Giving Up Facebook for Lent!!!

As part of Lenten obligation, I have decided to give up Facebook and my fave Peppermint Mocha for 40 days and 40 nights. The mocha is easy but FB? So far, so good. I hope I can keep it up, and if I can, that would be a big deal. The weird thing is that when I did give it up, I felt so relieved. Weird. Can't wait to be back on it on though on April 25th (-:

My Little Girl is 5!

We moved to the new house the day before Leila's birthday so we could not have a birthday party for her. We did take her to a monster truck show on her birthday and loved it. We were supposed to have a party on the 29th but we all got sick so we decided to have it on the 12th of February! She wanted a horse-themed party and she got it. We had 2 ponies and a petting zoo but she didn't know anything about it. When she saw the animals, her reaction was "what are these animals doing in my backyard?" Then it dawned on her and ran to ride the pony. She was so excited and her reaction was priceless. She told us that that was the best part of the day.

We kept the kids inside while the pony and petting zoo was being set up.

She saw the animals and off she went.

Big smiles.

Daddy made her birthday cake.

I still can't believe she's 5!

Happy Birthday my love. We love you so so much.

A New Home

We had decided to foreclose our home since we were just losing money on it. It was sad to leave our first home but it's for the best.

We received a note from a broker that our home was bought back by the bank. We could fight to stay or they give us "cash for keys" to leave the house trash free. Since we didn't want an eviction record to haunt us forever, we opted for the "cash for keys." We did have to leave the house at the end of January.

We had 2 weeks to look for a place to stay and since Roger is only home on the weekend, I was left with the looking and packing. It was very stressful for me and I don't deal with stress really well. Thanksfully, I found a house on the 18th. We signed the lease on the 22nd and started moving after the signing. We were able to move the "big" stuff that day and spent the night on the new house. We had a week to clear the other house. Whew!

We've been in the new house for 25 days and I couldn't have been happier with the place. It's a bigger and newer house and the backyard is huge (well, compared to the other backyard). We'll be here for a year and hopefully, we could stay longer.

I miss the "old" house. I drive there once in a while. I miss our neighbors. It was, afterall, our first home but it's a new year and life goes on.

Here's Hoping for a Better Year.

2010 was not my favorite year at all. My family lost 4 members of our family weeks after each other. First, my mom's brother had a heart attack. The day he was buried, their sister succumbed to colon cancer. Two weeks later my Aunt's (mom's sister) husband passed away. A week later we found out that my dad's sister passed away. We had to fly to the East Coast for my Uncle's family. It was nice to see my family again, I just wished the circumstances of seeing them was a happy one.

Me and the kids stayed there for 2 months. We decided to stay for Thanksgiving and since it's been 8 years since I spent Christmas with them and the kid's first time, we decided to stay. We had a fun time with the family and we were sad to leave but was eager to get back home.

So, I really hope that 2011 will be a good, if not better, year for our family. But whatever God's plan for us, we will take wholeheartedly.

A Very Happy Birthday Party for William!

Instead of a goody bag, I opted to give the kids a cars shaped chocolate covered pretzels.


William really wanted a Lightning cake and he got it.

Stop it, Daddy!

I covered the tables with craft paper and bought tons of crayons. It kept the kids busy.

With his new pals.

My William is already 2! We had a "Cars" themed party for him and I'm proud to say that it was a very successful party complete with family, neighbors and a few close friends. We look forward to next year!

Mommy, What's Wrong With Your Shoes?

April 1st, the kids and I decided to go to the Galleria since we were in the area already. We played at the play-area, had lunch and walked some more. I decided to check out shoes at Nordstrom. When we got there, I tried on a pair of flats. All of a sudden, Leila said "Mommy, what's wrong with your shoes?". I was confused with the question so when I looked down, I was wearing the wrong pair! My first reaction was "OMG, how embarassing", so we left Nordstrom as fast as we could. For those of you who are familiar with the Galleria, it's a long walk from Nordstrom to Starbucks.

So now, I was concious of it and tried to hide it (you don't notice it when you are walking). I got over the embarassment and I thought it was hilarious that I started laughing at myself. Everytime Leila says "Mommy, stop laughing. It's not funny", the more I crack up. She was concerned about other pair and hoped that it was at home. I thought she'd forgotten about it but the moment we got home, she ran into the house, opened the coat closet and found the other pair and yelled "Mommy, I found it."

I guess I will be double checking my shoes before I leave the house again (-:

Craft Day at the Lakeshore Learning Store

Making her Dr. Seuss hat...
...then making her animal journal.
Dr. Seuss story time.

My kitty cat.

Time to play!

The cat fishing for fishes.
Her hat and animal journal.

My Little Puppy Dog!

She was so happy with the end result.
The transformation began.
The dog, the bunny and the birthday girl

Leila and William were invited to their friend, Chloe's birthday. After the yummy cupcakes and opening of the presents, we were treated to face painting. I never thought Leila would actually do it. She get to choose what she wanted and she chose to be a dog. Mommy nonchalantly insisted on butterflies or flowers but she was determined to be dog (she knows what she wants, boy). She was very good sitting quietly and doing what she was told to do. The end result was amazing. It transformed my sweet little girl to an adorable puppy. She was crawling and "woofing" the whole time we were at Chloe's, the grocery store and at home.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Valentine creation courtesy of Martha!
My Valentines.
Leila and William gave each other this stuffed dog.
Craft that Leila made when we went to Lakeshore Learning Center
A Valentine art that Leila made at LLC


The card they made for daddy.

We had a special V-Day because daddy get to come home. It was a pretty relaxing day for us. Leila and I went to a birthday party in the morning, while daddy hung out with William at home. The rest of the day was spent at home. Daddy requested his favorite meal, which is my spaghetti from scratch. We've had a pretty relaxed weekend just spending time together until daddy leaves for work on Tuesday.

A Cool Toy

Leila got this toy for her birthday and they love it. It's a foam construction toy and you can build a lot from it. We already built the clubhouse and the helicopter. We have yet to make the rocket, space ship, UFO, castle and super jet.

My Little Photographer

Leila loves taking picture of anything and sometimes she does a better job that me. This could be something that she will interested in doing maybe now or when she's older. Oh, she has this thing about feet!

Where's William!

I was calling out to him one day and he wouldn't answer. I got concerned so I went to the living room to look for him and this is what I found. He was playing hide and seek with Leila. No wonder he was being quiet. My silly kids.

My Little Princess

Thanks to Olivia's influence, Leila is into dressing up already. She REALLY wants a lot of princess outfit. To start off, she got this make your own twinkly tiaras that she got for Christmas. She really enjoyed making it and didn't need my help. She wears it everyday now and William is not allowed to touch it. The other day, she came home from a birthday party and she excitedly showed me her sparkly nail polish! She said she likes it because it was really pretty and she didn't want to wash her hand because it might come off. So, we are on a mission of finding princess outfits and maybe some high-heeled shoes too. Sigh!

I'll Go Get Him Mommy!

Every time William wakes up from his nap, Leila would tell me that she would go get him. Once we get to their room, she would climb up to his crib and they would play for a few minutes. Leila is actually much more affectionate and attentive to William now. I guess she is getting used to her role as the older and protective big sister. Yup, ladies, it's something to look forward to.

Play and Lunch At The Clubhouse

Sshhh, my baby is sleeping.

It was a nice day today, so I thought it would be nice to have them eat their lunch in the backyard inside their "clubhouse" and get some fresh air. I think they had a great time. It's so nice to see my babies interact with each other more everyday. Sure they have bad moments, but the good moments outweigh the bad.