Thanksgiving 2010

We had Thanksgiving with family.

My aunt and uncles home.  A small place, no fancy dining room to hold all of us inside, but perfect patio for laughing, eating and acting silly with loved ones.  Lights, candles and silverware, and lawn chairs. ( :
It was perfect.
I'm thinking... Chocolat ?

I am so thankful. 

I had dinner with scrubs on... ready to leave to work from the party. 

I hope you had a lovely and family and thankful filled day too. 

Doy Gracias por...

I woke up this morning and I thanked God I was alive and able to get out of bed and see and hear my kids play.

It's a beautiful day.  The sun is beaming.

We walked to the park today.  And met some friends there for play.

We will have our Thanksgiving meal with family.  Thankful for every bite.

There are mothers in this world who won't be able to feed their children today.  Some aren't able to hold their children in their arms.

Let's hug our families today and tomorrow.  Let's stay home tomorrow.  Stay in pj's.  Drink warm tea.  And forget all the shopping.  There is no need to be at the store at 4am, the best specials are in our home.


Happy Thanksgiving friends!  I am thankful for you!

Christmas is near...

I can feel it.

Our breakfast nook is filled with little trinkets.  Finds that Audrey and I have discovered at local vintage/thrift shops.  Christmas gifts.   I have found some beautiful plates and platters (perfect for treats), treasures actually.

Iv'e been collecting recipes.
And thinking of doing much more baking this year.  

Forget the big gifts!.....we are coming over, kids too, and cookies and cupcakes and bread in hand.

I'm changing my gift giving/recieving focus this year.

I have two little hearts at home.... and a big manly one too ( :  Whom I love.  And love me much in return.

I have friends and loved ones.

I don't need much more.


Christmas is near!

driving with an expired license

I was driving with an expired drivers license for the last 4 months.   Somehow I forgot to renew, and the I need to get it done got pushed behind everything else that needed to get done. So lucky I never got stopped.

I finally told myself it was time.  Audrey went to her sitter and I stopped at my favorite coffee shop and complained about how much of a bad morning I would have at the DMV.

I imagined these horrible lines, horrible workers and service and everything going wrong.
Nice attitude to have, right?

That was all my imagination.  The service was amazing.  Everyone was friendly, the lines went by fast, and I was out of there with a temporary license in exactly one hour.

I needed that.  A reality check.  Specially during the Holidays.  To appreciate others.  And be thankful.

I was such a grouch that morning ... only to be treated with such kindness.

I need to take more time out of my day to call friends.  Smile.  Send a nice email.  Laugh.  Forgive. Love.


Be more understanding (at work) of patients and their families.  And do little extra things for them.

Friendship Tea has been in my cup lately.  It's yummy.  Here is a friendly recipe.  Perfect gift for the Holidays.  Not expensive, but with so much to say. 

I sent Kip a text yesterday afternoon....Play hookie from work, I'll pick Jeremiah up early from school and we'll go see Harry Potter.

....and we did. 

loosing it as a parent

We drove home from grandmas house this weekend, Audrey in full tantrum.   Jeremiah, Audrey and I in the car.  She wouldn't stop screaming, for what seemed like an eternity of miles.

I tried singing songs, and assuring her and bribing her.  Everything.  Really.

She cried, and screamed.  I was so tired.

And then Jeremiah starts to cry, he never does.

He said he was tired of her, and he had the worst headache ever because of her.

So there I go, working every trick in the moms book, with no luck.  Two kids crying in the back of my car.

I lost it.  And yelled that is enough! (i've had enough)


And put the music really really loud.  It was a good song too.

They kind of got it.  I think.

We somehow made it home.  And I almost cried.

Why is it so easy to have faith in yourself as a parent when everything is good?  Why is it so hard when we need it most?



We started talking to Jeremiah about sex and drugs (so not related, but on my mind). 

I hope he has faith in God, faith in himself, and faith in us.  When the time comes I hope he makes the right choices.

Sesame Street Video Games: Audrey approved (Giveaway)

As a child, Sesame Street was one of my favorite television shows.  

I think a lot of us can say this.  

Sesame Street has always been great at incorporating different cultures in their shows, and I think this is what attracted me the most. 

I got to see kids that looked very similar to my family and spoke spanish like I did.  

Now, when Audrey watches, I have no regrets.  I love having that little extra time for me and at the same time know she is benefiting from what Sesame Street has to offer. 

Recently, Audrey and I visited the Warner Brothers Studio here in LA for a blogger event.  I got to see a hang out with local friends and meet new ones and there was free babysitting... a room full of Sesame Street, kids, and goodies to eat = Audrey's in heaven.

While the kids ate... we mom's ate too ( :

And heard all about their new educational video game.  Educational?  Sound too good to be true?

I know.  I always have those same feelings when it comes to tv/video games.  Yet, I trust Sesame Street and got to experience and hear all the education aspect from their Vice President of Education and Research Dr. Rosemarie Truglio.  A Ph.D. in Developmental and Child Psychology, and a mom, like me.

Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure and Cookie's Counting Carnival are available for the Wii ,Nintendo DS and PC.  They are easy to play, yet adapt in difficulty to your child's level.  The games also include gameplay helpers for smaller hands which help minimize unnecessary buttons and make it easier to hold.

I love that Sesame Street has really taken the time to develop these great games for preschoolers.  As much as I encourage our kids to do something else other than media...we have evolved so much with technology.  Audrey witnesses her family online, watching tv and on our cellphones and we have found it best in our home to set limits rather than exclude them from technology completely.

Games like these are perfect for our family.  And appreciated.

Audrey has the A-to-Zoo Adventure....she wants two of you to get a copy of your choice also, either Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure or Cookie's Counting Carnival .

Leave any topic related comment  or tell us which game you would choose or who is your favorite character on Sesame Street. That's all you have to do to enter. Make sure to leave an email address to contact you if you win.  US only. I will pick the winners on Thanksgiving day at 12pm. 

This makes a great Holiday gift, if you would like to purchase for one of your littles you can purchase here with a special 10% discount with promo code: MOMMY

 *No monetary compensation was given for this post.  An invite to a blogger event, a sample of the product and two extras to giveaway to you were given.  I was not required to post anything.  All thoughts are my own. 

Nurse City Island and wine

Kip and I watched this some time ago...
somehow I came upon it again doing nurse searches...  remember nurse Carol Hathaway (ER)?

It's a collection of quite some characters.  It's like 1000 times your average dysfunctional family.  Crazy.

And even so, I really enjoyed it.  And love where they live.  And think the acting was great.

It's something to watch over the weekend.  With a glass of wine.

Have you watched?

Novela Spoof

This novela spoof helps reinforce the reason I never hardly ever watch novelas ( :





Friends from Pura Miel (the honey people) sent this over to me to share with you.  I have mentioned before how much I love their support of local farmers.


*no compensation was given for this post.  Just a laugh.  And a laugh is a good thing. 

welcome little one

Over the weekend we visited a brand new family member.


A small tiny one.

It kind of gave me that itch.  You know.  The one for another baby. 

Audrey is used to being center.  So the extra cheesy smiles came out every time we wanted to photograph baby.  And I obliged, to her photo requests. 

And as I held baby, Audrey asked me to hold her and breastfeed her.  I gave baby back to mom and held her in my arms and whispered...your my baby. 

This makes me wonder... is Audrey ready to be big sister?

maybe?  

We took mom two bags full of groceries.  Fresh and Easy dinners, fruit, organic whole fruit juice, dessert and flowers.  

I filled her fridge while she breastfed, and shared advice on why it's not good to supplement with formula, and how important it is to hold baby (like all the time), 

and asked if she had a sling.... 

and the more I talked, and the more I write 

the more I itch. 

How many kids do you have?  Do you plan to have more?

*I wasn't compensated for shopping and mentioning Fresh and Easy.  It was my choice and my money ( :

Headband Giveaway winner!

tickles

Yay! Random.org picked a winner!  Shay (Potter Mama) won the headband giveaway!

Thanks to all you of you beautiful ladies who entered!

You are the reason I enjoy blogging so much!

Please choose handmade/homemade/local/small business shopping this Holiday season!

.... if you are looking for something perfect for a mama runner or mama that likes to work out ...I know she would love a lovely headband from Paula's shop!

Marta Gómez- La Ronda

As I visited Tania's blog this morning, this beautiful song filled my ears.  And the images compliment perfectly.

It is one to share.  Marta Gómez is an incredible Colombian singer.  Enjoy.

Day of the Dead

 The kids and I decorated our Day of the Dead altar.  All little goodies I won from this very lovely blog.

Banners, pictures, candy, candles, small Day of the Dead trinkets. 

and Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead).  

Friends from our block admired our altar, used to scary Halloween decorations...this was very different for most.  

Today, after school, we took a trip to Olvera street.

Admired all the beautiful decorations. 

and toys. 

Enjoyed taquitos with beans. 

Ate yummy Mexican candy.

Learned a whole lot about a most colorful culture.

And fell in love with all the beautiful faces.

Wishing all of your loved ones who have past away lots and lots of peace....

Happy Dia de los Muertos!

*Interested in learning more about Day of the Dead... Spanglish Baby has a full week of posts on this colorful festive day!

Treats

 We visited all our neighbors, and they gave us treats.  

They visited us too.  And everytime she heard the door knock she leaped out of her seat.  Yelled with delight when she saw kids dressed up and gave them little hands full of goodies. 

We all cuddled on the sofa as we watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

I hope all of you had as much fun with your loved ones.