"Mama"

I know, I know... I still haven't posted pictures. I've been so crazy busy.

I did want to type out that  Cruz has started saying "Mama" and it's the cutest thing ever. He has also started grabbing both his feet when he's laying down. Just little tiny things I don't ever want to forget or think, "When did he do that?" - now at least I will be able to look back into time and know just when it happened.

Kupono

I felt compelled to work on these right away and post them tonight. There are more, but these are my favorites. I'm so glad that my dad came home just in time to get a few with Kupono. 

Love you Kupono Dog!! 

Latest Happenings

The past few days have been... well.. interesting.

We had a crazy streak of days hitting 107 on the thermometer IN THE SHADE. The intense heat was killing our garden so I decided it was time to harvest our sweet potatoes. I got some really great pictures of our spuds. The kids were hot and miserable so it ended up not being the fun project I had imagined. I am still very proud of our hard work though... I have never successfully grown anything! So pictures to come soon.

We also had Ry's last day of ballet and they were supposed to put on a Sleeping Beauty performance. We arrive and there's a substitute ballet instructor that has no idea it's the last day or that there's supposed to be a show. She turned on music and the girls did "free dance" and chased each other. I have video coming...

And lastly we have bad news about beloved Kupono Dog. The most amazing, beautiful, golden Pitty on the planet. He has Cancer. When my dad called me to tell me it was like a rock hit my gut. This beautiful creature... how could this be? We found out yesterday and I explained to Ryenne that Pono is sick. I think that she understands. We went over to visit with him today and take some pictures. I think the hardest thing for me is seeing my parents in so much pain and feeling helpless. I wish I could be of more help/support to get them through this.

I got some beautiful Images of Pono today. He gave me his "expressive eyebrows" and played with the kids and was his lovely self.

W.O.W.

Today was the day that my mom and I chose to go out shopping. Mom and Dad's big bday gift was to go out and buy new clothes.

In all honesty, I haven't bought clothes in quite some time. The last clothes I bought were maternity clothes, which many of the tops I still wear (comfy!). Most of my shorts and pants are practically falling off and I guess I look a bit frumpy.

So when Peter woke up I took Cruz to pick up my mom and we headed to the mall. I think it's been a good 9-12 months since I've been to the mall. And it is tax-free weekend so the place was PACKED. But Cruz was in a good mood and it was great walking around with my mom.

I was a 20, then an 18, and I figured that I'd fit into a 16. To my surprise I fit into a 14!!! WOW. I haven't been that size since the beginning of my Senior year in highschool. I felt like a kid in a candy store picking out clothes to try on. It was SO MUCH FUN. Even better that I had my mommy with me and could do a "fashion show".

I'll have to have Peter take a picture of me in my favorite outfit.

Thank you Mom and Dad. I had such an awesome birthday weekend. XOXOXOXOXO

Birthday

My birthday started out a bit questionable - I just wasn't sure if it was going to turn into a good day. Cruz didn't sleep very well through the night and I got up tired. Well actually Cruz and Ry both got up at 6am and I was up with them until Peter got home at 7:30 with donuts. He took the kids and I went back to sleep, though it wasn't a solid sleep.

By the time 10am rolled around, Ryenne was in a horrible mood. I sent her to bed (with HUGE protest) and soon as she was down Cruz blew out his poopy diaper all over my shirt.

I was a little down and feeling overwhelmed and tired. When Cruz and Ry were asleep, my day completely changed.

I've been having a hard time grasping that my sweet, amazing Kai Boy has hit the Terrible Two's. He has been so rascally. But then one of my favorite songs came on Pandora - White Sandy Beach of Hawaii - and Kai came over and said, "Dance" and reached up to me. So I danced with my Kai Boy. Yep. I was a full on emotional crazy person. But really it made my morning. Lately he has been turning away from the camera... but here's my sweet boy.





Love his smile!!!


So after that my day got better. Peter woke up and I got to take a shower, brush my hair, and put on non ratty clothes.

Peter got this of me and my babies. Love it!


Then Gams and Pops came over and we had an amazing dinner of fried scallops, princess broccoli, french bread with butter... and my favorite chocolate mousse pie for dessert. I think this pie should be called, "The Religious Experience" because really it's like angels are singing when you eat it.



Don't touch... this is my piece!!


My mom made me this adorable Apron. I LOOOOOVE it!!!!


Oh boy I was soooo stuffed after dinner. After I came off the sugar high I had a great night's sleep. It was a great 30th birthday!

The Last Day

Today is the last day of my twenties. Wow... what a 10 years it has been! I think I can look back on my twenties with a lot of fondness. I think I started my twenties with ideas of what I wanted and who I was. Along the way I have changed so much - grew into the person that I am. Thankfully Peter has stood by me through my personal changes.

Just last night Peter and I actually got some quiet time when (amazingly) all three kids were asleep at the same moment. It was a short time, but it was refreshing to lay down next to each other and chat about the last ten years, our adventures, our three gorgeous children, and what lies ahead for us.

I shared with him a dream for my thirties; my dream is to live simply and go on adventures with the kids. He told me it's a good dream. We're on our way to making it happen.

I told my mom last night that I'm a thinker and a dreamer. She responded that I'm a Visionary. It made my night. I've been taught that the Present is such an important time. I like to savor every moment as much as I can and very much be "in the moment". But I also love to dream about what the future holds. It's exciting to me that I can help meld the future and make a dream come true.

I am pretty sure that after the next couple of years pass and Peter is graduated, we will start a new adventure. Most likely in the Pacific Northwest. The kids will be a little older - giant trees, lakes, and ocean will be our new playground.

Usually I don't think of my birthdays as a big deal. "Just another day" I have thought of my past birthdays. But this birthday feels special to me. I really feel like I know myself a lot better. I have new dreams to look forward to and children to go on adventures with.

Tomorrow I turn 30 and I couldn't be happier to start a new decade, with all my new grey hairs and all!

More natural product reviews

This first thing I have been using for several months now. My mom introduced me to Alba Botanica Very Emollient Lotion and I LOOOOOVE this stuff. It's cheap - $14 at Target for a gigantic bottle. It's excellent for dry skin, but I have been using this as my daytime face moisturizer for months and also a little dab on my hair when it gets dry. I HIGHLY recommend this lotion. The best EVER.

I also tried a few natural cosmetics from a seller on Etsy called Erzulie and I got an under eye concealer, a mascara, and a lip and cheek stain called Zoe. Don't even bother with the mascara unless you don't have watery eyes. Mine ended up all over and I looked like a raccoon. The concealer is actually excellent. I have quite some under eye circles and this helps a lot. One of the best concealers I have ever tried. And the Zoe lip and cheek stain is excellent as well. Easy to put on and a lovely color.

The last review today is for Carley's Clean & Smooth. This is a large bottle of stuff to wash your face. My cleanser was about gone (remember the post about Oil of Olay?) and I found this stuff in all places... eBay. Anyway, they had over 27,000 positive reviews that this stuff is good so I figured I'd try it out - they have a guarantee. I've been using it for over 3 weeks. It came with full size samples of their homemade soap as well as some small lotion samplers. All the lotions are excellent, but again I adore my Alba Botanica.

Essentially you wash your face with their natural soap, wash with the Clean & Smooth for 30 seconds, and wash again with the natural soap. I feel like my skin is clean and not irritated and I haven't had a pimple since. I have sensitive/dry skin. Anyway, I have tried out so many face washes and cleansers and I really, really like this one!!! Love the natural soap too.

Alright... so those are my new reviews!

Pictures as promised!!!

So many pictures to post from the last week on the point and shoot camera. But first one from May. My living room "before" it's makeover.



And the "After" picture. I can't even begin to explain how much I love the transformation in this room. I love how the buttons on the DVD player are out of reach and the floor space is maximized for dancing, playing soccer (cause it's so hot outside), and the floor is so easy to clean.



So the other day was babysitter Melissa's last day with the kids before she goes back to Duke for college. Melissa has been an amazing help to me over the summer. She has come every Thursday to play with the kids while I work upstairs. I loved being at the computer and hearing all the creativity she came up with and the fact that she wouldn't let Ry and Kai get away with things. Thank you Melissa!!



And here's Ryenne when I was testing out the lights. She is jumping and look how high she got off the ground!



My three Monkeys...








These next ones are funny because Gams made Ry a cute dress and I asked her to model it for me. Well Kai wanted to model as well. The light was really bad at this time of day so I used the little flash... the lighting is awful but the kids are still cute. :)





And Kai modeling by himself.



Kai is soooo tiny. He is wearing one of Cruz's onesies. He's my vegetarian Filipino boy. I can't get him to eat meat. Except bacon. He looooooves bacon.

And this last one was from last night. Peter told me to go look out the window cause everything was yellow. Sure enough, it was! There was lightning and crazy looking clouds. No white balance adjustment, this is really how yellow everything was!

Behind...

I have pictures to post but haven't gotten the chance to get them on the computer yet. Kai Boy has entered the Terrible Two's full force. The past few days have been very rough on me. He is testing everything and I'm finding that I really have to step up and be firm with him. He knows how to work me. And after he's put in the naughty spot, he pulls out the watery puppy dog eyes. It takes every ounce of my strength not to look at him and give him sympathy. He has started to hit his sister and steal toys. Something I need to nip in the bud before it gets worse.

I'm aching for them to go back to school so I can get some major cleaning done. I need to clean out the toy room big time. I recently cleaned Ryenne and Cruz's room (they're bunking together in the upstairs yellow room). Ryenne now has a spot for all her books and her bed is tucked into a sweet little corner just for her. She has been AMAZING sleeping in her big girl room.

I'm behind on laundry big time. Trying to catch up today. It's not so much the putting in the washer part that is challenging, it's the folding with two munckins thinking it's hilarious to destroy my folded piles!

I had a maternity shoot in the living room the other day. It was nice to do a shoot at home and not have to pack up all my stuff. Right now bookings are really light. I'm on the fence as to how I feel about this. One part of me longs to be a successful business person, but the other part of me thinks, "How in the heck can I HANDLE being a successful business person with all the other crap I need to manage?". Right now I am feeling like I am just not a savvy business person. If it were up to me to support this family financially I would fail. I hope that this Fall brings in more sessions.

Anywho.... I'm rambling. I do have more pictures and will get those up soon!

Today

I know this is grainy... but it's ISO 1600 and from the back pew of the church. Ry and Jackson held hands walking up for their performance. It was so adorable.



And Cruz loves to take a nap on his sisters bed. Adorable!

Ryenne & Jackson's Church Performance

This morning the whole family headed off to Manchaca United Methodist Church to watch Ryenne and Jackson perform - they had been practicing each day of the VBS Space Camp. We dropped of Kai and Hogan in the toddler room so they could have fun.

They gave us the green shirts on Friday and Ry was so excited about her shirt she wore it all day - of course I couldn't get it laundered by Sunday morning! Oh well.. she looked cute in her flower shirt and it helped her stand out in the performance.

I am really sorry for the shaky video. We were laughing SO HARD I could barely hold still. You'll see in the video that Ry and Jackson bump into each other and Jackson goes down. Then Ry starts doing the pee pee dance. She also had a problem with her shoe. I had to stop the video because I ran up to grab her and take her to the bathroom - we made it!

This was her first big performance and the church was PACKED. I am completely proud of her that she wasn't afraid to go up there and do her stuff. Such a big girl!

My morning with the kids yesterday

This is a big part of what we do... we're just goofballs. And we like to dance. The wood floors are awesome for "zooming" across the floor. The unfinished painted wall will get painted this week!

First Product Review - Toms of Maine Beautiful Earth Deodorant

Remember how I mentioned that I will be doing an overhaul in my household? When things run out I will be replacing them with their natural counterpart.

Well my first review is for Toms of Maine Deodorant in "Beautiful Earth" scent. I was really excited to try this because I think that Toms stands for very good things and I thought to myself, "Why am I trying to block my sweat anyway? What if it needs to come out? What if it's better for me to sweat?"

I almost snorted in the aisle of Newflower Market when I picked up "Beautiful Earth" because it evokes such an image of pot smoking, dreadlocked, Paia hippies - so not me - but the smell was really nice!

It did last for a while and I do sweat a bit cause I'm always lifting the kids or dancing or doing something where I'm in motion. The sweat didn't bother me and it did mostly mask any BO. But I do exercise about 5 - 6 days a week and after I did my Zumba I really did smell like a Paia hippie. I mean... it was BAD. You know it's bad when you can smell yourself!

So will I wear this when I go out on photo shoots? Definitely not. But it was just fine for normal household stuff... and I do shower after I exercise anyway. I think I will continue to keep the Dove around for when I get together with all you friends and family out there.

I'm testing out a couple of other things that I've had on hand for a few days now. I'll review them soon when I'm confident in my like/dislike of them.

ComPeter Cam

It's so cute how Ryenne says Computer. She calls it the ComPeter. So she asked to take a picture with me on the ComPeter Camera :)

Cruz is 5 Months!!!

FIVE MONTHS???? WHAAAA? Time is flying. I literally cannot even grasp what day of the week it is most days.

Well little Cruzito is 5 months old. The boy is HUGE. By far my biggest baby. He and Kai both wear 18 months clothes and size 4 diapers.

Anyway, I didn't put a whole lot of thought into Cruz's session cause it was literally about 5 minutes of shooting while Kai was napping... but I love how they came out with the new wood floors and the soft window light.



Okay above... seriously note his hand position. He is such a BOY! hahahahahaha

This is his newest thing... he loves to stick his tongue out! He has the cutest little bubble-gum tongue.



I looooove how he does this with his feet.




Happy 5 months beautiful boy. I love you so much!

Kai's Special Day

I mentioned yesterday how I felt bad that Kai doesn't get to do as many fun things as Ryenne. Once again he was sad to see her off to Vacation Bible School today.

After we left, we drove straight over to Gams and Pops house. Once we turned onto their street he started getting excited and yelling "Moooooo!"

He was getting to spend time with his Gams and Mommy and cows without his big sister around. I think he felt quite grown up and proud of himself. He got to explore a bit, feed the cows some carrots and "cake", and run around outside. I loved just watching him.





Feeding the cows with Gams and Cruz




Me and my two little boys... thanks Gams for taking this picture!!


After time with the cows (and lots of water!), we headed off to Costco. We parked next to the COOLEST CAR!!!



Then we came back home and dropped off some groceries and went and got Ryenne. I loved how he kept his little adventure all to himself.

We had a really wonderful night tonight. Katie, Hogan, and Jackson came over and joined us for dinner and play. I think all the littles are sleeping quite well as I type this.

Park Last Week

Last week we met up with Nikki and the girls at Southpark Meadows. We had a picnic and played. Ditsy me forgot to take the pictures off the camera!!

I love this picture of Nikki and Makena. I wish I would have taken out the cup though!


Three beautiful (sweaty) Princesses... Ryenne, Makena, and Kaeli! They were so adorable playing together. Love these cuties!!


The rest are of Kai Boy. He was having so much fun exploring. He was finally old enough to be able to climb on things on his own without me being crazed with worry!

More Changes

I am just so fed up with the state of things. I had some Oil of Olay face cleanser and on a whim I turn it around and look at the ingredients list. Fourth ingredient: Butane. Into the trash it went. I have decided I am done with all the big box stuff. So long Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark and all the other mega brands. Did you know P&G bought out Burts Bees? It just makes me MAD. So many chemicals going into so many things that I touch and my babies touch. Makeup and skincare... don't even get me started!

Anyway, I am phasing these companies out of my life. There are enough small companies making great things that I can support with my dollars. I will be posting reviews of things that I try.

Space Camp

Last night it was hard to get Ry to go to sleep. She was like a little girl on Christmas Eve and excitedly told me before she finally went down, "SPACE CAMP STARTS TOMORROW!"

She woke up incredibly excited this morning. Vacation Bible School has a Space theme and takes place all this week. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Never done anything like this before. We went to her church school and checked her in and there were so many kids there. They had space shuttles hanging from the ceiling, pictures of outer space and stars all over the walls. They were singing and I left Ry with a huge smile on her face. Unfortunately Kai was a bit bummed that he couldn't stay (they have to be potty trained).

Me and Katie took Hogan, Kai, and Cruz to jump in the water fountain at SouthPark Meadows, but it was broken. The boys happily played in a puddle.

Ry had such a wonderful day. I think she was pretty worn out though. The second half of the day she was very tired and grumpy. She went to bed tonight with no arguments. Perhaps tomorrow a nap is in order after she's done with VBS and lunch.

Since Kai has to go through the ordeal of dropping off his sister and having to leave this place he associates with so much fun, I am going to take him out for ice cream after we drop her off. Poor Kai so rarely gets something that is just for him, but he doesn't know it.