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 !