Double Playdate

Today we had a super exciting play date. It was "super exciting" because I always look so much forward to seeing and chatting with "Miss Juweeanna" (as Alizea calls her) and her red-head beauty, Elyse, and we were long overdue! I got up extra early to make our lunches so I could maximize the time while they were here! Once Elyse warmed up to her surroundings, we couldn't have asked for more from the girls. They were so incredibly adorable together, hugging and holding hands spontaneously and partaking in "parallel play" that would have impressed the experts giving us moms plenty of time to relax, catch up and chat about life, families, motherhood, married life, womanhood.

 (Below) with my great pal, Julianna.  I am so thankful for this woman and our friendship. She is the reason I had such an incredible doctor and birthing experience. She generously shared so much about her pregnancy with me that I always had at least a couple weeks warning before I was going to experience some unknown and unforeseeable 'pelvic pain' and of course we had fun researching fun nursery decor ideas together and even helped each with baby names! What a special blessing it was to experience pregnancy for the 1st time side by side with a friend who happen to be a coworker too!

(taken by one of the girls) 

We sure had a wonderful time together!

In the afternoon after some "down time", Spicy was outside playing in her the very popular neighborhood sand table when her new-found friend, Kayla (who is visiting for a month and staying next door) came over to play. It was quite comical observing this 4 year-old as she strongly suggested to Alizea with hand motions and sneaky whispers that they should go inside and play in her room!  I was fully anticipating hearing the whines and groans at any given moment due to the lack of nap but to my surprise, they never made a peep! In fact, it was adorable and I laughed out loud hearing Spicy remind Kayla to "be quiet because baby Genevieve is sleeping" They were like 2 teenagers having the best of times! And I'm so glad her extra spacious circus-themed room is getting such good use!

 I did have one of those odd self-awareness moments realizing that my daughter was old enough to have friends over to play (and fairly unsupervised for nearly 2 hours!) I felt old. But in a good way, I suppose.  

After all, this is what I have always wished for!

Photo shoot 2010

By the looks of these, you never would have guessed she was squirmy, cranky and just extra Spicy this day.

Dani and Emeline are truly amazing! I laugh to myself because I was certain this Spicy one didn't look into the camera one time! Boy was I wrong. She looks like is an angel.

 A couple weekends ago, we spent the morning trying to capture our current stage of life in a photo shoot. We left the Fullerton Arboretum hot and sweaty, utterly drained from the constant bribing, begging, holding, pinching squeezing, threatening and the like in attempt to get just one good picture of our new family of four. Not sure whether to laugh or cry at the experience, we hopped in the mini party-van shaking our heads in disappointment analyzing what went wrong with our parenting skills and joking about how of all days, our little one had to be Spicier than we have ever seen, not to mention obedience was a foreign concept to her! 

Well, to my total astonishment, there was not only just one good shot but so many that I'm going to have a really hard time choosing which ones to display on our walls!   Anyway, no need to relive the moment other than to enjoy these....

 I love how we were given such a variety of cool effects via their stellar editing skills. 

Example: this shot (seemingly in it's "natural" state) vs...

 a slightly softer look:

And in black and white (apparently momma & A missed the cue to look)  

I'm so glad they captured the love, where the family growing all began...

The lighting in this shot is so rad!

I think this was the closest we got to the "posed" all looking forward shot. ;)

There were so many cool little niches at this place. Quite romantic, I must say

I don't recall laughing at all this much, but looking back, Dani and Emeline were skillful at making light of an uncooperative toddler and encouraging us to enjoy the moments!

 

It's incredible because while this looks staged, it was nothing more than me trying to occupy Alizea and give her some "fun" distractions to regroup amidst the chaos. I thought we were taking a little break but leave it to the photographers hard at work to capture the moment and turn it into a super cool shot.

 I'm so thrilled they were able to get some of Sweets too. She's quite the natural model, don't you agree? Strike a pose. Vogue.

And some special shots with our second born...

And the grand finale... just a slight meltdown. Again, I thought it was a big joke that they were snapping away and yet they captured a lovely moment that will have us entertained for years and years to come...

This is daddy's mocking face, Spicy. Nothing but love. Nothing. but. love.

 Dani and Emeline were nothing short of AMAZING! I mean, these are just some of my favorites. We are so thankful to them for sharing their talent, passion and patience! Because of them and these precious pictures, I now have nothing but beautiful, positive, fond memories of the day :)

PS - I almost forgot, a very special "THANK YOU" to Nee-nee for the hair & make-up consult ;)

Simplifying

Goodbye Mustang Sally...

 

Hello Specialized Hanz

Yes, we downsized. It was a sad, sad day for me saying goodbye to my 1st love ride which saw me through many an adventure but for several reasons, we decided it was time to transition to one car. It was quite funny the common immediate reaction we received from our loved ones who were concerned for us: "Are you guys okay?" we heard a few times. Yes, we're okay. And daddy is thrilled for the opportunity to be able to spend the extra 15 minutes commuting to work getting a great work-out and doing much audio learning all at once!

Like Mother Like Daughter

As I mentioned in a prior post, my latest organizing project involves gathering all the loose and old pictures in boxes from all corners of the house (& garage) and put them all into albums in our bookshelves. As I was doing so, I came across some baby pictures of me and immediately thought of specific pictures of Spicy that I had taken/seen. So, fine, I'm willing to finally admit that Sweets looks nothing like me. But I do see in Spicy, a much more striking resemblance to my photos of youth than I would have thought. 

Me: 

Alizea:

And here we are at 3 years...

I know I'm biased so what do you think???

Sweet Home Alabuena Park

Although the fresh color coat of new stucco has been up/on/applied since Saturday, I still look up from playing on the front lawn with the girls or drive by and get all giddy inside thinking "Is that my home??? No way!" Doesn't seem like it belongs in the good ole Brentwood track of BP, mainly because it looks so modern and updated  amongst the original homes of the late 50's! As in nineteen fifties. As in the last century! 

My dad, (aka, designer, contractor, architect, roofer, painter, etc etc) pointed out that it is in fact a brand new house! On the Inside the kitchen is new. The flooring throughout the entire house is new. Doors. Windows. Ceilings. All Lighting. Hardware. Even the plumbing was redone and fairly new when we bought the house. Outside: roof, stucco, doors,  new. And porch lighting, porch patio/concrete walkway and white vinyl fence surrounding our front yard, coming soon! Pretty cool to think that in just 5 years we pops and his measly team of helpers have gutted the inside and out to transform this old house 

 into our beautiful home....

I looooove the color, by the way. I wasn't too sure about it at first but it grows on me more and more every day. And so glad we chose the white trim which makes the windows look deceivingly large.

And a sneak preview into the backyard...
Before the new stucco...

After...(what a difference some color makes!)

Before...

And After...

Hmm..what could that be?

I see some entertaining and outdoor dinners by the campfire in the near future...

Another raised planter/seating bench under the beautiful avocado tree...

Well, dad didn't get much of a break before starting school but I think he's somewhat excited to get on with Stage 2?!? (& finish so he can have his life back!)

The Ideal Schedule

(Note: this post's purpose is mainly to remind myself on those overwhelming days when I feel like I have no control or order that it is possible, and that every day is a new day and a new opportunity to learn. So, just a warning to everyone else, the following will probably bore you to death) 

So I'm reading this incredible book (2nd time over) called "A Mother's Rule of Life (Thanks Em!) It's all about how to 'bring order to your home and peace to your soul" written by a mom of 5 (at the time) who homeschool's her children and now (after years of trial and error) finds time to speak at conferences and write a book!  

So with that in mind, today I experienced a really nice flow to my our day. It was very orderly and quite peaceful. Nothing spectacular, just attending to our needs.

It was a well-balanced combination of physical activity, homesteading, resting and an overall feeling of peacefulness.
(of course this isn't always the case but it can be a good goal to attain!) 

7 am All Rise, Spicy hangs out on mommy & daddy's bed while I quickly get dressed & groomed.

7-7:30 Spicy moves to couch while mommy makes daddy's lunch, grabs Sweets from crib along with breakfast and coffee on the way to the couch to join her. 

All 3 girls enjoy our beverage of choice 

7:30-9 Playtime together. Mommy tries to get really involved and give lots of attention to both girls. Toward the end, girls were playing so well so I grabbed my mount of papers to shred and did a tiny bit of sewing.

9ish-10 Breakfast for the girls, Spicy gets "play clothes" on, brushes teeth and has "solo time" while mommy nurses Sweets in her nursery and puts her down for nap #1

10:30 - 11:30 Outdoor play for Spicy and mommy. Sand/water table, running through the sprinklers (this time, I got my bathing suit on and participated in this activity and let me tell you, it was quite exhilarating), sliding into the sprinklers, hide-and-seek, tag, chalk drawing, and popsicle licking... 

Was also able to sneak a little crafting/painting in...

12noon  Spicy runs inside, announcing something about "rest time" (she's catching on!) and Sweet awakes. Mommy prepares lunch

12:30  Lunch for all

1pm  Bath time due to the highly messy contents of lunch and the sticky bodies from the heat

2pm  Naptime for both girls. Mommy gets a nice break to rest, pick up, do projects (this week's includes putting lots of old pictures from boxes into photo albums), blogging, praying, etc. Oh yeah and prep for dinner, ack!

4:30  Girls awake, daddy arrives home

5:00-5:30 pm  Mommy and daddy eat dinner. 

**Tonight was a special treat, Daddy encouraged me to get out for some "me" time. so, although it was tempting to turn down (NOT!) I took about an hour 1/2 and went to a "really overdue" (in Father Ed's words exactly) confession, then mass and got to enjoy 2 private phone conversations with friends! Daddy was very grateful girls were already bathed and food was in the fridge ready for him to serve.

7-8 Family time, walk, prayers

8pm  Lights out for girls!

8:30pm  Ahhh, the sound of silence. And the clicking of my keyboard. Oh and the tapping of Spicy's foot on the wall. Well, we can only hope she will be in a deep slumber sometime before 10pm!

* a couple of notes/observations: *

- Something I missed today which I am working to make a habit which makes a huge difference in my day and for my personal sanity is setting my alarm to awake at least 15 minutes prior to Spicy for some quiet prayer time. Otherwise, it gets squeezed in amongst too many distractions or by the time naps come around, well, let's just say, I need it well before then. 

- This wonderful schedule doesn't really allow for getting out, errands, fun outings and the like. Which is fine. But usually at least one day per week, I need to get out of the house. So maybe this can be my "default" when nothing spectacular is planned. Also, I've never been one to control naps/sleep times or awake a sleeping child so obviously this will vary based on the girls needs and sleep patterns.

The End. =)

Goodbye Grandpa Gloudeman

Today the Lord called Grandpa G home... He has been in the hospital since last Monday (for some issues with his breathing and his lungs, a small tear and leakage of fluid) but it was anticipated that he would return home today or tomorrow. I'm still not sure the details of what happened but in the end, God had bigger plans for Him.

I wasn't too close to him as he was a pretty reclusive man since I have met him, however, he always had such a warm, comforting smile on his face (despite the discomfort I hear he has been in for the past several months) and it seemed as though there was "more than meets the eye" about him.  He will be missed greatly especially by his adoring wife Martha "Gigi".

Please keep him and his loved ones in your prayers.

God of faithfulness, in Your wisdom You have called Your servant Richard out of this world; release him from the bonds of sin, and welcome him into Your Presence, so the he may enjoy eternal light and peace and be raised up in glory with all Your saints. Amen.

Terrific Tuesday

Unfortunately, I had to turn down a super fun invitation to hang out with Auntie Carrie, the B-man and our long lost friend from Junior High, Ashley and her daughter Zoie. But we made the most of the day anyway

 Our home-made Spectrum fountain...

 Practicing her pirouettes for Auntita and Neenee...

Not pictured: Momma sweatin bullets washing loads of laundry, cleaning floors, making dinner, doing paperwork and the like (while watching this with the eyes on the back of my head!) ;)

Just your typical Tuesday for a SAHM and her babies!