Cinnamon Tea

I smell cinnamon.  It's my tea.

It tastes delightful and makes the house smell of Christmas.


Here is the recipe:

Honey, Cinnamon and Lemon Tea

2 tablespoons of pure honey (or to your taste)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups of water
2 cinnamon sticks


Boil water and then add cinnamon sticks.  Cover and steep for 10 minutes. Strain into mugs.  Add honey and lemon.

Enjoy.

Also....sorry so late on this...

Random.org picked winners for the Sesame Street games!

Congrats to Sarah (Frugaluser) and Veronica (tacubagurl)!

*recipe sent to me by The National Honey Board.  No compensation was given for sharing. 

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.