school through it as I had decided a while back. I
need a break, but my kids need it even more...yippee, let the fun and playing begin!

2. Papa Chulo is getting really good at using his balance bike!

3. Nana took us out for a day at the beach, totally unplanned, totally fun...pictures to come soon (like
   tomorrow kind of soon).

4. I had my first root canal done today...terrible, awful, yucky, makes me never want to have teeth to
   take care of!

5. Bella rocked her style this week with a flowered vintage-y looking shirt, a bright pink-turquoise-and-
   bright orange pettiskirt, white wedge flip flops with colorful hearts, and juicy couture reading
   glasses...oooh, fashion!

6. We found out my uncle is cancer free! My girls were little prayer warriors for his healing.

7. I have so many things piling up, I think I need to just make a list and start checking them off one by
   one if I ever want to make some progress in dwindling the list down.

8. The countdown is on, my nephew's arrival date is getting closer and closer. Can't wait to see this
   little miracle in the making!

9. I am so very thankful for my mom. She blesses me continually in the smallest things that mean so
   very much!

10. So very thankful to be accepted by my Beloved ♥

14/52

2011-04-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Once a week I try to document something or other we did to create memories, or something interesting for the week through a snapshot. I have to say that one pic for the week doesn't work, so bear with me if you are tired of seeing so many pictures!

This is our week for Spring Break, and I want my kids to enjoy their break and have things to do. Monday got off to a very S..L..O..W.. start, but we eventually made it out of the house.

First stop was the library, where we found their Cover to Cover reading program to participate in. After reading 5 books and recording them on a reading log, the girls are able to redeem their reading log for an In-N-Out hamburger or cheeseburger, which equals AWESOMENESS in their little eyes! Bella immediately went home and blazed through her audio books and turned the pages as she listened along. She took less than 30 minutes and was FINISHED, and ready to redeem her reading log "right now". What a cutie pie, she is definitely my over achiever! They can do this a total of three times each for three hamburgers or cheesebugers each..not bad, right?

After the library we headed over to the park that was across the way. We spent a short time there, as some little teenage punks thought they ruled the park. After I asked them to move out of the way so that the "little children" could use the slide, they looked at me as if I was out of this world and slow as molasses got up and sat on top of the slide...REALLY? The kids used the slide a bit, and then Symphony went down it and I knew it was bad news. Why do teens find it necessary to write such terrible vulgar things on the park equipment? Sadly, we had to leave the park because I didn't want my daughter to read such obscenities....very sad! The kids were so bummed, so I bribed them into leaving by offering a stop for ice cream, YAY!

We drove on over to Rite-Aid and each of us got to choose our own flavors to put on top of our little cones. I can't say this was the ideal spot to be, it was pretty ghetto, but I took it in. This little moment reminded me so much of my childhood. My mom would take us on bike rides to Thrifty's and treat us to ice cream. Here were my little ones enjoying being a kid with sweetness dripping all over them. I loved all that they were while eating those sweet little cones.

Sunday, Sunday

2011-04-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Our Sunday has become a traditional one of sorts...

go to church
enjoy breakfast together as a family or with friends
stop to visit vovo, Dominique's mom (here's a few pics form our last visit)

can you tell she's enjoying her pudding?

twisting and getting dizzy on vovo's tree swing

Symphony making crazy inventions

grocery shopping at the Farmer's Market, Fresh & Easy, and Stater Bros.

we then come home and enjoy our evening together and sometimes Nana and Grampo show up....all these things make my heart happy on Sunday!

Wordless Wednesday..well, wordless, not so much

2011-03-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

I couldn't leave this as wordless because the top picture makes my heart explode with love for my dad, and the bottom picture does the same, but reminds me so much of my grandfather whom I adored.

At my wedding we had our father daughter dance to "What a Wonderful World", where my dad would sing "what a wonderful girl" to me in my ear as I swayed with him under the canopy that early New Years morning. I have the BEST father ever, and I have been so blessed to such a great man to look up to, and to love me so greatly. Look at him beaming with me, his first born.

♥ Okay, more than enough words for "wordless" ♥

Ten on Tuesday...

2011-03-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

The smell of my son's nasty diapers make me just about lose it each time I change him...potty training has begun (I have to admit, I haven't been too successful)!
My son noticed a construction worker in line and waved at him. The construction worker turned on his construction hat light to say "hello,"which thrilled my little guy. Dominique then said "I love him, I want to kiss him". He's into kissing everything lately...we changed it to "giving knuckles" instead of a kiss.
Having Symphony's braces put on has been postponed until April. Instead of going to see her orthodontist, she went to the doctor for a yucky cold, poor girl.
Curriculum is driving me crazy! I get into this rut every year..when will it end? I just continue to remind myself it's all a process of finding what works.
Bella is learning to read with a really cool book I picked up titled "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons". It's amazing, and she is doing an amazing job!
We ventured out this weekend to a car show, which we haven't done as a family in a VERY long time. I didn't realize it was a Rockabilly Festival. I tell you, I've never seen so much leopard, red lipstick, heels, and big flower hair accessories in my life. We had a great time, but the company made it even better!
Symphony is practicing for her STAR testing, and I am amazed that she is doing so very well! It gives me assurance that I am doing well in teaching her...it's hard to gauge it sometimes, and why I'm so concerned is my question (that's a whole different post...one day).
On Sunday we went to first service, 7:30AM! It was a great start to our Sunday, and I think we will definitely be making this a habit.
At church on Sunday I ran into some people that I haven't seen in a very LONG time. It was great to see my friend Susie from high school, my old best friends niece, and one of my most favorite bosses. I think it's been a good 5-15 years since I've seen them!
My Clickin Moms membership is about to expire...sad times. I need to come up with some good money to become a lifetime member. That forum is so very valuable to me and my ♥ for photography.

Monday, Monday...

2011-03-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

We had our usual day....wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, drink a green smoothie, school and school work, a quick break to eat lunch, more school, and then some time to relax and breathe...ahhhh.

Days go by so quickly and burnout is easily achieved with tending to three little ones, teaching my kidlets, and keeping up with the house. I thought it would be nice to end the day by a little bike ride out with the kids to gather up some sunshine and fresh air, and so we did. We took our little ride on over to Target. It's a straight shot from our home, but we like to be adventurous and add to our ride :) After finally arriving at Target, I realized my little guy had knocked out. I thought that we should turn around and go home, but the girls thought otherwise and wanted to go see the new babies....aye yay yay! Don't they know they have plenty? I just made them send some off to the thrift store a couple days ago. Anyhow, I took them in and instantly they were delighted with their find. These crazy Monster High Dolls have been off the shelves, yet holding their spots since before Christmas. Symphony was so very excited, yet she didn't ask to get one. She looked them over in the cutest way, and I just had to get her one. The girls ran outside to ask their papa if he would let them get one, and then back in we went while they lingered deciding which one they should get. I wish I recorded their little faces and how adorable they were throughout this whole little ordeal.

Needless to say, our Monday was filled with so much, as always, but I wouldn't ask for the day to change in any way.

13/52

2011-03-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

My son has definitely picked up his sister's sense of fashion, ha ha ha. He's sporting his daily ensemble along with Spiderman swimming trunks with matching sun hat, and Toy Story cowboy boot slippers. Thank God we didn't have to go anywhere during the day since he was not budging on removing a single piece of this outfit! I love him so much, he's way too cute...

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday...

2011-03-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

(some of my pins on Pinterest)

1. We started a marriage class at our church called Love & Respect. Yes, my husband listens through blue hearing aids and speaks through a blue megaphone and I do the same but through pink...we are learning communication, and we are loving the class.

2. I am once again on the hunt for math curriculum that I am satisfied with (Jen, please no comments, haha!).

3. Hilarious...my husband was trying to get to church quickly. I reminded him that the ticket would be a large amount of money if he were caught since it would be considered reckless driving. He continued, and then decided to get into the carpool lane, where a car was going BELOW the speed limit...Yes, hahaha! I didn't have to say a word, although I laughed til I almost cried (he was laughing pretty hard too).

4. It was rainy and cold out on Sunday and my mom made us albondigas soup...yum! so soothing on a cold, rainy day.

5. Purging and organizing have been my two close friends this past week, and I have to say..."I love them"!

6. Pinterest, my newest addiction, has made me determined to get working on making our house lovely both inside and out. You should really check it out.

7. What an encouragement to meet new people and have a quick conversation with them, and feel so refreshed! I really needed that :)

8. My son went to his Nina's today before I dropped Symph off at school which meant no throw up to clean up....yes!

9. I love when my kids want a Lunchable...it's rare, but it saves me some time, kind of.

10. Why are 4 year olds so insistent to ask the same question over and over again, when they have been answered over and over again with the same answer? Ya, we're working on that and time out may be proving effective...we shall see.

12/52 Cozy...

2011-03-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

This past week has been spent on reorganizing bathroom drawers, a few cabinets, and one of my linen closets. As I added to the donate pile, I ran across the bear blanket that my tia Angel made for my little guy. Quickly I called him over, wrapped him up in it, and instantly he was beaming! I then wrapped Bella in another bear blanket (that I assumed was hers...it isn't), and then Symph was bundled up in the heart blanket (that I assumed was hers...it isn't). They were all cozy and content knowing that they each had a keepsake blanket made just for them from their favorite great-tia Angel. I have a much greater appreciation for handmade gifts now, and love that my babes love handmade loveliness too. ♥

Their, There, and They're

2011-03-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

are all making me cringe! I think my grammar is pretty up to par, but as I'm reading back on some of my most recent posts, I'm cringing! I am constantly typing the wrong their/there/they're! Please overlook my grammatical errors if you see them... {♥}

Berthe Morisot

2011-03-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

Amazon is one of my biggest weaknesses. Their reviews easily persuade me, and make me continue my research on so many different items. It's great, yes, but it can get me into a lot of trouble! I do have to say that I was so very excited to come across the book Discovering Great Artists-Hands on Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters by MaryAnn Kohl. Each artist is introduced in a short snippet, and then there's a simple hands on activity to mimic the style of that specific artist.

Today our artist was Berthe Morisot back from the 1800's. The girls learned about how it wasn't common for women to be professional artists, yet she was encouraged by her parents to pursue her dream. I didn't know this, but she sold more paintings than Monet or Renoir. Her work was known to use globs of paint, thick brush strokes, and bright colors.

We took six different bowls and filled them with a different texture in each: fine glitter, chunky glitter, flour, sugar, crushed eggshells, and white glue. We then poured one color into each bowl, mixed the texture and paint color together well, and we instantly had thick textured paint. The girls had a blast. Symphony knew exactly what she wanted to paint, completed it, made a second painting, and she was done. Bella on the other hand L.O.V.E.D. painting with the textured paint. She sat here after taking her shower (bad move on my end), filled her page completely and thick full of paint, along with my table, mouse for my MAC, her hands completely and her little arms. She had gobs of dried up texture on her, but she had a blast!

These are moments when I am so very happy that I get to teach my babies on my own. Experiencing them learning new things, to see their expressions first hand, hearing them hum and sing about how much fun this is and how this is their "favorite" thing to do makes being a "teacher" one of the best unpaid and rewarding jobs!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of green going on today, and it was fun! I don't ever remember being so excited to wear green, or have St. Patrick's Day arrive. My girls were dressed immediately rockin' their green (check out Bella's vintage dress...oh my!), and were quick to find me a shirt :)

They were served green eggs with green milk to drink, and mama sat back with her yummy green smoothie (I've become addicted!). During one of our breaks from school we made Lucky Charm treats (same as Rice Krispy Treats, just switched out the cereal), we crafted a fun little handprint Leprechaun, and then watched Veggie Tales. It's so much fun to have little ones and share their excitement and joy in the littlest things.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

(I have to say that I love reading my friend Susie's Ten on Tuesday, so I ran with her fun post idea!)

1. On one of my many daily walks up the stairs, I discovered some "graffiti" on many of the tiny wall spaces up the stairs. Apparently writing "I love you mama and papa" with several hearts doesn't mean the same on paper to a seven year old...yes, a SEVEN YEAR OLD!

2. I guess the sudden interest with Banksy has become quite and influence on the above mentioned 7 year old. I just found a drawing of hers with Banksy spray painting on a house.

3. My son, once again threw up on our way to drop his sister off at school. This is an almost every time occurrence, good thing I only take her once a week! What made it different this time around was that after washing his car seat and letting it dry, he decided to hide the buckle and fill my day with unnecessary stress. How was I to pick up his sister from school and make it to a doctors appointment with no seatbelt?

4. The girls woodland themed room is starting to come together a bit...I am sooo excited! Perhaps this should have been my room theme. For some reason I'm thinking I love it more than they do.

5. Where does time go? If only I could clean my house, keep up with laundry, pay bills, teach three kidlets, make meals, and run a business, then I could think about spending time to get myself ready! Oh priorities...make-up and hair can wait, I've got much better things to do :)

6. We had a lovely night reading books together. I read to my son, while papa reads to his girls. This time my babes cuddled up in my bed as I read to all of them at once. We left off with Symphony reading us the last two stories, which we all fell asleep with. I say we do that more often ♥

7. We have been enjoying our green smoothies...well kind of. The girls insist they don't like them before trying them because they have spinach in them. In time, they will be just as addicted to them as their mama is.

8. The birds are chirping and the sun is out, which means Summer is around the corner and we're ready to play in the water! I think we miss the Spring season out here in California.

9. My backyard has become ferocious once again with weeds. At least they're not taller than me, and that I enjoy the therapy of pulling weeds. Oh ya, I have three little ones to help with my "therapy", ha ha!

10. My youngest daughter realized there was no toilet paper while she was going to the bathroom. So did she ask for someone to get her some? Why of course not, curtains are a much quicker fix to the need at hand....uh huh, curtains!!!

I'm trying...

2011-03-15T02:54:00.000-07:00

with hopes to be diligent in keeping up my blog. I have daily posts I want to put up each week, so I'm crossing my fingers and toes in hopes that I make some time to document our lives as a family. If you are following along and see me missing a post during the week...please SCREAM at me to get to it and post, hee hee!

Sorry about the plain Jane look, I will attempt to get it straightened out and looking lively again. See, that's how long I've been MIA, I didn't even know my blog had been stripped to her bare bones :( NEGLECTED, sheesh!

11/52

2011-03-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

My girls attended a sweet Spring Time Tea Party this week. They were so excited and oozing girly-ness.. which is not like my Symphony, but totally Bella.

They had a sweet selection of food to choose from, personalized cup to drink out of, plenty of jewelry and makeup (if you can't tell!), princess crowns for each of the girls, a princess crown craft, freeze dance, a FASHION show, and then ended the day off with popcorn and a princess movie...Beauty and the Beast. How special to be invited to tea ♥

10/52

2011-03-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

And so, I thought I could quickly trim those long bangs that kept covering her eyes... too bad she decided to move right at the last cut and make me cut a good half inch higher than the rest of her bangs. I thought about keeping it this way and letting her keep her hair this way as if it were intentional, but I couldn't do it. We spent our day at the park and hanging out with papa and when he left for work, we left for the salon.

Oh, so much better! She has short bangs and a cute little a-line bob now. She's got a cute little French look going on now, and she loves it even more than the first day I cut her hair.

Ok, so I couldn't pass this one up. I totally screwed up dinner, and had to throw it away and serve cereal.. NEVER has this happened, and the kids were thrilled that they got to eat Lucky Charms for dinner! I should have gone to my trusty ol' Google when I didn't know if cilantro "stemmed" meant with the stem or without the stem. Let me tell you, stemmed means WITHOUT the stem...just in case you were wondering.

So, as I was cleaning up my horrid outcome of Avocado Tortilla soup, my son decided it was much more soothing on his stomach to play with his food than eat it!

I guess he thought his eyelashes, face, and hair also needed to be soothed....I just had to thank God for all the humor I had that night!

9/52

2011-02-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

Goooooo NUGGETS!!! Symphony and Bella, I am so very proud of you girls. You both did such an awesome job out on the court this season, and played so very good together on the same team. I'm going to miss watching you girls hold and hug each other while you practice, and the way you look out for each other. I love you my little mamas!

8/52

2011-02-21T14:19:00.000-08:00

Done with it! After many attempts to brush as careful as possible without hurting her little head and making her scream and cry tears, I gave up! I had Bella grab the scissors and comb, and it was off with her hair! She LOVED it as soon as I finished, and wouldn't mind one bit if even more was cut off.

Guess what? One less head of hair to brush, YAY! I don't have to argue about hairstyles anymore with her either. Now she can brush her hair all alone like a big girl, and that makes her a happy little one, er, I mean big girl! Isn't she so very cute with this new look?

7/52

2011-02-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

ah, Mammoth....it's been a tradition to spend some time in Mammoth each winter (a couple times Tahoe was substituted). It's a time we look forward to to enjoy the company of family and enjoy the beautiful scenery around.

The kids always enjoy their time in the snow. With the kidlets there's lots of creating snow angels, sledding, snowball fights, building snowmen/women, catching snowflakes on tongues, snowboarding, and then sipping hot chocolate after they're done with the cold.

It snowed like crazy while we were on vacation, leaving the guys A LOT of shoveling to get us out to drive when we left. Goodbye Mammoth...until we meet again!

6/52

2011-02-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Symphony has been wanting to make paper mache for quite some time now. For some odd reason I thought there was this crazy process to make it, so I kinda stayed back from pursuing this little dream with her. She brought it up again this week, so I turned to my handy google and pulled up the how to. Oh my goodness, so.very.simple.... why didn't I do this before? After checking out a really cool pinata that my friend Ruby made, we set out to make one of our own. After a couple of days of layering the ballon, we had a very round and lovely paper mache masterpiece!

It was later transformed into a fun Cat in the Hat pinata...maybe pictures will come later on that?

5/52

2011-01-31T13:51:00.000-08:00

I left my little guy out of the post last week, so he gets all the attention this week :)

I love this little guy so much more than I ever imagined I could. To be quite honest, I didn't want a boy. I didn't know how to deal with boys, it was a foreign thought to me. Oh, but how he has me wrapped around his little finger. He is the coolest little kid, and makes us laugh with his deep voice, and big brown expressive eyes. I adore him and I am so very happy that God blessed me with this little kid. I couldn't imagine my life without a little boy now.

4/52

2011-01-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

Just a couple pics I found from the week.

Symphony is doing so very well with math. I love to watch and hear her as she thinks about the problem she is about to solve. She's a mover and makes me wonder how in the world she retains what she's just been taught, but moving helps her learn. She can be sitting in her desk one minute and then hanging upside down off the seat the next minute, and she doesn't miss a word. I'm so very proud of her!

My little Bellie LOVES to put on her papa's hat and glasses, to be just like him. I just had to take this picture to remember this point in time when she loved us so much, because Lord knows she'll be a teenager one day and NEVER want to be like us! I now have proof! I'm only kidding...

3/52

2011-01-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

My baby is growing up! Look at that big girl haircut..it makes me sad to see her getting so big. She walked into the hair salon with long hair and walked out missing a good 15 inches. Instantly she went from looking like a little girl to a pre-teen. Her papa had to take a double look when he saw her picture. We had to text it to him since he wasn't patient enough to see his little girl's new "do".

All I can say is I absolutely love it! It's the perfect cut for her crazy curly hair, and guess what? I'm relieved from doing her hair! Yay! She can now style her hair all on her own, no more crying, and no more disagreements about how her hair is going to be done (pony tails, braids, princess hair, etc.). It's short, curly, and the perfect look for my girl.

2/52

2011-01-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

Basketball season is starting up, and this is what my little Mighty Might Nugget thinks of it :)

1/52

2011-01-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to be able to look back at our year and time together as a family, I am going to try my best to post a picture and a few thoughts of some memory of our week. Hopefully I will capture all 52 in some fashion or other!

This week we set out to our local nature center and the kids had an absolute blast. It was the perfect day, and we were blessed with fun things to do at the nature center. I thought we would go out and feed the ducks, and look around at the displays they had inside, and then call it a day. Much to my surprise, we ended up having a blast! The nature center loans out backpacks with either an insect theme, or a bird theme, fun, right? Inside the back packs were many cool things for the kids to do. We checked out one of each, and the kids had many activities to do. They had binoculars to bird watch, themed rubbing plates with crayons and paper, origami paper and instructions to make different types of birds and flowers, containers to hold bugs with magnifiers inside, sun photo paper to take a "picture" of an object, a leaf press, and so many other neat things that kept us occupied. Once we were finished with our nature walk and hanging out together, we fed the ducks and left with anticipation to return immediately (well my kids did..I was tired).

One of my new loves

2010-12-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

although I don't have much time for it, many nights you can find me up late at night trying to learn about photography and photoshop (I'm really bad with the latter!). Anyhow, workshops are expensive, as well as many other goodies that aid in learning this new love of mine, and I'd love to win some freebies! Here is a link of amazing giveaways all in one spot. They're giving away 30, that's right, 30 different goodies for this week alone, and I want to WIN! {Here is the link} and you can enter to win too, or enter to win for me if you'd like...wink, wink :)

A new contest...

2010-11-19T22:41:00.000-08:00

that I would be over the moon to win! Wish me luck, since the random generator will be randomly generating a winner, ha ha! :)

At Papa's Job

2010-10-09T17:05:00.001-07:00

Visiting papa on a weekend shift, where birds fly all around......and Bella speaks "bird spanish."

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Time for some change...

2010-10-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

So, since I've been on the subject of growing up, it's time for a little change. A few months ago, Symphony finally asked me when we were going to paint her room. It's a been a light green on the top half of the room and a pale yellow on the bottom (reverse that! I just looked in the room and it's the opposite way around). Anyhow, I have had this little debate going on in my head in allowing her to pick a theme for her room. Do I want to see Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers? Um, no, not at all. I've thought about a trendy little punk princess room and I'm not too sold on it. So, for the past few months I have been collecting some ideas of this room I want to make them.

My perfect idea of a room for them would be a little escape of a woodland forest. It seems perfect, a perfect little place to relax and read about adventures in exploring, and a nice soft place to lay their heads down at night and drift off to sleep with thoughts of fireflies, butterflies, and gnomes. I kid you not, I spent THREE hours last night trying to find this perfect set up of a "fort like" bed and draped lights that I knew I saved a while back...I searched, and searched, changed my wording, and searched, and finally found it!

Needless to say, this will call for a whole revamp of their room and the space we have to work with. I will need to call in the help of my super organized friend Jen to weed through all the stuff these kids have. More than likely there will be no more toys, perhaps only a very select few special ones that can fit in one particular area. I've always wanted to do the whole handmade toy thing, and I think it's perfect to start that now. My friend Ruby over at Cakies does this with her little ones, and I just LOVE the idea of this. Oh, I can't wait to at least be a little sane when it comes to their room.

Here are a few thoughts and ideas of what I have in mind...now I need to really sit down and figure out how to portray it in a small space (since the sisters share a room).

(this is THE "fort like" bed I LOVE!)

(a white duvet will do for now, but I'd really love to make them each their own quilt like this, or buy them a vintage quilt...kind of like a picnic in the forest)

(some cute little ideas-I've got so very many more in my mind, and saved on my computer)

(I love these, and the punch that the color scheme brings along with it)

(more splashes of color, but I LOVE the bunting... it will definitely be a piece in their room)

(these little crates are way too cute! I need to make my way to the Rose Bowl Flea Market again!)

(some owls to remind them of their Papa...he loves owls)

(hmmm...I originally was going to make a bird themed room, so I need to see how I want to tie these in, or if I still want to tie them in at all)

(some more ideas of color and this is the palette I want to work with)

(these lights are so perfect!)

(I thought this would be a great idea to hang pictures of loved ones without having to put up frames. They can always be updated quickly...nice!)

(oh my goodness...if we ever get wood floors in their room, this would be over the top!)

Growing Up...

2010-10-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Today was picture day for Symphony, my second grader...yes, SECOND grader. I can't believe how fast time has gone by, and I so badly just want to stop time to keep her at such a sweet age. She wanted to have straight hair for her school pictures...which are a rip off! I bought the smallest package just so that she would have a class picture for memories, and we'll swing our own school photo later. School pictures are always so boring, so we'll go do a little shoot of our own and show off some personality, in hopes of getting something more Symphonyish.

Here is a picture of my little baby dolls with straight hair...Bella wanted in on the action so that she could be "fashionable" with straight hair too. They are way too cute!

School, School, School...

2010-09-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

This year I am hoping for a much better year with homeschooling, as I've switched some things up, and have actually moved into a schoolroom of sorts. Ugh, being unorganized and having everything everywhere led to more and more chaos. There is much more organization put into this school year, and they each have a desk! Yay! And to make it a little more like school, we have a chalkboard, double yay (thanks to my handy husband!). I am grateful for the flexibility homeschooling offers, and that I can teach my kiddos any time of the day or week if necessary. Oh, and that we can take vacations and still count them as school days since lessons can take place at any time or place!

Symphony has a fun year planned out for her. She chose her enrichment classes, and is just loving them so much! Her selections include Theater, American Girl, Flat Stanley, and The Magic Treehouse. Her days in class are filled with reading, crafts, acting, singing, and making new friends! She is too cute when I ask her about all that she learned and did that day. Her little mind gets scrambled because she wants to name off everything at once, ha ha. Her sweet little voice can be heard throughout the house during the day as she practices her songs for theater, and I LOVE IT! She's suddenly acquired a little vibrato that I never knew she had! She is absolutely in love with American Girl (and the class), and can't wait to get one of her own (of course it will be one that looks just like her, she's made that clear). The girls are encouraged to bring their dolls to class each week, so she takes extra care of her "girl" before taking her to school. They have been reading about Felicity, and she's let us know about several crafts that she's in the process of making. Flat Stanley has been a fun class for her with lots of crafts. She's been reading the story of this character who has been able to travel due to being flattened out! She has sent out three Flat Stanley's to family and friends in the U.S. to see what it's like in that particular state. Her Flat Stanley's were sent to Hawaii, Colorado, and New Mexico, so lets hope she gets a good feel of each of those states. Once they return, she gets to share them with her class. The Magic Treehouse is taught by the same teacher as her Flat Stanley class, and she loves her teacher. They are working away on projects, and she is so relieved that she finally finished one of them. She couldn't wait to see what it would look like once it was completed. As for Theater, she is learning so much. She's learning about stage direction, acting, working as a team with everyone, and all that goes into makingand being in a production. During the month of December she will have many performances, and I can't wait to see my baby shine in "An Old Fashioned Christmas."

She is very involved with her studies the rest of the week. Seriously, I don't remember doing half of the requirements she has to master at this age. Needless to say, mama is brushing up on EVERYTHING! I wouldn't have it any other way, and I love being such a huge part of her education.

Here are the textbooks that we are currently using with her:

All About Spelling
A Reason for Handwriting
Language Fundamentals
Read and Understand
Draw...Then Write
Writing Poetry With Children (which we are doing as a family)
Writing With Ease
Arithmetic 2
Health, Safety, and Manners (along with lapbooks)
Our America (along with fun lapbooks)
Enjoying God's World (along with fun lapbooks!)
our trusty ol' Readers
a fun morning read during breakfast The Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Treasury

We also have experiments and crafts planned out, logic games, extra fun reading time on her own, hopefully some basketball again, and perhaps a few lessons in sewing! Sheesh! I didn't know it would be so demanding at this age. I was just informed by her Education Specialist, the best ever, that curriculum has all been pushed up a year now. So that means standards that were held for Kindergarten are now required in Pre-K, Kinder now works on First grade curriculum, First grade now works at a Second grade level, and so on! Poor kiddos, with such high expectations so soon. I'm so glad that I get to homeschool my babes, and slow down where needed, and fly by where they excel.

Just to think, next year I'll have a Third grader, Kinder, and a Pre-K. I'm hoping it will be a relief, and that my son will no longer be such a handful to the girls who are so eager to learn :)

With that said, I am going to try my hardest to post some of the work of my students, because they deserve to be shown off :)

(a few pictures of our huge chalkboard)

My Little Tiny Tot!

2010-09-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

My little sweet, fireball Bella started Tiny Tots today! Goodness, they grow up too fast :(

She loved it and had lots of fun! She totally made my day saying that I'm the best teacher ever, and that she likes homeschool better... ha, ha. I know she had a great time and enjoyed making all the new little friends she made today. I picked her up and we topped off the day letting her and brother play at the playground at the park. Oh, to be little! Eek! I can't get over her sweet little face :)

A Little Incentive and I Love It!

2010-09-24T23:57:00.000-07:00

The L.A. County Fair is here again, and the anticipation has been building with the girls. I've been telling them for the past few months "the fair is coming girls!" and sweet little Bella asked me when it would be at our house. I guess I should have been a bit more clear as to what I meant because she was bummed that it didn't make it's way to our house. I suppose the Catholic Church, across the street from us, with it's carnival didn't help either because to her that was the fair on it's way to our house :)

Well, we finally made our trip to the fair with a budget that wouldn't include rides, and how can you possibly take the kids to the fair without letting them go on rides? We all know that rides can be well over $50, and I wasn't about to splurge on rides. I quickly searched for deals online and ran across the promotions on the LA County Fair website, and I was so excited not only to find admission coupons for $5, but the Read to Ride program. The requirements are different for each grade level, and both Symphony and Bella's requirements were the same. They both had to read a book, draw a picture, and then write a caption (and the books could have been read throughout the Summer!). For every two books read and reports turned in, they were given 2 ride vouchers...RIDE vouchers, not just tickets four rides! Each ride takes at least four tickets which can quickly add up! There was a max of 6 books/9 ride vouchers, and they each maxed it out!

Friday was spent drawing, writing, and coloring so that the girls could have fun that night and enjoy the rides! I found it quite funny to watch Bella and her competitiveness overtake her as she tried to "one up" her sister in getting it done faster, ha ha!

They had a blast, and what was so cool to me was that they earned their rides ♥

Here's a picture of all their hard work (you can click on the pictures to see them a little closer) :)

Hungry

2010-06-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

my favorite worship song at the moment...

Oh to be alone...

2010-06-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

my goodness, I really haven't experienced this feeling in who knows how long. Our life is full and I have no complaints, with the exception that I wish there were another few more hours in each day. We have three little bambinos that easily can pack out our schedule. Shoot, with Symphony alone we had 4 out of 7 days a week packed with practices or games for a 4 month streak...I can't imagine how it will be when all three are signed up in their own activity that interests them. Needless to say, aside from practices, games, taking care of the house, occasional visits with family or friends, and just the everyday business of life, Dom and I have not spent alone time together for a VERY long time. We have a running joke that the only time we go on a date is when we (our hypochondriac selves) are sitting in Urgent Care (our home away from home) or the ER for a good long evening. It's always easier to get a sitter when you think there's a major medical problem at hand, I'm being sarcastic!

Our first little glimpse of this alone time was last Monday when my mother-in-law was here. We put the baby to sleep and Symphony and Bella stayed here with their grandmother while we quickly ran to the store just to pick up milk or something like that. Those few little minutes were refreshing to actually hold hands and walk together, without having little hands holding each others open hand, and a baby to push in a cart. We were able to look up and enjoy the stars for a few seconds, roam the grocery store isles, and just talk a bit. A few days later my mom took the kids, ALL THREE OF THEM, had a sleep over and a play day the following day with them. Dom and I grabbed a coffee and it was a date! Gosh, who knows the last time we had one of those :) We enjoyed a quiet house, although I missed my kids terribly, and just being able to be alone and hang out alone together. The next day was filled with some phone calls, picking up, and time out for me....aaahhh, I totally don't remember what that's like. I sat and watched a movie, kicked up my feet, and enjoyed a day of rest.

It's crazy how consumed we have become in having our little ones, and all the time we spend with them. Each one of them has there needs and desires to fulfill, but for far too long we haven't spent time with each other, alone...no kids. It would be lovely to have date night once a week, but with little ones, it really isn't going to happen, and I am totally content with spending little brief moments like this with my hubby. To be able to hold his hand and walk, and talk to him alone, and as my mom says "to see what color his eyes are" ;)

We are blessed beyond measure, and I am grateful for these moments we shared together!

p.s. Here I sit with my little babe asleep in his room, and the girls at their Nana's house since Sunday! I'm being reminded of how easy, yet how hard it was to have my first little one...oh time, where have you gone?

Hi Ho the Cheerio, a Picking We Will Go!

2010-06-12T23:46:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, I remember going several times to pick cherries with my family. We would take off to Cherry Valley, which seemed like FOREVER to get there, and be so excited to step out, get our canister, and start the picking. We had ladders to climb up into the trees, and enjoyed tasting as we picked from the trees.

It's been so very long since I've been cherry picking, and I've wanted to take my little ones for a couple of years, but the crops haven't been large enough, and cherry picking season awsn't really opened to the public because of the crops produced. This year was different, there's a larger crop of cherries, and so a picking we did go!

We all packed into my dad's SUV and we took off to the land of cherries. We walked in, the girls picked out their little canisters, and they were off picking out their favorites. Oh, to be little! They sat there and ate so many cherries as they chose which tree they actually wanted to pick from. Bella had a canister full of who knows what (soggy, spoiled, rotten, some with holes...you get my drift), that she would spill and then place back in her little canister. Symph enjoyed running through the trees, and yelling for her gandpo to "try these!". Baby Dom was chomping away at all the fresh cherries, and his little expressions were so cute,as he tried to figure out what in the world was going on. He's not used to trees with fruit coming off of every single one.

Our morning was lovely and filled with lots of fun and memories for my kidlets. I hope that the crops continue to fruitful and that the tradition I had as a child continues on with my family.

Symphony & Bella

2010-06-08T02:02:00.000-07:00

That's what a girl is: potential. She knows few limits. A girl is strong. She knows little of fatigue, only her own boundless energy. A girl is a comrade of other girls, all hard at the business of becoming.

BARBARA CAWTHORNE CRAFTON, THE SEWING ROOM

Testing

2010-06-01T01:58:00.001-07:00

1...2...3.... just checking in on some new things!

Good bye baby boy, hello tough guy!

2010-05-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

My little guy has had this "awesome" hairstyle for a bit now. Not quite the mullet, a bit of a comb over, and a good length of a ducktail going on in the back. His little ducktail would get all frizzed out and knotted, but I was ok with that. I had hopes of it all eventually growing out so that he'd have cool little curls...like his Nino did when he was a little guy. I did the wrong thing and encouraged my husband to buzz his head, with the idea of baby Dom just having an even cut.

Out came the cape and clippers, and us waiting to see the reaction. Dom took the first swipe and I was so sad! Instantly my baby boy's hair was buzzed short, and there was no turning back. Baby Dom sat there quietly, and a bit scared of the sound, but didn't cry. He had his first big boy haircut, er, buzz. Now he looks like a little man...{{{tear}}}...

Well, now it will all grow out evenly to give him his first mohawk! This is the exact face he made when he saw his buzzed head in the mirror. He was probably thinking "what the heck did they do to me?"

Oh the joys of little boys!

Happy Birthday My Bella Gracie!

2010-05-21T01:10:00.000-07:00

This precious little girl turned four years old today! Four, I can't believe how quickly time has gone by! She has a beautiful heart, and I am so sad to see her grow into more of a little girl each day. She has the sweetest little spirit, yet she's feisty and can pack a punch for sure. She is lovely and loves to give love. She's a cuddler and loves to give kisses so much that I think it overwhelms her to the point of kissing us so hard that she hurts us. Her hugs and caressing drive her brother and sister crazy because she's so touchy feely with them, but it's just a genuine love that she has and wants to give.

I could go on and on about what a blessing this little girl is to all of us, but I won't. I am so very beyond thankful that God has loaned such a beautiful soul to us to raise and guide her in the ways of her Saviour, and to see what beautiful grace God continues to pour on us.

My Bella

can write her name
give super hard bear hugs to the point of it causing pain (totally not intentional)
will still wipe the "biggy off" for me
is full of energy and life
has an imagination that is hilarious
talks out of control...a true chatterbox
loves, loves, loves being girly (dress up, nail polish, purses, lipgloss, makeup, high heels)
loves sweets (is definitely my daughter!)
makes up the cutest songs to worship God
is so into being "fashion"
loves to give leg massages with lotion and hot towels!
can jump rope all by herself, yippee :)
loves school and learning
puts up a good fight with her big sister
is such a beautiful reminder of her name, Bella Grace, Beautiful Grace.

I love you so much mama, and I am so very blessed in all the ways that you open my eyes to see God's love!

On a Mission

2010-05-17T23:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is me! If my house was kept the way I wanted it to be, mama would be much happier! My home is a trap of clutter, odds and ends, and junk. How it got this way is a question I ask myself. Could it be that I have three bambinos who have tons of stuff? Broken toys here and there, games with missing pieces because I will admit that I will quickly throw away stuff that they don't put away. Please don't tempt me with mess and a trash bag! Art supplies in nooks and crannies, dress up clothes and accessories lying around to be stepped on with bare feet, DVDs found here, covers to the DVDs found there! That's just one, er three, reasons, but what other reasons? Perhaps that I have a baby and he's a bit demanding being a baby and all (feedings, naps, diapers, etc), or the fact that his Papa is just a collector....a collector of MANY things. Could it be that I homeschool and most of my day is taken in teaching my kiddos, which leaves me tired and not wanting to do anything but dream of a bath and some quiet time? How about me? I get so overwhelmed with everyone's messes and their excuses to put it away when they're done that I buy into that same train of thought, which I know isn't going to happen! Maybe it's just the obvious...there's so much, and that so much is EVERYWHERE, leaving me no idea as to where I should begin.

I would love to have a house that is clutter free, keeping only the necessities and a few special things that we each love. There would be a place for everything and everything would be in it's place. Our home would be open and a relaxing place to live in. I think it's pretty relaxing for the rest of my little family, but I just can't seem to stop doing, cleaning, and picking up because it's so overwhelming to me. I just don't do well when I feel like everything is falling in on me. I feel under pressure and like I need to just leave and get some fresh air. Am I the only one who feels like this?

I LOVE my home and really want to try hard to take care of what God has given me, and to do so to the best of my ability. Yes, it's not our dream home to live in, but it's our home, and I don't see us leaving it until we can afford a "dream" home. Being that I'm a SAHMommy and papa is our bread winner, our current location will more than likely stay the same for many, many years to come. I am totally fine with that, so something needs to happen to take the chaos of clutter away.

All this to say, I am on a mission to get my house in order. I happened to run across this site that totally encouraged me to clean and clear out my house, through routines that are doable. These are easy habits to form, and I am looking forward to doing so. Flylady is an amazing site to go to if you are looking to declutter your house and life. It's exactly what I need. Right now I am a Flybaby, taking baby steps to get into the daily routine of getting rid of our clutter to keep our house nice and neat!

I LOVE that each day decluttering takes place. Oh, how I look forward to 27 Fling Boogies, Hot Spot Fire Drills", "5 Minute Room Rescues", "Kelly's Daily Missions", and time to "Work in Your Zones".

Now I totally get that my house won't be looking spectacular in a week or a month of doing this, but that it took time to get this way, and it will take time to eventually reach my goal. However long it takes, I can't wait for a nice, shiny, open, and clutter free house!

I do still need to "Shine my Sink" and start to FLY from the very beginning....Monday please come soon!

Let me confess that I would love to take before and after pics, but I am so very embarrassed to post pics of this long work in progress. I did happen to declutter quite a bit this week, to make my home a bit easier to maintain. Here's a list:

Cleared off many counter tops in my kitchen...there's actually tile under all that crap!
Cleared off the top of my fridge that used to hold whatever could fit up top (cereal, candy from all seasons, snacks, a vintage Jack in the Box....you name it, it was probably there!)
Sorted all the baby's toys and thinned them out, filling a large trash bag full of toys to be donated...woo hoo,! Almost all the toys are gone downstairs!
Reorganized the books and magazines downstairs, and put them in their correct places
Cleared out the junk drawer and made my husband take back his work pen collection (making him promise me that he would apologize to them for his pen fetish)
Rearranged my living room so that my sectional was no longer a trap, er, playpen to keep my toddler out of trouble. My sister helped with this feat! Oh, how lovely and open the space is now..

That's a lot of progress for one week, and had nothing to do with what I'm supposed to do over at Flylady, but everything to do with wanting to get some order back quickly, and before my daughter's 4th birthday party :)

So, if, you are like me, and feel as if you are drowning in clutter, junk, what ever you call it, please, please, please, go over to FlyLady.com.....YOU CAN DO IT!

Monday, I promise to Shine my Sink!

Hello Blog...

2010-05-15T00:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog...

I'm back!

It has been quite some time since I have visited or had the time to update. Life becomes crazy hectic, and in the midst of it, I neglect you and documenting our life as a family together...no bueno! I am going to try my hardest to update weekly, perhaps more than that once a blogging routine is established.

4 out of 5

2010-02-21T00:50:00.000-08:00

of the Aguiar faces...

Mine is missing as I have been busy learning and trying new things... one is my new camera....yippee!

Vintage...

2010-02-18T00:39:00.000-08:00

It's crazy that over 20 years is considered vintage.This is the coat that Tia Susie wore when she was around Symphony's age. Symphony definitely rocks the vintage look ♥

Symphony says she's she's "all about fashion and style". Aye ya yay, this sweet girl makes me laugh. I can't believe how quickly that tiny first baby of mine has grown. I was just hugging her today and asking where the time went. It seems as though just yesterday I held her little body up to mine with the palm of my hand, and now she's over half my height. She's getting older and wiser. She's constantly telling me "you should put that on your Etsy mom", meaning my blog, ha ha ha. She is full of questions and intrigue, loves to tell such silly little jokes and riddles, and is going into full bloom in front of my eyes. I love my little girl and all that she has grown to be thus far. Of course I want her to stay little forever, but I am just in love with what God has blessed me with and look forward to the rest of her life in being her mama.

Basketball Season Has Arrived!

2010-01-27T22:24:00.000-08:00

Introducing the newest Bruin...Miss Symphony Aguiar

and the newest Clipper...Bella Aguiar

We have thoroughly enjoyed their practices thus far. They have improved so much, and really are learning how to play basketball. We look forward to their games starting next week, but I just wanted to share the Bruin and Clipper that we are loudly cheering on!

Craft Hope for Haiti

2010-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

I happened to skim by this a few days ago and didn't spend much time reading it through, but then stumbled across it again on one of my favorite blogs today. Craft Hope has opened a shop to help out those in need in Haiti. All proceeds from sales go to Doctors Without Borders, and BellaSymphony has some items up in that shop. IF you are wanting to purchase anything from my shop, PLEASE go by Craft Hope first and see if it's listed there first, if it is, please purchase it there instead of purchasing it from my shop.

Since Friday, when the shop opened, Craft Hope for Haiti has raised over $10,000!

I can't imagine the devastation, the sadness and grief, or the fears the Haitian people are facing. Please help them if you can.

2010-01-18T22:43:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was one of lots of manual labor for Dom, my brother, and my dad (thank you guys so much!). Instead of taking our car in to have the clutch replaced, the guys worked it out (working all day and night Saturday and Sunday) and saved us a good $2000. Again...THANK YOU SO MUCH!

My mom happened to come over in hopes of attending a birthday party for my cousin's daughter, but obviously after two days of hard work, all the guys were beat and needed some rest. My mom and dad ended up hanging out at our house pretty late...my mom looked at family photos on the computer, and ,my dad took in several zzzzzs with Bella cuddled up to him on the couch (darn, I wish I had a picture of it!). My mom finished her picture viewing when Symph requested that Nana would go and sit with her and watch tv in her room, and Nana did. I knocked out on the recliner next to my dad and Bella, and next thing I knew, they were leaving and it was after 11:30! Symph asked if she could spend the night at Nana's and I said yes, while she quickly packed her backpack to go. Actually I think it was the other way around, she was ready to go!

I woke up this morning to a not so happy Bella because she was left behind. I had to explain that she was asleep and that we didn't want her to be scared waking up at Nana's house in the middle of the night and so on. I told her it would be a day for us to hang out, and we had a fun time! I sat and watched one of her favorite tv shows with her as she giggled and told me about each character. We had a perfect little bonding time today and I am thankful for it. We had little conversations while we colored, and lots of cuddling and giggling (brother decided to take an extra long nap today!).

In the middle of the day, I talked to Symph on the phone and told her I loved her and missed her, and when I got off the phone Bella asked about her sister. I told her she was fine and having a great time with Nana and Grampo, when she turned and said "I don't want Symph to come home, can it just be you and me and she can live with Nana"? Oh my goodness, this little girl is too much, but today was exactly what she needed. She needed to be loved on, cuddled with, and spoken to all alone with her mama. Oh, how I love my Bellie and times alone with her!

He's up and at it!

2010-01-14T23:01:00.000-08:00

He finally decided that his legs were made for walking! He paced back and forth over and over again, saying "yaay, yaaay, yaay". I didn't realize why he was saying yay until Symph told me to see what he was doing. At last, my son is walking and now trying to run! He is growing too quickly and it makes me sad!

Dear....

2010-01-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

Dom...I ♥ you and cheers to 10 years my love!

Symphony...please stop growing up so quickly

Bella...thank you for "wiping the biggies off", but it's not working

Papa Chulo...you melt my heart in ways I never knew could happen

Blog...I am SORRY that I have neglected you

Aguiar 5...I am so bummed that this past year passed away without much recorded here

Camera...I intend on using you to figure you out, finally

God...please help me to seek after you whole heartedly, to be passionate for You, and for it to overflow to my family and friends...

Cheers to 2010!

Home Alone, not so great for obvious reasons...

2009-12-28T20:59:00.000-08:00

with the exception of some great laughs!

So we were all hanging out in my bed when Bella (3) steps on Symphony (6) and the conversation goes like this:

Symphony: Ow, you're stepping on my ass! (Dom and I are shocked and laughing quietly and hysterically)

Dom: Symph, where did you get that from?

Symph: from Home Alone when the brother says "I wouldn't let you sleep by me if you were growing on my ass" (again we are laughing quietly and hysterically).

Me: Symph, you shouldn't use that word, because it means donkey, and that would mean that Bella is stepping on a donkey.

Bella: ya, you smell like a donkey.

The joys of little ones who pick everything and anything up, and know the appropriate context to use a one-liner! Ah, what a great laugh!

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth...

2009-12-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

Everybody Pauses and stares at me

These two teeth are gone as you can see
I don't know just who to blame for this catastrophe!
But my one wish on Christmas Eve is as plain as it can be!

All I want for Christmas
is my two front teeth,
my two front teeth,
see my two front teeth!

Gee, if I could only
have my two front teeth,
then I could wish you
"Merry Christmas."

It seems so long since I could say,
"Sister Susie sitting on a thistle!"
Gosh oh gee, how happy I'd be,
if I could only whistle (thhhh, thhhh)

All I want for Christmas
is my two front teeth,
my two front teeth,
see my two front teeth.

Gee, if I could only
have my two front teeth,
then I could wish you
"Merry Christmas!"

Already SIX!

2009-11-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

Before you were conceived I wanted you

Before you were born I loved you

Before you were here an hour I would die for you

This is the miracle of life.

-Maureen Hawkins

My baby girl turned 6 today, and I can't get over how quickly time flies by! She is beautiful and brilliant, has a heart of gold, is ready to help in an instant, and loves us bigger than the sky! She's our squeekers, chimpony cheese, shorty, cutie pa tootie, our little lovey, little mama, and the list goes on with all the endearing names she's grown to own over the years. Symphony is wildly creative... she loves to go through our reams of paper drawing each new masterpiece with each one being "the best" one she has drawn, ever! My baby girl loves to tell stories, to have stories read to her, and to let her imagination run wild as she tells us her own little stories and adventures. She is an amazing little girl and we have been so very blessed to have a gift as special as her.

Happy 6th Birthday my biggie girl! I love you so very, very, very much!

Compassion

2009-09-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Whenever I see a homeless person living on the street, my heart is just filled with compassion and sadness at the same time. I don't know the circumstances that led the individual to that place, but I can tell you that I would want someone to be compassionate to me if I were ever in that position.

Today, we were on our merry way to take our little Papa Chulo to his 9 month check-up (I can't believe he is 10 months already!), when I noticed the gas light on. I was already running late, and debating whether I should just chance it in hopes of making it without running out of gas, or stopping and wasting a few minutes of needed time. Of course, pulling over was the logical thing to do because I sure couldn't manage running out of gas on the freeway with three little ones (I am afraid of too much!). Off we went and I was pumping gas and trying to take care of some other things while the gas price was dwindling down my bank account.

I happened to look up and noticed a very dirty, thin, homeless man rummaging through the trash can. It wasn't the typical going through the trash can to recycle, no, he was looking for food. I watched him for a few seconds, as well as the people who were near him pumping gas. I wanted to see their reactions and to see if he was going to ask for money. This man just continued to eat the food he found in the trash, while others looked disgusted with him and drove off. As I finished pumping gas and sealed up my tank, I noticed he had come to the trash can near me and found some more food. He was in his own world, excited to have food for his hungry, shaking body. Not once did he bother a single person for a dime.

It's rare if I have money on me, as my ATM card is my "cash", so I scrounged around for some change finding a little over $2. I hate to give money to homeless people because I want them to use it for food, and would much rather ask them what I can buy them for a meal than hand over the money. Buying him food wasn't possible because of my time crunch, and I would have to unload 3 little ones at a gas station to get him something to eat. I got his attention and gave him the money, and his countenance and voice had so much delight in it. He was so very thankful, kind, and sweet. I told him he was welcome and then went on my way. As I rounded the station to get out, I noticed we had a protein granola bar in the car, and turned around and gave it to him. Again, sheer delight and a huge thank you.

As I drove off, Bella was intrigued by all that had gone on with this stranger. After explaining why I had given him money she was filled with overflowing compassion. Here was some of our dialog on the way to the doctors office.

Me: Bella, do you see how he's very skinny and dirty?

Bella: uh huh

Me: He doesn't have a home like we do with a shower, warm blankets, and food to fill his tummy

Bella: Why?

Me: Because he is homeless and lives on the streets. He goes through the trash cans and tries to find food for his tummy there.

Symphony: Well, he can get a bag and fill it with water, tie it in a knot, hang it from a tree, poke little holes in it, and he'll have a small shower (my little inventor)

Me: Great idea Symph!

Bella: Well, he can live at our house

Me: Bella, he's a stranger, we can't have strangers living at our house

Bella: Mom, if you go back and ask him his name, then he can live in our house

Me: Bella, just because we know his name, it doesn't mean he isn't a stranger.

Bella: Well, why can't he live in his car?

Me: He doesn't have a car babe

Bella: Well, I know, we can give him our car to sleep in

Me: Bell, we need our car

Bella: I know, we can give him a motorcycle from the motorcycle guys to sleep on (she's obsessed with motor-cross racing lately).

Me: Babe, he can't live on a motorcycle

This little dialog went on with her all night long as she thought of more ways to help this man. I was blown away to see how much compassion her little heart had for this one stranger that impacted her life in just a short few minutes.

The three of us talked all the way to the doctors office about making little care packages for homeless people, like our friend Kellee does. I need to make my way out and purchase a few things to put them together to have on hand when we are blessed to meet up with one again.

We were all shown how very thankful we should be for where we are and all that God has blessed us with. You never know where you can end up, but remember that they are people just like us, and had it all going for them at one time. Life is hard, be compassionate :)

Motorcross, Speedway... I Still Get Confused

2009-07-31T22:47:00.000-07:00

I guess I should learn what the difference is since the hubby wants to make it a monthly thing. We decided to go and watch some racing on Friday night and Grandpo went along with us. It was totally new to him, Symph had been there once as a little one, and well Bella and little Dom would have a new experience. We walked up, got our tickets, and walked through the gates, and it looked a bit different to me, but hey, it had been a while so it made no difference. Well, yes it did make a difference. The reason why it looked so different was because we were right up close to the track, and had mud spit up and flung at us whenever the racers kicked out their wheel and revved their engine to turn (which we happened to be sitting right at the turn). I told Dom we had to move because I couldn't possibly be guarding the baby all night and enjoy the races, so we got up to move to the opposite side. As we got up my dad asked what was going on with Bella, and when I turned to look at her, she was full of tears and totally upset. She had been crying and none of us even knew it because it was so super loud. Poor baby.

As we went to the other side, she continued to cry with her hands over her ears "I want to get out of here!" mind you, I totally forgot that she hates motorcycles not only because of their loud sound, but because her Tio Michael fell off of one, which really burned that motorcycles aren't good into her little memory. We sat down and, yep a little more dirt in the face, but I was totally thankful that there were some pretty hefty guys in front of us catching the majority of the dirt instead of us. One guy had a good portion in his beer cup. There were lots of crashes, one rider even had his chest ran over by another rider, and by the middle of the races Bella eased up. I encouraged her to pick her favorite, and then we would both cheer that racer on. By the end of the evening, she was loving it. I did fail to mention that there were tiny little racers out there too, one of them was 4 years old!

It's amazing how these guys and the one little girl race their bikes. They flip their back wheel forward to make the turn and throw their leg out to help them, all in hopes of not crashing or falling over or off their bike. Lots of adrenaline filled the crowd, and it was a fun time out on another balmy Friday summer night.

All in all we had a great time as a family, not to mention my dad winning the 50/50 (purchasing only 5 tickets!). From here on out, we will be bringing earplugs and sitting in the top rows! Who knows, little Dom may be riding one when he's 4... his papa is already scheming it in his head.

Zing Zang Zoom!

2009-07-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

That was the theme of the Circus that was in town, and the surprise that I was looking forward to my girls enjoying! I got a call on Wednesday from Tia Jessica asking me if her and my brother could take the girls to the circus the next day, and well, of course they could! I knew the girls would have a blast, and I was secretly hoping that Dom would take me on a date that night to see the circus, but no dice on the date!

Anyhow, the girls had a blast and of course were spoiled as always. They were taken to dinner, had their faces painted at the Circus, watched an amazing show, and had it topped off with a humongous lollipop! Whoever painted their faces did an amazing job! Bella had me laughing for a long while since I couldn't ell if she was really smiling or not, once she was at home.

Thank you Tia Jessica and Tio Michael for loving us so, oh, and for taking us out for a special date! We love you so much :)

An Unexpected, Lovely Evening

2009-07-29T00:58:00.000-07:00

It's summertime, and the heat is on, yet the evenings are nice and balmy. Totally not typical for us Californians! Today Tia Susie called and invited us to a concert in the park to enjoy a children's band (I forgot their name already!), and so we were going to surprise the girls with a little outing.

We stopped by the grocery store and picked up some little snacks, but Tia Susie and Uncle Dan brought little treats for the girls, so of course mine didn't stand a chance. Really, popcorn and ice cream vs. crackers and cheese, ya she wins.

We headed on over to the park and the girls were a bit confused because we really haven't done the concerts in the parks with them, and to them, a park is a place to play tag, ride bikes, and go down slides, all of which we weren't really there to do. We had a little time before the show began, so we walked about the little booths where Symph got to try out a Clarinet at Claremont's School of Music booth, and Bella got to strum a harp!

Tia Susie and Uncle Dan showed up, and we went to sit down and enjoy the evening. I don't think the girls were really too into the music, as much as they were into enjoying the company of their Tia Susie and Uncle Dan. They had a lovely night of running barefoot in the grass, eating ice cream, and just hanging out and being loved by their Tia and Uncle. It was a lovely unplanned night indeed, and yes, they did get to play at the park afterwards!

And so I giggle quietly to myself..

2009-07-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

It's really quite fun to listen in on the little bedtime stories that the girls are told by their papa. He asks them what they want a story about and allows them to give the characters names. Dom, mind you is extremely tired, keeps going on and on with his stories because the girls are so intrigued. He does great for about 10 minutes and then I constantly here "and what papa" which is when I know he's falling asleep and losing the whole bedtime story as he dozes in and out. Again, it's "then what, papa" and Dom is struggling to stay wake as the girls are questioning every little bit he comes up with. Poor guy, he's just trying to get them to sleep, but they are on the edge of the bed waiting for more, with no desire to fall asleep, but to hear so much more of their papa's great imagination.

Oh, how I love them at this age, and how I love Dom! He really is a cool papa, and makes me giggle!

Flower Girl

2009-06-30T00:06:00.001-07:00

Symphony so desires to be my flower girl. She doesn't quite understand why mama and papa can't get married again so that she can be our flower girl (hmmm, this makes me want to have a small vow renewal this coming anniversary, since it will be 10 years...). Today we laughed pretty good with the following dialog:

Symph: Papa can you marry mama again so that I can be your flower girl?

Papa: baby we're already married

Bella: Papa, I want to be your tree.

Too cute! I love my babies, they bring us such joy!

So not loving it...

2009-06-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

My girls had crazy little habits that soothed them to get to sleep. Although they were quite strange, they weren't nearly as bad as our papi chulos demands.

At this moment he is going through separation anxiety that is driving me nuts! I can't even leave the room without wailing and ear piercing screams. His latest thing to show me that although he's a baby, he is very smart, is not letting me go when he falls asleep. I slowly peel one arm away at a time and he immediately grabs onto my other hand or any part of my body that he happens to grasp onto.

So, as I laid him down to sleep last night, he decided that putting his fingers up my nose was his quirky thing to do. Disgusting, I know! Do I let him? NO, and he throws a fit because I don't allow it. I think he just wants to let me know that he's thinking far beyond what I am. He's making sure that not only am I right next to him, but I am breathing right next to him.

Oh Lord help me with this one!

Feisty

2009-05-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you, that may soon be Bella's new nickname, or perhaps something along those lines. The kid is too much and too funny ;)

Why?

2009-05-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

Please tell me why I have to wake up to explosive poop from baby Dominique every day? Doesn't he know I don't enjoy cleaning it off his back and clothes, not to mention the baths, and clean sheets... every day!

I guess his killer smile, sweet hugs, and baby kisses make up for it! Oh, how I love him!

I'm Slacking...

2009-05-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

I know!

Life with three little ones is hectic and very time consuming. I wouldn't have it any other way, except perhaps to have a few more hours in a day!

Sorry that I haven't updated you my sweet little blog, I will try and do better!

Up!

2009-05-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the end of Kindergarten with Symphony, and a much needed break from school, we went to see Up! Well, attempted to.

We arrived 5 minutes prior to the starting time and it was packed! I mean come on, what would you expect for a children's 3D movie on it's second day out, during a matinee time? We had tia Krysten grace us with her presence in hopes that she could see it with us, but to no avail.

We decided to get the next showing and arrive 30 minutes before, as the manager suggested. Off to pizza it was. We ate and hung out with tia, and said our goodbyes as she left to work. We walk into the theater and it was packed! It would have been nice of the manager to let us know that people line up where it is roped off to get into the theater 30 minutes early! grrr.....

Needless to say, we exchanged our tickets and waited for the next showing... third time's a charm right? After 2 1/2 hours of waiting we got in, yay!

Not so yay! My kiddies are super sick with colds, and did I mention we toted the baby along? We sat down in our perfect seats and it began (not the movie!):

got Bellie her little booster seat situated
I took the girls potty
I stopped off and bought some "corn" (this man kept calling popcorn "corn", driving me nuts!)
Bellie chose Red Vines (do not give these to congested kids!)
Symph wanted Junior Mints (great choice!)
back into the movie and it's starting

I hear Bella choking, and yep, she's got a Red Vine stuck in her airway. I couldn't rely on Dom's help since he had the baby, so I had to swoop it out of her throat with my finger... scary! Now how do I take her candy away that she's been talking about since we left the house? We let her have one more vine and that was it! Apparently phlegm and Red Vines don't work.

As the movie is playing my kids are coughing, the baby is fussing, and Bella is determined to leave. Not so fun! I get up and walk to the hall to comfort my baby and Bella runs over and hangs out stating that she wants to leave, over and over and over and over again! She tries her next ploy of having to go potty. I take the baby to Dom, take Bella to the potty, and not a single drop! Yes, I am more than mad at this point. We return to the theater, I switch off with Dom so that I can watch a part of the movie, and he can take care of the baby. About 10 minutes later Bella has to go potty again! I told her that if she didn't go this time she would be in lots of trouble, thank God she went ;) We returned, Dom got the baby to sleep, and we watched the last 15 minutes together as a family.

This is exactly why we don't do movies and wait for them to come out on DVD or pay per view! A great lesson learned for me... wait til the movie can be viewed in my own home!

I do have to say that I really did enjoy the movie, aside from all the distractions, and that Symphony had a blast and was oblivious to it all. As long as she enjoyed her celebration I am perfectly fine with all the chaos!

Another Milestone Down...

2009-05-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day we had a little last minute spaghetti dinner and hung out with my familia. Dom, tio Michael & tia Jessica, and grampo headed out with the girls, and they hung out flying kites and riding bikes.

Tia Jessica loves to bribe my girls, and bribed Symph over and over about riding her bike without training wheels. Dom took off the training wheels and ran after Symph as she rode her bike in a squiggly path up and down the street. She continued doing this for a while and then tia bribed her with money to ride alone. She did it! Symph rode that bike of hers all alone.

On Tuesday we took her to the park and she rode around the path with little "whhoooa, wwhhhooaa, wwhhhhooaaa" sounds coming out of her and the bike going in crazy directions, every way except straight. After her first time around she got it down and was riding around the path with no problem. I am so proud of you and your accomplishment my love!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Bella learned to ride her Big Wheel all the way around the park too! Great job baby girl!

It looks like we will be taking family bike rides together very soon. I can't wait!

Bella Grace Aguiar

2009-05-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

My baby is turning three today and I am ovewhelmed with the love I have for her. My parents pastor reminded us of how children were one of God's ways to show us innocence and goodness, and Bella is a sweet reminder of this to me.

Bella is one of the sweetest and kindhearted little kids I have ever come into contact with. She's willing to share the best of what she's got with others. She's the perfect little mama, and encourages those that are younger and even those that are older than her. She is full of sweet kisses and hugs to give, yet she is feisty and sassy and will stand her ground (even if it involves stories about snakes knocking on her door with shoes on!). Without fail, she falls asleep with a sweet smile on her face. Bella has a huge desire to learn, to be like her sister and be able to read. She cries if school is started without her and has a pen and her books ready to start school each morning. She is a total mommy to her brother, and is on top of his every need and then some. She is smart, a joker, reserved, friendly, helpful, loving, inquisitive, testy, and my baby girl.

My baby girl has a heart of gold and it is with her unconditional love that I am constantly reminded of innocence and goodness, and God's beautiful grace.

Happy Birthday Bella Grace! Thank you for the huge blessing you are to us, and the sunshine that you bring to our lives each day that we see your sweet smile!

Where Has Time Gone, Once Again...

2009-05-20T01:42:00.000-07:00

These past few months have gone by in what seems to be a wink of an eye.

I am so thankful to be clot free, off of the Coumadin, and no longer having 2-3 appointments to go to a week!

The girls are growing so quickly and are so sweet and loving to the baby. Symph is slowly becoming much more independent and breaking my heart as it happens! Why do they have to grow up so quickly? I still want to hold her and cuddle with her, but her long giraffe legs no longer allow her to be comfortable to be held in my lap (no fair!). She's going to first grade this year... again, where in the world does time go? My Bellie is going to be 3 years old tomorrow! She is so sweet and tenderhearted, a little mama and still able to cuddle! I think I need to freeze her or something so that she doesn't get "biggies" like her sister.

I am so grateful for all that I have been blessed with and that God's hand is so evident in our lives.

Ultra-Cute!

2009-05-20T01:38:00.000-07:00

My dear friend is super crafty with creativity that I wish I only had a small fraction of. I thought this was an ultra sweet gift that she got for Mother's Day from her ultra-appreciatives!

Enjoy!

Papi Chulo...5 Months

2009-04-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Where have they gone? I say with all our running around to get everyone well and checked up, these past 5 months have just crept on by too quickly.

Papi Chulo:

rolls over onto his tummy and back over onto his back

loves to play with his sisters

is too attached to me

lights up with a huge smile when I walk by him

smiles constantly

has a very contagious giggle

has discovered that he has a voice

possesses a temper and is very impatient (gotta break this)

loves to stare at our faces until we acknowledge him

LOVES RICE CEREAL! (today is his first try at it)

We love you so much Papi Chulo!

Believe Me, I Know

2009-04-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

This has been over a two year feat that has yet to be tackled until now. All my friends and family that know will be amazed to know that.....drumroll please......we have finally moved the girls to sleep in their room ALONE! Many times I feel like I'm heartless in a lot of my dealings with the girls, and that Dom is so tender and kindhearted. Needless to say, I deal with them almost 24/7, and he really doesn't have to do the disciplining like I do. He's mostly there for the "Papa I missed you" and "Papa can we cuddle when Saturday comes?". I'm the not so fun, and won't put up with nonsense mama. Why? Because if not my kids will rule me, and let me let you know, I will not have that.

So, off the side note... When we do get out and drive around, it always happens to be between 12 PM to 3PM, and my absolute favorite no nonsense person of all is blaring in my little Matrix filled with three little ones and myself. Symphony and Bella have come to recognize the voice of Dr. Laura, and how much mama loves to hear her talk to others. On one particular day, a mother called in to get advice as to how she could get her daughter to quit sleeping with her. Her daughter was 9 years old (4 years older than Symph), and my mind went spinning on how this was soon to be me. As Dr. Laura gave her caller advice, I made sure Symph was listening in. The caller was basically advised to have her daughter sleep in her own room starting that day, and if she wouldn't go along with her sleeping in her room, that the mother was to get a lock and lock the door at night. I immediately asked Symph if she was listening and she said she was. Dr. Laura was talking about how it wasn't a healthy habit that the mother had brought upon her daughter, and my mind started up again to pursue the tenderhearted Dom to get his little lovlies out of my room. It really didn't cause him to want to take any action, so se la vie.

Well, our sleeping conditions were as such, Symphony slept on the couch in our room, Bella slept in the middle of her mama and papa, and the baby...well, he slept in his bassinet on my side of the bed (this was good news, since I slept holding my two girls when they were newborns in fear of something happening to them while I slept). Bella had just become way too much of a fighter at night with her kicking, hitting, and screaming in the middle of the night. Dom and I were the recipients of lots of beatings, and it wasn't fun! I finally had it and told Dom that was it, and that the girls were to be out on Friday. I let the girls know and it was quite funny the response I got. Symphony told me she would cry, and I said that crying was fine and she would get over it. Here's my conversation with Bella:

B: I'm gonna cry

M: It's ok, I won't hear you

B: I'm gonna scream

M: I'll shut my door and turn the radio up loud

B: I'll hit the door

M: I'll spank you

B: Then I'll kick the door

I had to hold myself together and not laugh, and told her what I would do to her, which I won't post here :)

So guess what? We did it (a week after the Friday we said we would, because they needed a bed), and they have done awesome. The first night had a few tears, but they woke up so very happy with their accomplishment. We took them for ice cream to celebrate them sleeping like big girls in their own bedroom. The following day we went and purchased some soft sheets for Symph, and today Tia Jessica is taking them to get posters to hang in their room.

It's weird now, I feel like I actually have a bed to sleep in, without hanging off the edge! What a relief this is, I actually have a husband to sleep next to, and not little hands making their way over my eyes, nose, and lips!

My 4 Month Old

2009-03-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

sheesh, four months and the time has just flown by! My little guy isn't so little and is just the perfect addition to our family. He now has some little "rubberbands" on his arms and wrists, along with chunky cheeks and squishy little legs, not to mention the perfect little feet, all of which make me want to bite him (gently of course!) all the time.

At the young age of 4 months, our Papa Chulo:

lights up when he see's me (I think it's only becasue I have the "goods")
smiles all the time
has started to giggle
is ticklish and doesn't know what to do about it yet
holds his feet
grabs onto his toys
has learned to take his pacifier out and struggles, yet manages to get it back into his mouth
attacks his hand or my face to try and bite on it (he's teething)
loves to have his face completely covered to go to sleep (scares me to bits)
enjoys the smuthering and love given by his sisters, mostly Bella
plays with me or acts as if we're having a conversation while he's eating, a very distracted little boy!
coos up a storm
screams when he is overstimulated or wants something that he can't get

We love him so very, very much!

Taken Care of and So Very Loved

2009-02-28T01:24:00.000-08:00

I can't imagine being a parent and seeing your child struggle with an illness and then try to be too independent to accept help when trying to get back on their feet. I am a quiet person, I don't really let anyone help, and I still have this thought in my head that I can do it on my own. Why is it so hard for me to accept help? Is it pride, wanting to be independent, or simply not wanting others to have to go out of their way for me? I think it may be a bit of all three, but mostly the last.

Anyhow, my parents have just truly been a blessing to us. They stop by just to bring us dinner and give us some company. They spoil the girls rotten and make sure they have Cinnamon Toast Crunch, chocolate milk, a massive box of Fruit Roll Ups, Cheetos for Bella and Hot Cheetos for Symph. They don't really bother to ask what we need anymore, because my answer is always "we have all that we need", but come in with thoughtful little things to brighten a day and let us know that they love us.

I am so very grateful that God has blessed me with the parents that I have, and that they are not only my parents, but two of my most precious friends.

How Terrible Do I Feel?

2009-02-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

Each day as we sit down to read, Symph is instantly in a terrible mood. Why? Hmm...maybe because I'm impatient and too often forget that she is simply 5 years old and I have much higher expectations than I should, and did I mention impatient (oh, yes I did!).

So, we took her to the doctors around the end of January and she had her little 4 year exam, and her vision wasn't quite up to par on one of her little eyes. She was seeing 20/20 with one, and 20/40 with the other, so the doctor suggested we take her to a specialist, and so we did.

Her little eye sight isn't so great for reading...see why I feel terrible? Here I am being impatient and having high expectations. I'm irritated and telling her "no, that letter isn't an "f", it's a "t", come on Symph!" and again "an "I" has a dot and "L" is a straight line, why do I have to keep telling you this?" man, I feel bad just writing this and my poor little one was really struggling!

So, today was the day that her Papa surprised her with the new little glasses she picked out. I think she is absolutely adorable in them and she is just ecstatic about them. She didn't want to take them off for the longest time!

A little side note...I looked through the lenses and there is quite a difference for her vision with these on. What a bad mama! I'm glad they are so forgiving at this age. Please pray that God would give me so much more patience than I have, because it seems like I have so little.

Dom's little mini me!

5:15AM

2009-02-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

S: Mom, did Papa give you and sister kisses goodbye?

B: No, he's still getting ready

In comes Dom to say goodbye

D: Symph, I want you to be a good girl and help out your mama with brother and the house.

S: I can't help with brother. I can't hold him, I can't rock him, I can't give him chi-chi, she does all that.

D: No, I mean with the little things.

S: What I really want to do is sweep, mop, do the dishes...

I had to just giggle to myself at their little conversation, I'm sure Dom was doing the same.

Awesome News!

2009-02-19T23:07:00.000-08:00

I took a little stroll into the ER because I was having difficulty breathing. After 8 hrs, a couple different blood draws, a CT scan, and an x-ray, the doctor returned saying "all clear". I thought he meant to go home, but he meant my lungs are all clear, NO CLOTS! Praise God!

Thank you all for your prayers, support, concern, and love, not only for me but my family too!

SHOTS

2009-01-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today was the little babe's two month check-up, which meant a bunch of shots. I am not emotionally strong enough to hold my little ones down, for their first shots, knowing that they are going to experience a pain that they haven't experienced before. This is why my sweet hubby is so good at being at important appointments like these. Not only was it the little one's appointment, but Symph also had to have her big girl 5 year check up.

It was perfect timing when Bella quickly said she had to go potty and so we left together. When we returned, Symph was crying and starting to become a bit out of control, so I knew the news had to have been given about a vaccine. I asked her what was wrong and that was the end, she cried and cried, and cried and cried. Those few minutes of the routine check by their doctor were horrible because Symph just continued on. The baby did well with his shots, obviously he cried, but dear Lord.....Symphony showed us the power of her lungs and vocal chords. Her screm was piercing, and it was so much worse when Dom had to hold her down. She was injected with the shot and my oh my did the drama continue. I thought she was surely going to pass out from hyperventilating, or throw up. I had no more patience by this time, so Dom had to go through whole take a big, deep breath drill with her. I reminded Dom how important it was for him to be at these appointments :) I failed to mention that Symph's screaming freaked Bella out and started her little tears going, and made the baby cry before he was even given the shot....sheesh!

Symph was promised a toy (we've come to love the 99 Cent Store, Dollar Tree, and Viva Bargain!) and a dinner at an actual restaurant for her bravery (huh?). We ate at Poncho Villas (our first dining out experience as a family of 5), and then Dom took the girls for their dollar toy.

Two Months Have Come and Gone

2009-01-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

and we have enjoyed them so much! Our Papi Chulo is cooing up a storm, always smiling, and is very loved. He's always in our arms and cries as if he's been abandoned if no one is holding him. It may be tiresome, but I am enjoying every moment of it because I know it's only for a season and that it's the last "season" for us since we won't be having any more babies. I am loving having a boy, which seemed so strange to me while I was pregnant. It is true, he's stolen a big piece of my heart!

4 out of 10

2009-01-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

I am so very grateful that I was one of the 4 that made it to the hospital in time. My customer sent me this link that just made me cry as I imagined my hubby and babies without a mommy.

http://www.mattlogelin.com/if-you-havent-been-here-before/

Thank you all for your prayers, support, and love for myself and my familia!

Spoiled

2009-01-12T23:33:00.000-08:00

Although I am still trying to take it easy from my episode that landed me a nice 1 week stay in the hospital, I am still recovering from who knows what. Monday through Thursday I had doctors appointments scheduled each day, and my weekly blood draw on Saturday. Nice, 5 out of 7 days dealing with medical stuff! Anyways, I had an infection (which we recently spent 6 hours in the waiting room of ER to be seen one night) that led to another infection that just wiped me out. Two weeks of infections, and the antibiotics weren't doing their job. My latest infection had me out for the count, and walking around didn't seem very appealing. It was so terrible that I was given a jump start injection of an antibiotic prior to taking a new antibiotic...ya, strong stuff (the spot that I got the shot is still hurting).

My family came over and spoiled me, again, and made dinner and brought my favorite cake.My mom made sure I didn't get up once and served me all night long so that I could try and get the rest my body needed. The following day we had them for company again and were served up a quick, yet tasty dinner and I enjoyed their company :)

I am so thankful that we have family who cares so much about myself and my recovery and who have been so helpful and understanding. We've only left the house to visit three times since we've had the baby (twice to my in-laws and once to my parent's house), so please don't get offended and think we're avoiding you :) we're just trying to get me well and back to 100%.

Thank you guys for always coming out to me to help while I am trying to recover! You all mean the world to me...us!

One Month!

2009-01-12T09:45:00.000-08:00

I guess the background I have didn't show the link to baby Dom's first month, click on his name above to be directed to his pics!

Out with the old, in with the New...

2009-01-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

and I'm not talking about year! My girls have been overloaded with toys before they were even born. My house seemed to be a walking toy box, and it was definitely not fun during clean up. All I got was constant complaining and headaches over who took out what and who was playing with this or that.

My super organized, everything has a place and there's a place for everything friend Jen came over and did a bit of "housecleaning" for my girls...er, me. As we sat on the floor going though the toys I asked her what happened to the good ol' days where kids had a doll, a ball, a jump rope, and maybe a few other special toys. My girls had boxes of toys downstairs, 16 totes (yes, 16!) of toys up on top of their closet, and many toys laying around on the floor in their room, and probably every room in the house. Jen and I (mostly Jen) filled bags to donate and ended up with much less clutter, and even fewer toys! The girls have a little "clubhouse" (my downstairs closet) with a dress up box, parking for their indoor toddler bike and scooter, and a few other little things for them to play with. The boxes that had toys downstairs are now items for school time, and their totes upstairs have been reduced to six totes.

What a relief for me! I cannot handle keeping everything from who knows when because it might be used for something who knows when. Good thing Dom was watching movies with Jason and didn't see half of the things we got rid of. Sometimes it's just good to purge!

Jen and I will have many more of these organizing days because God knows how badly they're needed in my house. Not only do I benefit from this, but in some strange way Jen does too because it has some relaxing effect on her...huh? Not me!

Trying to catch up...

2009-01-05T00:33:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit behind here, trying to get back into the swing of things , but go see some pics of our Papa Chulo!

And That Makes 9, Baby!

2009-01-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

Not only is it the start of a New Year, but it's also our 9th Anniversary! We have been smooth sailing and blessed abundantly! I adore this man that God chose for me more and more each day, and look forward to growing old with him, and being his girl.

May you all have a blessed New Year and not only see all that you have been blessed with, but be grateful of it all.