Missing Larissa :o(

I am really missing my baby girl right now. She has been calling me more and more frequently, which means she misses me too. :o)
In two more weeks I will get to see her again. It has been a really long summer of her being away. I know that she is a teenager and that soon she will be able to make her own decisions about things, even maybe go away to college if that is what she chooses but I miss her. She will always be my baby and as much as her teen attitude drives me crazy, I love to have her with me. So the countdown begins until I can have her back with me where she belongs.

CJ's cakes

Since some of you have not known me very long, I wanted to share some past cakes that I have made for CJ. I am as far from Martha Stewart as they get. I am totally DIY though. My theory is that as long as the cake is good and the person who is receiving it likes it, then it's all good. Maybe one day I will actually take a class somewhere and actually learn how to decorate cakes the proper way...lol !
I have to share the cake that we did for CJ's 1st Birthday party and the story that goes with it. I know that CJ is now 4 but I was thinking back to his previous birthdays. I am proud to have made 3 of his 4 cakes so far. However, the first one started as a disaster and thankfully ended up pretty darn good, if I can say so myself.
For those of you who don't know, CJ's first birthday was on the beach and the theme was Carolina Panthers. Yes we were still in RI...Jose has always been a huge fan ! Being in RI though, they had football cakes but the Panthers was not one of the choices they offered so we knew we would have to do some of it ourselves. I had decided that I didn't have the time nor the energy to do the whole thing so we went to BJ's to order the cake already made and then we would add the Panthers things. Since they do other teams, I told the lady at the bakery that I just wanted the football field with no defining teams or colors, just the yard lines and end zones and grass. Just the field as it is. Apparently I didn't make myself clear. This is what we picked up from the bakery the morning of the birthday party.

Yes ! I did cry and then resorted to laughter at how anyone in their right mind could ever justify this a "football field", nevermind charging me for it ! So we got to work on it...Jose & I to turning this horrible excuse for a cake into a nice cake for CJ's party. After a couple of hours, this is what we had. Not bad for two people who had no idea what they were doing.

This was CJ's 2nd birthday cake. We had only been in NC for a couple of months. Neither Jose nor I were working. We were really strapped for cash so this was total improv. I made cake out of box mix and use regular frosting. I used his toys and cut outs from a coloring book to decorate the cake and extra candy we had to make a border. The road was actually made out of frosting mixed with hot chocolate mix...now that I think about it, that was darn creative! I really like the way that it came out and the best thing was that CJ did too.

I didn't make CJ's 3rd birthday cake. We celebrated it in RI and just bought one instead since it was easier.
And last but not least...here is his 4th birthday cake. Construction themed of course and CJ couldn't have been happier with it. And that is all that matters to me.

Thank You !

As I was reading through some of my older posts, I realized that there was someone in my life that I had not talked about (much anyways). You have heard about Dalissa, my very best friend of over 20 years and godmother to my daughter, Larissa. You have heard about Bianca, my best friend's sister and little sister to me as well, and godmother to my youngest son, CJ. Then there is Marjorie, Mayi for short and godmother to my oldest son, Nathan.
I have known Mayi as long as I have known Dalissa for the most part. At the time that I met her, she was the older role model. It's funny how throughout the years, the difference in age has seemed to get smaller and smaller until I don't even see it anymore. I am not quite sure when Mayi changed from being Dalissa's family to being my family but I do remember the day I asked her to be Nathan's godmother...making us officially family in the eyes of God.
For those of you reading this thinking that this is not a big deal, you can go back and read how serious of a choice godparents are to me, how much they truly mean to me and how much I expect from them. Having had the epidomy of godparents myself, I want nothing less for my children and I give nothing less to my godchildren as well. Mayi, I can't thank you enough for saying yes and being Nathan's godmother. More importantly, I can't thank you enough for being an amazing godmother. You continue to fill the role, heart and soul, year after year. I feel as though too much time goes by and I don't tell you how much you really mean to me and most importantly, to Nathan. From the wanted advice to the unwanted advice (lol), you are always there remembering the true meaning of a godmother. Your love for him makes me so proud of the decision that I made in asking you.
But, you are so much more to me than just Nathan's godmother and my comadre. You are someone that I confide in, I trust in and I look up to. Each year that passes, you become more beautiful and more confident...what I strive to be like. You have tought me that keeping up with your outward appearance makes you more beautiful not only outside but inside as well. That taking care of youself should never be sacrificed. You have taught me that a relationship needs to be a partnership not a life sentence..lol. Making time for your relationship and keeping things new, also keeps your relationship fresh and young. And making time for family and friends should never be forgotten. It is amazing what a glass of Sangria can fix...lmao !
All joking aside though, I just wanted to take a moment and tell you how much you mean to me. Although you may be 900 miles away, you are never far from my thoughts or my heart. Can't wait to see you in August.

SUCCESS

A very dear friend, Paula, sent this to me today and I just had to share it with everyone because I find it to be so very true.


Success

Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.

- Mark Victor Hansen

To Sew or Not to Sew?

If you know me then you know that I can pretty much do anything that I put my mind to it. Not all things turn out the way they are intended but they get done...my way. I don't like to bake but I can bake. I can bake cakes, cupcakes, cookies and bread. I don't enjoy it but I can do it. I would much rather buy some cookies and spend time in the kitchen decorating them with the kids. Decorating has always been my thing. From rooms to cookies and from pictures to clothes, I enjoy the crafty side of it all. Although I don't consider myself to be Superwoman, I often feel as though I am or need to be. I am sure that I am not alone on this. From working mothers to stay at home mothers, we all feel like we have to wear MANY hats in juggling our family. Like most people though, I have my exception too. My exception is sewing.
I should start by telling you that my mother can sew. Wait, I didn't make that clear enough. My mother can't just sew, my mother can SEW ! She made much of my clothes growing up. She made some clothes for Larissa when she was born, she even made Larissa's Quince gown. I mean she can SEW. So I am not quite sure why I seem to be cursed with a needle and thread. Don't get me wrong, I can manage to get things done my way. I make pillows using hem tape. I can manage to sew on a button but that is really the extent of my use with a needle and a thread. Last night I had to sew on some of Nathan's badges for boyscouts and what a disaster. Originally I hot glued them on. I know what you are probably thinking but they had to be done and that was the only way at the time that I thought of doing it. It was dumb and I can admit it. So many washes later and all the patches and badges are falling off...lol ! So I came to realization that I needed to sew them on. I sat last night sewing them on...very badly. So badly in fact that I am going to have to remove them this weekend and start over. At least they aren't falling off but goodness, it honestly looks like a child did it. I am quite sure that Nathan might have been able to do a better job himself. In my defense, I was in a hurry and I am hoping that is the reason I can not sew a simple patch on son's shirt. If all else fails though, I will use hem tape for them this weekend.
This sewing situation is not new to me either. I have always been cursed. When I was six, my mother was trying to show me how to sew a straight line with her sewing machine and somehow (God only knows how) I managed to get my thumb under the needle and it broke into five different peices and I had to be rushed to the ER to have the peices removed from my thumb and to have stitches. I would say that situation traumatized me but it really didn't. I have attempted my hand at a sewing machine many many many times after that and each and every time I tried, the machine ate my fabric. I know that sounds silly but it really did. You know that peice in the machine that allows the needle to go into the machine and then back up. Well somehow my material ends up in there....jammed ! I know, it looks like there isn't even room for the material to get stuck in there but leave it to me. It really frustrates me too because I really do want to be able to sew. I have all the common sense to do it. I can cut a pattern and I can put it together....just not using a needle and a thread. Seriously, what is my problem?!

CJ's 4th Birthday Party

I just wanted to stop in for a moment to let you all know that CJ's birthday party was GREAT. Mother Nature was not well behaved at all but the kids didn't seem to mind at all. I guess the construction theme went well with the muddy background...lol. I was very pleased at how everything came together so I just wanted to share a few photos with you all.
This was the table ready for the little ones...I was really impressed at how it came out.

This was the cake that could have come out better but CJ just loved it and that is all that really matters.

Look at all the chocolate covered goodies on that table.

CJ enjoying his cone with cheese flavored popcorn..staying with the color scheme.

And of course, CJ blowing out his candle. That candle has many miles...we used it in Florida and then again on his actual birthday and then at his party. He asked if Eva could help blow his candles because there were too many...he is so cute.


I hope that you enjoy looking at the pics as much as I enjoyed putting the party together. :o)

Progress On CJ's Birthday Party

As tempting as it is, I really need to stop hanging out on the couch with Jose just cuddling and watching movies and some of our favorite series. It has actually put me farther behind this week than I wanted to be but I am still ahead of where I normally am, so I guess I am still in good shape.
So yesterday I did it! I finally baked the cake that I had planned on having done on Wednesday. Not bad, just one day off schedule. Tonight I will decorate it so that it is all ready for tomorrow's party. I can't wait to see CJ's face when he sees everything pulled together into one nice package at his party.
Of course, I didn't stop at the cake though. In doing more research, I found some great ideas on various blogs using colored chocolate and marshmallows and rice cereal treats. I have to admit that I wasn't sure how this would all turn out but CJ LOVES both marshmallows and rice cereal treats so I had to at least give them a try. Having worked with chocolate a lot, I was still well within my comfort zone. I bought both orange and yellow chocolate to stay with the color scheme that I am doing for the construction party. I only worked with the orange chocolate last night because it got late. I will work with the yellow chocolate tonight. Here is what I did...

These are the chocolate dipped marshmallows. The idea is to thread two or three marshmallows on a skewer for snacking. The skewers will be put, marshmallow side up, in a cup holding about 1/2 dozen or so skewers for easy picking. These were easier to make than I had imagined but my creative juices must have been tired because I find them boring. Of course, they are not done yet so I guess I shouldn't complain. I think that I am going to use to marshmallows per skewer. I am thinking using the ones already done as the top one and then using one below it rolled in the colored sugar instead of the chocolate for a different look. I will have to see if I can make it work. I am not sure how I will get the sugar to stick yet so I might be biting off more than I can chew.


These are the chocolate covered rice cereal treats. They are rice cereal treats with a popsicle stick to make for easy grabbing and then dipped into chocolate. I added yellow sugar to them but the colors are so close that you can't see the sugar at all. I had hoped that it would show up and give a contrasting color. Oh well ! I will wrap them in clear wrap tonight and add a mis-match bow to finish them off. I can't wait to see these completely done and plated because I think these are going to be my favorite. I like them better than the chocolate covered pretzel rods that I make...can you imagine?!


Here is a closer shot and if you look really close, you can actually see the yellow sugar on the orange chocolate but it is really hard to see. Next time I will use sprinkles instead of sugar. I didn't really think it through all the way with this.

I had a lot of fun making these and although they are coming out great, I can't wait to change them up and try new and different things with them too. Now that I have the concept, I can allow my creative juices flow and have so much fun with these ideas for all my parties. And for those of you wondering...NO ! I did not make the rice cereal treats. I like to take the semi-homemade way to save time and these treats are really cheap at Aldi's anyways so it worked for me. Maybe one day I will venture off and see if I can make the rice cereal treats from scratch too. I am sure that it would be cheaper that way but not sure that I want the added work. My creativity is in the decorating, that is where I have my fun.
My boss, the biggest sweet tooth that I know, actually gave me a great idea. She claims to not have a creative bone in her body but sometimes she gives me ideas that I can really run with. I was telling her about the chocolate covered marshmallows and she told me that if I added a graham cracker to it, it would be a smore all wrapped into a bite. So I got to thinking for the future...I am going to try doing the marshmallows dipped in brown milk chocolate and then dipped in graham cracker crumbs. I think that they would be a great addition to a "milk and cookies party" or a "hot chocolate bar" or even just a nice winter treat. Can't wait to try them out! Thanks for the great idea Janet, you can be my tester for this when I make it...lol !

Placemats for CJ's Party

I thought I would give you guys a sneak peak at the placemats that I mentioned in the previous blog. Please excuse the quality of the pic since it was from my phone. The glare isn't doing it justice either. The yellow does not even show how bright it really is. But it's just a peak and like I said...I feel as though it is still missing something.

Let's get The PARTIES started !t

Those of you that know me, know that I LOVE to entertain and I LOVE to plan parties. I have always enjoyed bringing my crafty touches to it all. So many ideas cloud up my head, especially when the kids birthday's roll around but since they usually have their own ideas of what they want to do, the ideas stay locked up in the cobwebbed attic of my mind hoping to be unleashed at some point. I have even played with the idea (with some encouragement from family and friends) to turn it into a business but never acted on it. Maybe someday.

Well recently, I stumbled on a blog of a mother of three (like me) who shares my love in decorating and parties. What really grabbed my attention about her was that she did it for her family on a regular basis while I just sat around waiting for an event. Why?! Why do I wait for an event of some kind to put together the millions of creative ideas stored in my head? The answer to that question is...I don't know. I guess it is very silly of me to never have thought of doing such parties just for my family. Doing a party for a family of 5 gives me much more creative reign than a party of 20 or more since budget wise, I would only need enough stuff for five people. So there it is ! I have decided to start implementing my corky crazy ideas that I have pulled together through out the years on my very loving and deserving family.

This week I continue to be busy with the plans for CJ's 4th birthday party scheduled to be on Saturday. I am actually having a ton of fun coming up with ideas for this party. I can't wait to see it all come together. Last night I worked on construction placemats for each of the kids. They are yellow and black adorned with a construction truck, some lettering and of course, their names. I am not done with them yet. They feel like they are still missing something so I will continue to brainstorm with the few days that I still have left.

So I guess my plan will be to try to sneak in one little family party (for lack of a better word) a week or something like that. Not necessarily a party but being able to allow my creative juices to flow onto our dinner table. I guess that was a better way of saying it. I am thinking that the first one will be a sundae bar since I have these really cute sundae dishes I bought at the dollar store years ago and have used them only a limited amt of time. The fact that my family simply loves ice-cream is another great reason to start here. I have a great idea for a tablescape using the toppings so I hope that I can pull it together but you know what? It's only for my family so what better way to practice until I can get it perfect. I will try my best to include pics with all of them of course.

A Pic to Share

I just wanted to share this picture that I really like of the boys in the car on the way back from Florida. They fell asleep holding hands. They truly are angels when they are sleeping...lmao...it is the only time they seem to not be fighting !

Some Florida Pics

Ilga's oldest refused to take a pic with the kids so I had to sneak a pic while he was drinking. Slick, huh?!

We had the pleasure of having breakfast at Ilga's house and seeing her boys ! Only one would sit for the pic though...lol.

CJ enjoying his time at the beach. He said that there is TOO much water...lol.

CJ loves playing in the sand and Auntie Nessa bought him this cook set too.

This was leaving Vanessa's house to go to the beach. CJ loved the stepping stones.

Group pic @ Boomers (Like Dave & Busters)

Jose and Vanessa with the boys.

CJ trying out Jetskiing

Nathan chillin' in the racecar

I love this pic. It is CJ helping Auntie Nessa put syrup on her pancakes.

CJ's 4th Birthday

Yesterday was CJ's 4th Birthday. I came home with a birthday balloon and he was so excited. I love that he is still at the age where every little thing is a big deal to him. We decided to allow him to pick where he wanted to go eat. The question was put simply..."what do you want to eat?" He answered, "macaroni & cheese and corn on the cob" so we went to KFC. He got what he wanted, even though he didn't eat it. Then we went to Walmart to allow him to pick out a small cake. That was the worst decision we made. He wanted the largest cakes and he wanted them all. We finally compromised for Spongebob cupcakes with the understanding that we would get one of the bigger ones for his party.

We finally decided on his birthday party. We are going to have it at the same park that we had both Larissa's and Nathan's last birthdays. The playground is the ideal place for the kids to run around.

Happy 4th Birthday CJ !

My baby, CJ, is 4 today. Where does the time go? I know, I know that I say this for all my kids' birthdays but it's the truth. So we had a cake for him in Florida to celebrate with "Auntie Nessa" and tonight we will have another cake for him. We will take him to pick out a cake and then we will open presents and of course, I will take lots of pics ! I have pics of Florida too but I still have to upload them. CJ had an amazing time at the beach and I can't wait to take him again.

Happy 4th Birthday CJ ! We love you so much !

Happy (early) 4th of July !

I have not written in a while but I have been busy. We are heading down to Florida tonight for the long weekend and I have been packing and getting things set. I swear that a mother's job is never done. I guess I can't complain too much because Jose pretty much helps me with whatever I need. I am pretty lucky.

So our plan is to drive straight down to West Palm Beach and spend the day the beach with Vanessa. Then Sunday will be breakfast and not sure what else. Sometime Sunday late afternoon or evening, we are heading up to Orlando to see Kevin and where we will stay until we leave to go back up. Not sure yet if that will be Sunday night or Monday morning. We hate to head back so early but we don't want to get stuck in all the traffic either. We will have to play it by ear.

CJ is so excited to see "Auntie Nessa" and to go to the beach. That child has been obsessed with the beach since he was looking at the pics from his 1st birthday. He was very curious about such a place that has SO much sand and SO much water. He just can't wait. His daycare provider is also on vacation at Myrtle Beach so heard more about it before they left and that only got him more excited. I had told him that we would take him to the beach in August when we are in RI but then this opportunity came up to go in Florida too and I had to jump on the chance. As soon as I told him, his little face lit right up. I hope he has a great time and you know that I will take pics and share them with you. In the mean time, here is a pic from his 1st birthday that started this whole thing.



So in preparation for this trip to Florida, I went shopping for a bathing suit. What a BIG mistake that was ! I have been watching what I eat, a little bit anyways but I have been failing at any type of exercise at all. So I am trying on bathing suits and I look in the mirror and what do I see? I see my MOTHER ! OMG ! Hello ! When did I turn into my mother. I feel old and fat and well there are no words to express how I am feeling. So I am determined to do something to change this part of my life and since lyposuction is not an option, I will have to scrounge up some determination somewhere. I need to do this for me ! So I didn't end up getting a bathing suit. I figured that if I am going to hide under a big t-shirt at the beach, I might as well wear my old bathing suit. I will buy a new one when I feel good enough to wear it out in public.

That is what has been going on with me. Nothing else really to report. I will tell you all about my trip when I return. I hope that everyone has a great 4th of July weekend or Independence Day weekend as Jose likes to call it. I hope that you all share the day in the company of loved ones. Have a great weekend everyone !