Washi Tape

 I am behind the times here when I reveal that I bought my first two rolls of washi tape. Forgive me for not being "in"! Not sure why it takes me so long to catch on. I have been eyeing these cute patterns and I wondered "what am I going to do with washi tape?" First I need to say that this tape originated from Japan. That is more than enough to sell me on it. Anything Japanese I love! I looked on Pinterest and found cute ideas for this tape. Why did it take me so long? I must live in some sort of bubble! You can buy this tape at Michael's Arts & Crafts, Hobby Lobby, Target, and I even spotted it at the Dollar Tree. You better believe I am putting my two new rolls into good use. More blog material for me!! What are favorite ideas? Where have you purchased washi tape? 

Falling in love with Fall

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The cooler weather and the leaves begin to change marks as a turning point in the season. Day time high currently is in the high 80s and the night time low is in the low 60s. We really don't experience huge changes in weather but I love an opportunity to bring out my sweaters and  scarves. I am ready to bring out my fall decor but I get caught up with other things like- trying to potty train my son, loading the dishwasher, planning out meals, and not to mention the fun grocery store trips! Wow, I am tired just thinking about my daily and weekly chores. No wonder I cannot sleep (another blog post). 

The following pictures are snapshots from a friend's home. She has a little one at home and she has her A game on! I give her huge props for doing a fantastic job. I kindly asked if I could take pictures and I went right ahead so I could have blog material and inspirations. Since these are not from Pinterest then they won't be a failure. Straight from a friend's home and now off to mine. I am so excited to bring out my decor. I vowed last year that I did not need to buy more stuff so I need people to hold me to it. Ready set FALL decorations!!!

Set to fail

I enjoy making recipes and projects from Pinterest. I have to admit that I usually don't follow recipes or directions because I like to add my own "flair/special touch!" 

My weekly recipe was homemade pop tarts. I purchased the press from Williams Sonoma ($3.99). Since I had every intention of making delicious pop tarts then purchasing the press was a necessity (plus it was on sale). 

So I gathered my ingredients: dough (store bought Phillsbury) and raspberry preserves. Not much to it because I was not about to make my own dough. Don't ask me why. I can't answer it, maybe I was afraid that the dough would be dry. I also wanted to make my own jam. I was feeling like Martha Stewart, I guess. It would have been awesome was if I had my own home grown strawberries to make jam. 

I rolled out the dough from the refrigerated canister and I was pumped. The oven was ready at 350 degrees and I totally was in control of this recipe (or so I thought)! I cut out the dough using my handy press and I scooped about a teaspoon of jam onto each piece. I neatly set them on a greased cookie sheet. In a short 8 minutes I found my beautiful pop tarts in a complete mess! In my mind it was going to work beautifully but I failed and there is no one to blame but me. I guess jam/jelly is NOT the best in these recipes. I later found that out, oh well there is next time. I WILL follow directions! Have you ever experienced a Pinterest failure? 

Finding Peace

Currently I am at a loss for words at a situation that has come upon our family. Yesterday I spoke to my cousin in Arkansas. She told me that my uncle (my dad's brother) was dying. It hit me like a ton of bricks. My brain could not come to terms that we were not able to see a miracle happen in the body of my uncle. Years ago my uncle underwent a surgery that did not go well. To make a long story short he has been in a nursing home for the last decade. It breaks my heart that in all of these years we did not go see him and now I know that I will not see him on this earth. I told my dad what was happening and I know that my dad is hurting. Its his "Dear Sweet John" whom me loves dearly. In the past few years we have faced the loss of many loved ones but in this situation we are very saddened. My mom told me that years ago my uncle told her that he gave his life to Christ. You can imagine the happiness that filled me heart. We will all be seeing and praising The Lord in heaven, TOGETHER one day! 

Please pray for my cousin and his family that live in Arkansas. May God's peace fill their hearts during this tough time. 

Please pray for my uncle that he doesn't feel pain. May he be ready to rejoice with our Savior in heaven. 

Pray for my dad as he is coming to terms that this is the end for his brother on this earth. Also, for some tough situations with my dad's family. May God use my dad and our family to glorify HIM and hold back our tongue in regards to some hurtful things from the past. 

Thank you prayer warriors for all that you do! We can already feel the prayers :)

I am not a mommy of a little girl

Please bear with me as I am on another emotional roller coaster. I am not quite sure when I signed up for this but I want to get off at the next stop. 

Yes I know that many people don't like my Instagram pics simply because I have a son not a daughter. These people are also ones that have daughters so I guess they could never like my pics. Why am I worried whether someone likes my pics or not? Grrr I must be entering a sharp turn on this roller coaster. 

Since I am proud mommy of a little boy I do not get invited to "special events" these events are usually put together by mommies of girls so therefore I am excluded. Ugh! Well I cannot change anything and currently I am not planning on having another child (partly because I am afraid of having another boy). Yes I do want to have a little girl but our only option may be to adopt. Anyone have some great adoption agencies? We are in a transition with life so adoption will be set on the back burner and we can discuss later on. Best wishes on our future! 

Coronado Adventure!

One of our favorite places to go to is Coronado Island. It is a little over an hour from our home but it feels like we are worlds away from everything. This little island has charm, good food, fun activities and the beach! We enjoyed the cool weather and the opportunity to getaway from our everyday life. It is safe to say that our little guy LOVED every minute of the trip. Last summer he was a little apprehensive with the sand and the waves but this year that is all he wanted to do was to play at the beach! He kept saying "momma dadda are we going to the beach?!" We would tell him yes and with a giant squeal he would quickly say "YIPPEEE!!!"

K really wanted to crush this sand castle, little did he know that a man wanted a tip for his "creation"

K ran & laughed. Such a beautiful sunset!

My honey and I loving our trip

No trip to Coronado is complete without eating at Miguel's (we ate there twice)

A dessert must have- Moo Time! For under $5 you can have this (two people can easily share)

K and his pals checking out the birds at the hotel

Our first full day we went to the zoo (another blog post), next day we went sailing (check out my Sailing Sailing blog post-coming soon), and we also went to SeaWorld (Shamu post coming soon). Tons of pictures but I won't be posting all of them. We are excited to head back for another trip. I think a trip to Cancun is in the works!

Burlap Patriotic Banner

When I get an idea in my head there is no way I can get it out. My grandma was very crafty and if she saw something she liked she would figure out a way to create it. I am exactly the same way and I also have Pinterest to thank. I came across a fun burlap banner and I thought to myself "I know that I can make that while my kiddo naps!" I raced over to my local Hobby Lobby in search of burlap, twine, and paint. The rest of the supplies I already had.

Cardstock triangle & trace on burlap

Cutting out triangles, not that bad (felt itchy afterwards)

Adding stripes to this triangle

Stars placed then red paint rolled on top

In less than an hour I had created all of these

The finished product! Placed the triangles on twine.

My hubby wanted the banner to stretch the length of the fence in our backyard. Next year it will!!

Fourth of July Festivities

Outdoor area set for our guests

We had a fabulous celebration on July 4th!! It has taken me a while to upload pictures and since I did not take any with my good camera, I had to resort to posting ones from iphone. Oh well, there is always next year. We had over 30 people over at our home for a big celebration. We had a bbq, played games, laughed a ton, a huge water balloon fight, roasted smores, and watched fireworks (we did have some of our own fireworks to play with sshh don't tell).

Made this banner the day before, happy with the finished product

I am already thinking of decorations for next year and we are thinking that a patio cover is a must, plus plenty of misters to keep us cool.

Oh yes we also had bobbing for apples

Patriotic little skewers- blueberries, raspberries & marshmallows

Yum dessert time- cake with cool whip topped with blueberries & strawberries 

Welcome everyone!

Another snap shot of our front entrance (don't look at the weeds)

Time to chow down (cousin Jenny first in line)

Protein style burger for me, I think this is all I ate the entire day

Musical chairs gone wrong, Uncle Grailin ended up on the grass

My honey and I

Sweets before bedtime! Why not?

Everyone had a blast and I think they are looking forward to our next big celebration. Maybe a New Years party!!!

Travel must haves

I am a beginner when it comes to traveling with a toddler because my son is only two years old. Yes, my son has traveled outside of the United States quite a few times but now that he is older it is a bit harder. Here are some of my must haves when traveling with a toddler:

1. Twin size Aerobed! You read that correctly.... He has not been sleeping in a crib (almost a year now) retail price $99. The nice thing about our aerobed is that all you need is an outlet and the bed is inflated in less than a minute. EASY!! It comes with a handy remote so you can decide if you need more or less air, and a handy bag to store the bed when not in use.

2. Johnson & Johnson head to toe washcloths (Bed time scent) retail price $3.99. These are perfect because you do not need to bring your own washcloths nor use the ones at the hotel. There are 14 in a pack so you have plenty and you can save them for your next trip. These are gentle and have a awesome scent. He slept like a baby!

3. Stretch Island Fruit Co. All natural fruit strips "fruit leather"!! They are organic and no GMOs (LOVE it) retails for 99 cents each. My local Costco has them in a large pack with various flavors. My son never passes up on "fruit leather." Toss these into your beach bag and you have 1/2 a serving of fruit. EASY!!


4. gopicnic. Ready to eat meal, cannot get easier than this. I do not feed these as a meal but he enjoys the turkey pepperoni pack and I like the multi-seed crackers with the asiago cheese spread (and my hubby likes the almond roca that comes in this pack) retails $3.99 each. These picnic packs are gluten free, no artificial colors or flavors, each items in the box come individually wrapped and make a complete meal. There are 6 different picnic packs to choose from and they can be purchased at any grocery store, Target, or sometimes at Costco. I keep my eyes peeled out for when they are at Costco because they come out to less than $3 a pack.


5. Trunki by Melissa & Doug (retails for $39.99). This has to be one of the cutest suitcases for little ones. They come in various colors and as animals. Made out of hard and durable plastic so they will hold up. Comes with a leash so little ones can pull it just about anywhere, and it has wheels so they can ride it if they get tired or want something to play with in the hotel room. My son has this exact one (pictured below). He spotted children with it last summer while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta and he wanted one to play with. I got a great deal at Macy's.


6. I created my own back pack of goodies- coloring book, crayons, books, bubbles, cars, goldfish crackers, cranberries, bath toys, and play doh with a variety of cut outs. This back pack comes in handy especially if there is a long line to check in/layovers at the airport or hotel.

What are some of your must haves when traveling with your little ones? I am always up for checking out new stuff!