Growing Up Vadon

Pinterest - Mini Cinnamon Rolls - MY easy twist

2012-01-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

I found this cute, and yummy looking picture (below) on Pinterest (along with many many other combination of cute, cool, neat, fun - foods, crafts, projects, designs, etc etc I could go on for days on that site, and I know some have, lol). It is from Picky-Palate.com I love recipes that are easy, simple, and that I can customize to what I have already.
I didn't use fancy name specific biscuits, I just used what I had, which was store brand, plain basic 10 ct can of biscuits (there are so many things you can make with a basic can of biscuits, I should make a whole post of thing you can make with them). (it states at the bottom of the blog post that "*Disclaimer: I am part of the McCormick Real Gourmet Blogger Program and am being compensated" so that is probably why she put name brands next to the ingredients listed)
got out the tub "butter" since I knew it would be easy to spread, and I wouldn't have to wait for it to get soft/room temp like the recipe calls for.
you will also need light brown sugar, cinnamon, and I added a tad bit of white sugar as well, no measuring.
I mashed, patted, rolled out the biscuits to a nice flat-ish circle, used a spoon to spread the tub "butter", and after a couple of times I ended up using my finger to spread it around, since it was easier to get an even layer.
next I sprinkled brown sugar evenly over the tops, next white sugar, and last cinnamon.
next roll up the circles, and cut evenly, place on greased cookie sheet and baked at 350 for about 15minutes.after I mixed up some powdered sugar with some milk, couple tablespoons of powdered sugar, to very little milk, adding milk very little at a time to get desired consistancy, and drizzled over plated mini cinnamon rolls.
I hope these last until the girls get home, they are yummy. Vincent likes them, lol.
here he is last night before bedtime :)

Will 2016 come as fast as 2010 & 2011 ?!?!

2011-08-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted since Vincent's birth, which was 8 1/2 months ago, wow! Well I wanted to share this year's 1st day of school pictures. Valerie Started kindergarten yesterday, and it went really well. Veronica started 1st grade and she said she had a good time too. Wow how the time flies. I remember when they were both born, and I saw an online stat sheet that said they'd start kindergarten in 2010, and 2011. At that time 2010 & 11 seemed so very far away, but it has seemed to just fly by. I was thinking about Vincent, and how the time will fly and it will be 2016 and he will be starting kindergarten. I can't even imagine!!
both girls at the school on their first day

Valerie and her teacher Mrs Wildy

Veronica and her teacher Mrs Brenner

Vincent's birth..

2011-01-02T13:22:00.001-08:00

still attachedsnuggles with momma
everyone getting a first look at Vincent
he was taking a snooze in the swing here.. soo cozy!

HOLY COW this is long!!! well its here to read if you want to read it, lol!

The evening of November 30th we had hot wings for dinner, and I joked about how some people said spicy foods were supposed to start labor. Shortly after Paul had to get ready for work, before he did we DTD, he then left around 6:15 for work. Shortly after I started to have contractions, which at the time I didn't think they were contractions because it was only painful on my lower back, and cramping in my lower abdomen. That started, at around 7 in the evening. I got the girls in bed at 8 and started to time the contractions on a website contractionmaster.com. The site timed my contractions between the times of 8:08 - 9:33pm to be about 1 minute long in duration, and between 4 - 8 min apart. During that time I was surfing the net between contractions. I took a break from timing at 9:33, and got out my yoga ball. I had to take it in the garage to blow it up with the compressor, which seemed to take forever, since I had to wait for the thing to air itself up. I brought the ball inside and plopped it down in front of the computer desk and began to surf the net and time my contractions again. Between 9:53 - 11:01pm the contractions were again about 1 minute long, and between 3 - 7 min apart. I stopped timing at 11pm to take a bath, and figured if it was time, it would happen, but I hoped and prayed I could at least get some sleep since I didn't want to be in labor all night and have that tire me out!
After the bath I laid down, and the contractions were still there, but I was able to get to sleep, and I slept ok, I only woke up a couple of times, and dreamed that I in labor and going to have the baby!
The next morning I woke up and had to take Veronica to school, I told Paul I was having cramping the night before, and as I was saying that a contraction hit me and I had to stop where I stood. Afterward I continued out the door to take Veronica to school. The whole way there I was having contractions. After I dropped her off I went to my moms, where I had a big contraction as I was coming in the door, and told my mom I thought that I might be in labor, and about the cramping that I was having. She left to go to work, and I left with Val to my midwife apt.
The drive there I was getting hungry and hadn't eaten so I stopped at Sonic to get a breakfast burrito, and water, and something for Valerie. It felt kinda funny ordering from the drive through and having the contractions, which were were about 5 min apart. I ate as I drove and right before I turned onto Cathy's street I had a huge very painful contraction hit, and I began to cry it hurt so much, and I was just so nervous cause I think I was in denial that I was in labor.
Valerie and I went in to my apt, and the contractions let up a little, and I only had 3 the whole 45 min visit and none felt really bad. I Told Cathy and she felt the top of my abdomen, and she said it wasn’t really that hard. I then got up on the table, and listened for the heartbeat, and measured my fundus, which were fine. She also felt for the baby's head from the outside and said that he was really high, and if I was having any contractions that they probably were not changing my cervix. She did ask me if I wanted her to check my cervix, but I declined seeing as she thought he was so high, and told me she wouldn't be surprised if I made it to my apt next week.
I then got in my van and started to drive home, and as soon as I got into the van, the contractions started again, about 5 min apart. On the way home I decided to go by the $0.99 cent store, and pass some time. While shopping I had a handful of contractions, a couple were kind of painful, I had to stop and lean over the cart, and breath through them. I told Valerie that it was painful, when she asked what I was doing. We made it out of the store and headed home. While at home we just hung around watched TV, and then I made Valerie some lunch and for me I heated up the oven and was going to have left over hot wings. The contractions were not that bad as I was eating, though they were coming regularly. 2:00 rolled around and I had to get ready to pick up veronica at school. I picked up my food, and had 2 pretty painful contractions, I almost woke Paul up and told him to get Veronica, but once the contractions were over I felt good, and Val and I got in the van to pick up Veronica. The drive over I was having some pretty painful contractions, but I was able to get through them. I got to the school and walked up to wait for Veronica to get out, and then he headed to the car. The walk to the van Valerie told Veronica that "mommy's pains are painful" lol I told Veronica that I thought the baby was going to come soon, and that I was having pains from that. We got in the car and headed home.
we got home at 3:00, which we walked in and I immediately had to go to the bathroom, both num 1 and 2... Afterward I wanted to get into so warm water and relax since it was getting kind of painful, so I ran 3 inches of water in the girls bathroom, and kneeled down in that, which felt so good, but I didn't want to get immersed since I thought it might slow my labor down. I felt that this might be the real thing so I went and woke Paul up and told him he should call his boss then and not go into work that night.
I told Paul that I was having cramping and to call in to work. He asked me if I was sure, I said I was pretty sure, and he said he wanted me to be sure because he didn't want to call into work since he had already took so much PTO the month before from their not being enough patients. I told him yes to call in.
I went back into the living room and got onto the computer to time contractions again, from 3:23 - 4:09pm my contractions were 1 min long, and 2 1/2 - 6min apart, growing greatly in intensity the whole time. Paul asked when I was supposed to call the midwife to come, and I looked through some papers, and nothing said when so I tried calling Cathy at around 3:45, but she did not answer. To pass some time, I logged onto youtube to listen to the Lincoln Park song "Waiting for the End", I had wanted to download a play list to have during labor but I didn't get around to it, so I settled just playing the video from youtube. I love that sing, and even got up and danced around through a couple contractions, which surprisingly the music made them easier to get through. after the song, I bounced a little on the "birth ball" , I also got down on my knees put my head and my arms in the computer chair and rocked my hips through some contractions. I even made Paul bring in some of the under pads and place them under me incase my water broke..
Soon I decided I needed to get into some warm bath water. Paul didn't want me to as he thought it might stop my labor, I said I didn't think it would but I needed something to help me relax, so I ran about 8 inches of water and sat in that. Paul came in and asked if it had stopped my labor, and I began to have a contraction, which was pretty painful and I told him that no thanks a lot, I’m having a contraction right now, and I made a face, as it was hurting bad. The girls came in at that point, and they were being loud and annoying. Valerie was begging to get into the bath with me, I shouted no after saying no nicely a handful of times.
at some point Paul was joking about how this was nothing (referring to the pain) and if I wanted to go to the hospital for pain meds, he also commented that he wanted it to hurt, or something like that, I guess I didn't really LOOK to be in that much pain, I shouted at him, that he was mean, and he just laughed and told me that I hadn't seem mean yet, and I of course after the contraction, I told him that I had seen him really mean before, and he needed to quit messing around, I don't think he knew how serious I was or that I was really close to delivering. Also while in the bath I tried to check my cervix as I hadn’t been checked yet, and I had no idea how far into labor I was. I assumed I was still very early in the labor and had a long ways to go ahead of me. The self check didn't really help me much, as I had no idea what I was feeling for, but it did feel very different than it had before, like something was down there pretty far, but I just wasn't sure. I even told Paul that it felt weird, but of course he wouldn't know what that meant. I soon got up out of the bath. I then heard my phone ring and it was Cathy the midwife, I told he I thought I was in labor, and she asked if I wanted her to come, I said yes, and she said she was going to go home and change clothing, and if that was ok with me, I said yes.. I then hung up with her and made a phone call to my mom letting her know that she should head over, she said she was on her way, and I had to let her go really fast cause another painful contraction hit, and I couldn’t talk. After I got off the phone Paul began to make the bed the way the midwife had instructed, I was having contractions that were really hurting, and I told Paul to come over and press on my hips. I felt something weird "down there" like a pressure, or like a poo. I said I think I am going to have to push, Paul said well don't push. It didn't feel like intense pressure, so I didn't really think I was that close. I then walked into the bathroom to run some more bath water as I wanted some sort of relief from the intense pain I was having. Paul said that I shouldn't waste the hot water because there wasn’t going to be any when It was time and I really really wanted it. I told him I didn't give a sh*t, that I was running it anyway.
in between the next contraction I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the video camcorder, and the digital camera to have in the room when everyone got there. Paul started to complain about how I should be helping him make the bed. I told him I couldn't because the contractions were too bad. I was feeling the weird pressure again, and asked Paul to "check me" down there, and he said he wasn't going to put his hand down there, but to get on the bed and he'd look from the outside, which I refused because I thought that would have been pointless, and then I headed into the bathroom, where another hugely painful contraction hit, and I yelled for Paul to come put pressure on my hips again, and he was pressing, it felt better, but I told him to PRESS HARDER, and to "smash me", which helped a lot. I then walked over to the tub, turned off the water, and began to step in.. I put both feet in and began to kneel down into the water, and was trying to be fast about it because I felt another contraction coming on, but I wasn’t fast enough and was stuck with both hands on the side of the tub, not all the way in, not all the way out, just sort of hovering there. I felt a kind of pushing and felt something coming down. I looked down and saw something floating from down there, and reached down with one hand and felt it, I had pulled at it a little breaking my bag of water. My body then started to push again on its own, and I reached down there again to feel, and I felt the head right there, and a burning, so I yelled for Paul, and he started to panic and I think he even told me not to push. I then felt more pressure, and told him to "catch him", and I yelled out or groan yelled, like a cave woman, lol, and pushed him right out into Paul's hands, he caught him and brought him out of the water. As soon as the baby came out I was fine, I felt great, no pain. I was really calm, and just in amazement over what just happened. Paul shouted oh my god over and over, and said it’s a boy, since I couldn’t see, he was behind me. I stood up and he handed the baby to me from behind. The cord was short, so I couldn’t hold him very well, so I told him to hold the baby and pass him under my leg so I could hold him from the front, which we did. I was still only able to bring him up to my belly button. Paul was panicking, and saying oh my god, oh my god over and over making phone calls for people to hurry up and get there, that the baby had come and the midwife wasn’t there yet. The whole time I was trying to calm him down, that everything was ok, and to look at the baby.
I heard Paul’s phone ring and he began to search through the towels on the floor for the phone, and I said to him, "in your pocket" since I was calm and could tell that’s where it was. He picked up the phone, and was talking to someone, who asked if the baby was ok, and he asked me, I then rubbed the baby a little and he began to cry, oh what an amazing sound. The caller then told Paul to wrap him in something warm like a towel, so he grabbed a towel from the closet, and we wrapped it around the baby, and then Paul helped me out of the bath and over to the bed.
I told Paul to go get the girls since they had missed everything. They came into the room, and were so excited to meet their baby brother! Veronica immediately asked to hold him!
Paul’s sister came over to pick up the girls, and then my brother showed up, Paul had called a bunch of people in a panic to “just hurry up and get over here” since the baby had come without the midwife being there.
The midwife showed up about 30 min after he was born, and delivered the placenta, I got to cut the umbilical cord and I had to get 2 stitches for a tiny tear. They then measured and weighed the baby, he was 6lb 14oz 20 ¼ inches.
We also had to determine what time the baby was born since we were not paying attention to the clock when he popped out. They recorded his birth at 5:04pm, which now looking back it was actually 4:58pm, but I can’t change that now, can I? oh even if I did, would it matter much anyway.
here he is, the only first pics we got, which makes me sad, wish I woulda got more!

the count down -

2010-11-24T17:17:00.000-08:00

I am 38wks 1day which means that I have 1wk 6days until my due date of December 7th. I wonder when though the baby will decide to make his debut. We are having a home birth this time around, so there will be no medical induction, so I could go past my due date, who knows!!
here I am pictured at 36 weeks and then 38 weeks.

Pregnancy and Baby

2010-08-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

I hit 25 weeks this week, and am currently 25wk 4days today. We have had the name picked out for awhile since we found out we are having our first boy, which was at 17weeks. Vincent Luke Paul Vadon, is his name. He has been kicking and moving alot since early in the pregnancy, and everyone can feel him on the outside when he kicks since about 20 weeks. It feels more and more "real" since that started happening.
We also have been working on his nursery and decor. I thought it would be hard decorating for a boy, but I found I really like the "pirates" theme and it has been pretty easy, and lots of fun to put together. We just recently painted which has really brought the whole room theme together. There are still a few things left to do, but the majority of the decor is done.

Veronica's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

The day has finally come for Veronica to start Kindergarten. I had been nervous about this day for weeks, and just knew I would cry when we walked her in for her first day. This was not the case, I had such a good feeling about the school, her teacher and Veronica seemed excited to go, I did not cry.
I did tear up for a second this morning when I went in to wake her up. She had her eyes closed, and I thought back to her as a baby, and I grabbed her hand and remembered how tiny her hands used to be, It was a dear moment to me, I can't believe how fast she is growing up, it makes me sad sometimes, but I knew that she is having a good time growing up and learning new things, and having new experiences getting more and more independent, and that helped me feel a little better.
I hope she continues to have a positive outlook on school, and never becomes as anxious as I was to go.
Her teachers name is Mrs. Lemos, and she is very nice, has a wonderfully decorated classroom, wonderful disposition, and is very pretty. She seems like a perfect kindergarten teacher.
Now that she is at school, I wonder what Valerie and I will do all day. Val already misses her sister bunches. It won't be long now, she will be starting K too.

2010 Annual Beach Trip

2010-07-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT time at Surfside beach this year. The water was AMAZING, and pretty clear for Texas beaches. The same ol crew was ready for this vacation, and I have to say it was one of the best so far, besides the sickness some had of course..

My Kitty Chaos Loves Me

2010-06-07T21:41:00.001-07:00

Pretty much every night Chaos has been bringing in at least one lizard that she has caught. She comes through the dog door, and I hear her with her very distinct open mouth "meow" because she is bringing the still living lizard, in her mouth! She is telling me "look what I caught for you"
Tonight, I hear her "meow" her lizard meow, (I had been wondering when she'd bring one in today) and sitting here at the computer I say "kitty, what did you bring me tonight, come here kitty" she brought the lizard to me all the way to the computer desk, I put my hand down, and she came and dropped it in my hand!!!!! talk about crazy kitty! I have been telling her "thank you" "good kitty" because I know its her way of showing me she loves me... I just end up taking them outside.

Cloth diapers - Disposable diapers

2010-06-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

I am a big supporter of cloth diapers and the cloth diaper community. I was getting excited about cloth diapering #3 who is due Dec 7th. I have bought a few cloth diapers here and there, and they are so cute, and easy to use! I have bought some pink and some blue, a little of this and a little of that. Check out my stash so far.BUT for someone who plans to cloth diaper, I sure do have a boat load of disposable diapers! I have been collecting these for over a year now, and wow it sure has grown. I bought all of these while couponing, and got some of these for as little as $0.75/pk up to about $5 a pk. I only bought them when they were on clearance, I had high value coupons, and were huge savings compared to a brand new pack. I pulled all of the diapers I had and wanted to sort them again, and add in some new deals I had gotten. The girls were excited and at first just jumped right in to the pile!We then tried to build a diaper wall, and of course it got too tall and collapsed, but I got a pic before it went down. Veronica in the back trying to help.after the wall fell, I just started to build a "diaper brick road" lol.
yes I have all these, but I think all us moms know that you can't have too many diapers, lol!

What the Heck?! I though Merlin Had passed

2010-05-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

I fell alseep with the TV on, and it woke me up at about 4am. I think I was dreaming right before I woke up, but when I woke up I sat up and looked over at Merlin who was beside me. I watched him for a second and didn't see him take a breath. I reached over real quick and put my hand on his neck and it was cold. I then pressed down a little with my hand and he felt stiff. I immediately jumped out of bed and ran to Paul, who was in the garage watching movies (he keeps his night job schedule on nights off), I told him to come here quick, and I started bawling tell him, its Merlin, hes dead. He said are you f*ing with me, and saw I was not kidding, so he ran into the room. I just kept thinking all these thoughts, how he had been sick a couple days ago, and I thought a cob of corn was stuck in his stomach, but that I thought he had felt better, and that he passed in his sleep from it, I also thought about how lonely it would be without him, and just sobbing, and sobbing still standing in the garage. About 20 seconds later I hear Paul run back saying Amanda, Amanda, hes fine, hes fine. I asked him, how he knew, and he said he was just sleeping really deep, and he shook him and he woke up, and he told me to come look, I said I don't know, cause I couldn't believe it, but I followed him back into our room where Merlin was looking around all tired, but very much alive. I still cried a little more, but then Paul started to laugh at me, and I giggled a bit for not shaking him harder. Oh Paul laughed hard, but I could only giggle about it, because I know someday that feeling will be real and one day he will be gone.... but not today thank god!!!!

got to hear lil bean's heartbeat - 9 weeks 1 day

2010-05-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

I finally found my lil bean's heartbeat today on our home doppler!
I had to record it, and I am sharing it too, on video, its 22 seconds long.
it took me forever to find. but once I found it I did it again pretty easy.. so funny I was showing my girls, and couldnt find it, but as soon as I heard it, I said "there it is" and 2 seconds later my Paul came up and said something funny, I had NO idea Paul was there, I think lil bean knew his/her daddy was there, coming to say "hi" to him, lol.. playing a hiding baby for mommy though!!

New room!

2010-05-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

In prep for #3, I decided to move the girl's into their "playroom" and have ALL of their things in one room. I got them bunk beds as to make room for their Ikea Expedit shelves, which holds and organizes their toys. I love this thing for their toys, it keeps all the like items together and makes specific toys easier to find.
I am keeping the separate twin frames when they grow out of their toys we can move or get rid of the ikea shelves and they can have their own beds again.
I have not started working on the other room, it just has the twin bed, a shelve and a dresser in it for now. I will work on it as I get further along, and figure out what this lil one is, and what decor we want. We will also be looking for an inexpensive crib in the meantime, hope to find a decent dark wood one, and a mattress.
here are some pics

Were expecting !! this time its OURS!

2010-04-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

We are mostly over the initial shock of this surprise, every day becoming more and more excited about out family growing by one more. we found out a little before April that we were expecting our 3rd.
I decided to announce it April 1st since it was April fools day and we had just known a couple of days. Some did not belive me, but alot came around to know the truth.
My due date is December 7th 2010, and am hoping this pregnancy and delivery to be a little different than the OB and hospital deliveries of the previous 4 babies. I plan to see a local midwife for the entire pregnancy, and then deliver at home with a midwife, naturally. I am truely excited about this decision.
We haven't picked a team, but I seem to be split down the middle and would be equally happy with either a boy or a girl, whereas when pregnant with the girls I definitely wanted girls both times. I hope to take one of the novel at home gender tests, you take with urine. lol keep an eye out for that, you have to wait until at least 10 weeks pregnant.

can you tell.....

2010-04-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

ok so I got wiped out for the year. I didn't really give up on the 365, I just forgot. thats my best excuse, and a good one at that. Though the 365 is not still going, I still want to hold up at least part of the thought, and start posting again, alot more.

post 43 - hamsters that dont poop

2010-02-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

Memaw got the girls zhu zhu pet hamsters, she says "they don't poop"..
keep away from hair.. Veronica gets a wad of Vals heair stuck in a wheel.. not fun

day 40 of 365 - cake

2010-02-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

Im preparing for my friends baby shower. ♥ my diaper cake, baby's room theme is lady bugs. I painted the lady bugs myself on the wooden circles. too too cute

39 of 365 PW getting closer

2010-02-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

getting so close to being done - I think its lookin purdy!

num 38

2010-02-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

testing out my "new" cpap creation.... LMAO

37

2010-02-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

Veronica "posing" - "mom take a picture of me like this"

day 36 PW

2010-02-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

taped off - interior painted - left to dry overnight

post 35 - more power wheels

2010-02-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

all clean and taken apart

post 34 - PW project

2010-02-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

working on the power wheels Barbie Jeep - taking it apart to clean it

the 33 / 365

2010-02-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

gotta up load from phone grrr

post 32 - weird

2010-02-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

it was weird for me to see my dad's name on a grave stone because he is still alive. He told me it was weird for him to see it too, for sure I bet! I received some pictures from my uncle. He told me my dad was named after his uncle, both are Charlie A Sauer. I did not take this picture, but I wanted to share it for this date.

31 of 365 I love this

2010-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite things to look at in my house. clean white sterile - words I think of when I see this counter so clean. My Kitchenaid is just something I like to look at period. I ♥ it

30 / 365 - bath time

2010-01-30T18:27:00.000-08:00

After Kaley's b-day party @ inredible pizza, we hung out an mama gino's. Later in the evening the girls took a bath in her HUGE jacuzzi tub.. Im jealous, I want one that big!

29 of 365

2010-01-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

my little booger monsters in their car seats

the 28 th

2010-01-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

Paul insisted I post this pic from the 29th. just a random yellow FOFO as I call them.

no 27 - Kaley's B-day

2010-01-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

Kaley turns 11, we all had dinner out at Red Robin - YUMMM!earlier that same day a guy we know decided to run from the popo in Pecan Grove, it didnt end well for the car or the house, but the guy is "ok" now...... look at that house, gosh! no one else was injured thank goodness.

pic 26

2010-01-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

num 25

2010-01-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

post 24 - Valerie turns 4

2010-01-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

since we had her party already, we just let her pick a place to eat out tonight. She picked incred pizza, but we ran into time issues (icred was closing early on sundays) and ended up at McDonalds. She was still very happy, and enjoyed everyone telling her happy birthday and all the cards she got in the mail too.

day 23 - bike ride

2010-01-23T16:55:00.000-08:00

the girls love to ride their bikes. I take them out to the cul-de-sac across the street and let them ride. I let them pick what pictures to post today.

this is # 22 - pow pow power wheels

2010-01-22T14:56:00.000-08:00

I painted the girls name on their old busted up looking power wheels. Immediately after this picture, we found out the batteries are shot! stay tuned for our power wheels project this year.

day 21 -coins for the candy machine

2010-01-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

(image coming - on cell phone)
paying the water bill @ city hall, the girls begged for money for the candy machines. I only had one coin so they split the handful of gum they got.

entry 20 - Ronka wants to do it

2010-01-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Thats what I heard at dinner tonight. Veronica wanted to cut the meat by herself and of course Valerie wants to do everything Veronica does I let them get their plastic knives and cut their meat.

19 on the 19th

2010-01-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

number 19, the girls made cupcakes with their "cup cake maker". The icing device is very hard to work with, and it all tastes like poo. The girls think the opposite, and had a blast making and eating these.

day 18 - tick tock

2010-01-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

Paul took this picture I thought it was kinda funny. He has been working on the rims for days, and he had the timer so he could check the paint. Darth Vader came from a friend of his, as a Christmas gift.

entry 17 - drawing machine

2010-01-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

Veronica and Valerie got a "drawing machine" for their birthday from a friend of mine. I had to help them with it of course, but we had a good time. this picture makes me dizzy, lol why I picked it!

16 - Paul's newest "project"

2010-01-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

Paul bought some rims and tires from a friend for $20, he is spending alot of time woring on them and repainting them to look nice. hope they turn out for him

post 15 - Veronica's crazy dot

2010-01-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

Entry 15 - Sometimes you only have mere seconds to turn on and snap a pic before they change their minds about having their picture taken… and then hope that is captures everything you want to remember and share..

Veronica took a stamper and stamped her forehead, I also found an old temp tattoo and she wanted to wear that too. We went to Target again, and she got a few stares, lol. She kept saying “that girl/boy is looking at my tattoo”
lol , she gets stares alot, she always has fun dressing herself, and I find it amusing myself as I see her walk out in her "get up" each day

entry 14 – Houston we have a mouse!

2010-01-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

I promised Veronica a pet mouse for her birthday. We were waiting to see what deals we could find on a new or used "home" on craigslist as of course who isnt still hurting from the holidays. We were very lucky and found a generous guy on craigslist who gave us a "home" for the mouse for free, we just needed the essentials for the inside, like bedding, food etc. We found out Paul was off so we got to go out and get the new mouse since Paul wanted to be there when she bought the new pet.We went out to target to spend the girl’s birthday gift card from pepaw Sauer. Veronica got supplies for the mouse she wanted, and Valerie got a dress up dress, and they both got new piggy banks. Of course one had to stop and go potty in the middle of the trip, but I still count my blessing for them both being potty trained.

entry 13 - farewell Rick

2010-01-13T14:15:00.000-08:00

Corey has been great at adding a live "soundtrack" to our lives, at random begins singing and strumming whatever comes to mind. lol!

well today is Rick and the boy’s last day. We won’t see them again till summer, hopefully not longer than that. We had a nice dinner at Yucatan, a tex mex restaurant, and had our hugs said good night and goodbye.

entry 12 - Park Day, Fire night

2010-01-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

Rick and I took the little ones to the park today. We had a picnic lunch, which was pretty yummy, and then the kids played for about 3 hours straight. Rick and I chit chatted, hollered at the kids a few times, and got to swing and have some laughs ourselves.

even with the kids playing full force, they still had plenty of energy when we left, that was pretty surprising. Rick got fire wood, and then the kids got back to playing at mama gino's outside on the playset.
Kaley and I started the fire, the kids still playing around the yard, later the kids veged out to the TV while the big kids had a great time by the fire! and one "special" big kid spent some time by the toilet. lol, he almost had a face - to - face with it, he luckily didn't get that far.

entry 11 - alot of time at "the Chierighino's" aka my mom's or Mama Gino's

2010-01-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

Spending alot of time at my mom's with everyone is really nice. we didn't do much this day, it was still fun, and Veronica somehow managed to get into some trouble anyway.
My mom left up the Christmas tree so it would be up when the family was all together for the "Chierighino Christmas". It is kinda funny seeing a christmas tree this far into January

Day 10 - lunch w my SMO gals & family game night!

2010-01-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

Had a meet for lunch at 2 w my SMO (surro moms online) Houtson gals. We ALWAYS have a great time! Olive Garden was the pick and it was soooo yummy!!
the lighting for the pic was bad, but it was a good time no matter.Stacey (SMO friend) brought the girls gifts that she could come to their party. their XL gift bags were FULL of goodies, and they loved them all. here they are with the mermaid dress up bottom and cute heart leotard for the top. Veronica playing "real" mermaid, lol.Family game night, we play alot of games and this was just one of the games on one of the many nights that we played them.
Corey and Rick jumped up at one point yelling "Infinity Squad!!!" showing their tattoos, lmao! we all just have an awesome amazing time no matter what we are doing, as long as its together!Candace and ChrisPaul and I gaming.

Day 9 - Party, Chierighino Christmas, & Tattoos

2010-01-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

the girls had a great party, not as many showed up because of the cold, but they didn't notice and still had a blast! The cake pops were a hit with everyone, the pizza was yummy, almost not enough, I would have liked left overs, but cant win every time.
oh my voice was MIA today, I had to whisper the whole party, not much fun. It was very difficult to communicate at all.
We had the Chierighino Christmas, hmm where are some pics??
the A E squad got ready headed out for Pain of Love Tattoo shop, 4 of us were starting a off shoot crew, the Infinity Squad!
"AE squad" 7 members strong

the exclusive "Infinity Squad" 4 members strong

Day 8 - getting ready for the party

2010-01-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

spent all day getting ready for Veronica and Valerie's rock star b-day party. I hand made cake pops a little over 100, and 50 had great detail, and looked like Hello Kitty!
this day was also the begining of my voice going away.

Day 7 - sammie shop trip

2010-01-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

slept in from hanging out all night the night before, and got up pretty late about 11am. The girls and I got ready and headed out with Corey, Conald, Rick and the boys,to mom and aunt sherry's sandwich shop in Friendswood.The kids had a loud good time, ate PBJ, chips and yummy cookies. The older kiddos, we had hoagies that were delish.We didn't stay long as the shop is small, and it was pretty darn cold outside, so we headed home.Momma Gino got the grandkids pop toy guns -pink for the girls

Day 6 of 365 - visiting cousins

2010-01-06T23:38:00.000-08:00

the girls are so excited to get to see Julian and Quentin their cousins. They got their little table ready, for when they got here. red tissue paper for the table cloth, and the basket arranged by Veronica, she loves creating stuff like that

day 5 of 365 -its so cold out

2010-01-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

I went outside ealier today to move around some outdoor furniture for the b-day party sat. I didn't have a coat on, so I didn't last long and came back in to do more constructive things indoors. I can't believe how cold it is, and its supposed to get even colder. I hope its not too cold , or guests know how to bundle up. The girls are excited about their party, and they should be!
one thing we did all warm indoors is feed the cat some cat treats, yeah Merlin had some too. oh and Veronica turns to me and says " I want to try the cat treat, it looks good" so I tilted the bag to see what shed do, and she jamed her hand in and began munching before I knew what happened. She said immediately that "mm this tastes yummy" , and SHE is the picky eater. All I could do is laugh, and tell her shes not supposed to eat cat treats, yuck!

Day 4 of 365 - getting sick?

2010-01-04T17:39:00.000-08:00

this lazy day got even lazier when Paul woke up not feeling well, and running a slight fever. Veronica laying with Paul on the couch this evening. Watching Mythbusters. I hope we don't all end up sick now

Day 3 - just hanging

2010-01-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

we just hung around pretty much all day. Veronica and Val did go to memaw Jenteks, while Paul and I had an early dinner with my sister and her BF at Cracker Barrel. Ahh good times with adults and no kids.
heres Val chillin in her new chair from aunt Gina. u can see we moved the giant blue recliner out, and moved their doll beds and doll highchairs into the playroom ....finally.

Day 2 another good begining

2010-01-02T22:40:00.000-08:00

I created and listed my first Etsy item today.
If you don't know, Etsy is a website to buy & sell all things handmade. It is a pretty popular site, and I hope to keep adding new items regularly.
I was so excited to finally get it listed, that I didn't take the best of pics. oh well, heres to another grand adventure!! ~ My Stuff Rocks!
If you want to visit my shop go to http://www.mystuffrocks.etsy.com
I hope to also open a "fan page" on facebook as well, look for that in a future post.

starting off right

2010-01-01T22:34:00.000-08:00

day 1, Happy New Year!
Started this new year off right, with a little help from my brother Corey. He installed a new ceiling fan in our bedroom. I have no idea why I never asked for his help before with stuff like this. I guess because I still think of him as my "baby brother".
The girls ran around and had fun hanging out with him and his girlfriend Meghan. they watched Harry Potter, and she showed them her really neat giggle man replay app, and they both LOVED it. I want an iphone now, wah.

Veronica turns 5

2009-12-27T22:47:00.000-08:00

Veronica is officially 5 years old.. wow that was FAST!
we are having her party combined with Vals Jan 9th, she is so excited to be turning 5.
Four generations!7lbs 3 oz

will this matter in 5 years

2009-12-21T12:38:00.000-08:00

yep I think this pic matters alot, lol.
Me in the glory, pregnant with my first child! It is almost her 5th birthday, and gearing up for that I thought I'd share a pic! I was about 37 weeks in this pic, so not quite 5yrs exactly but close enough!!
and a funny tid-bit about this shirt I am wearing in this pic.. This is one of the only maternity shirts I have held onto, and wore during all 4 of my pregnancies, and I still have it in my closet.
My pregnancy pics have also gotten way better through the pregnancies, this is one out of a handful of pics when I was pregnant with Veronica.

its been awhile!

2009-12-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

so alot has happened that I really wanted to blog about. why I didn't, well life happens, and laziness lol.. I have a resolution though, starting Jan 1st I AM going to take a pic everyday, and at least post a sentence or two about that day.
I am leaving it open to posting more than one picture per day, but I will try not and over load the page, lol. Which is hard to do with 2 cute kids, and camera happy photog mom!
I may skip posting a few days, to then post the past days on a furture date, but there WILL be a pic to post from each day :)
hmm, I wonder if I left any "rules" out, or forgotten about.. well see :)

Veronica's 1st black eye

2009-10-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

so it seems my older daughter has all the luck with injuries.. if you can see in the pic she has her 1st black eye! also in the pic her right (pic left) eyebrow has a huge scar thanks to another incident earlier in her life. She has also (in the past) had her pinkie nail pulled 95% off when she got it slammed in a door, it did eventually fall all the way off, then grew back normally, but sheesh this girl gets it bad, and often when it comes to injuries, esp compared to Valerie.Veronica got the black eye while attending her friend Nicole's b-day party. From what I heard, Veronica got too close while one adult was pushing another little girl on a swing, one of the teeter totter type, and bam, face injury. she ran to me crying of course, and I had no idea it was that bad cause she wouldn't show me her face at first, it was buried in my chest! she finally showed me and told me what happened. I guess you can only tell a child something so many times before they have to learn it the hard way. I had been telling both girls to stay away from the swings if there were children swinging on them. aw poor baby! here is the party we went to, taken before the black eye incident!

playin in the playhouse

2009-10-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

(editing the date of the post to reflect date of the events)
My mom brought Kaley, Ryan, and Corey over to my house for dinner. I made YUMMY burgers for everyone. I had these cheeses from border, smoked applewood bacon, and tomato basil cheese, both were a hit, I mostly liked the applewood bacon!
I love being with my family. Seems there is always someone missing at every get together though. I miss my older brother so much since he lives in Washington state to be with his twin boys. I miss my sister sometimes cause she is an hour away. I can't wait for christmas when we should ALL be together!!!!!!
here is mama Gino playing with the girls in their playhouse. They loved this!! they brought out play food and plates to make their own dining experience.it was pretty dark out, so they used daddy's flashlight for lighting.

Vitiligo - found some spots on Valerie

2009-09-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

While giving Valerie a bath awhile back I noticed a white spot on her back. I didn't think of it really at first, then it dawned on me that it was a spot from Vitiligo. This skin condition runs in my family, and while myself have no spots, no Vitiligo, my mom does. I am not sure about my siblings, maybe my mom can chime in on if they have it or not, but I don't think they do.
I don't know if you can see all of the spots in this picture, you may have to click it, but there are 3 spots, which at first I only noticed 1, the larger, then a second afterwards, and then I noticed even a 3rd after I loaded this pic to the computer just now! They are on the back of her left shoulder.
No big deal, just thought I'd share this interesting new fact about my Val-val... gosh those "V" words..

DISNEY WORLD 2009 - arrival day & Parks Day 1

2009-09-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

I am so ready to go back. I had a blast and even though it was alot of walking, humid, sweating, It was a magical vacation.
We left late on Friday Sept 11, about 8:30pm. Paul was still on his night schedule so he drove all night, and the whole way. It rained pretty much the whole drive there. We arrived at the resort about 12:30 noon on Saturday the 12th, which was good time, we stopped a couple of times of course for gas and bathroom breaks, and food once, since we had sandwiches snacks and drinks in a cooler in the van. We checked into our hotel, which we stayed on Disney property at the Pop Century resort. After we checked in, we didn't do much. We left Paul in the room to catch a much needed nap, and the girls and I took the van to Down Town Disney, and took a stroll around there to check it out.
Valerie sleeping on the drive to Florida.We got closer to our destination, and we saw this bad wreck. a Truck had flipped over the guardrail. Lots of people were stopped to render aid.Don't laugh, but I started to tear up when I saw the sign and told the girls "look we are at Disney World!" they shouted and screamed in joy, lol!! our hotel Down Town Disney Sunday went to the Magic Kingdom park. It pretty much rained everyday, at least a little, nothing we had to run to get out of though, well except when we got in line to ride the Haunted Mansion, it poured as soon as we got under the covered sidewalk, then it was gone by the time we got out.The first thing we rode was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which was one of the girls favorites. Us on the ride, of course dark. After that we rode the Haunted Mansion, then headed over to Its a Small World. Daddy with the girls going to the ride.Riding Dumbo ride.. my first time even though I have been 2 times to DW and 1 time to DL
Merry go round. There was enough ponies to go around so Paul and I rode too, lol!
race track, Veronica got to "drive"Swiss Family Robinson Tree house. We had watched the movie about 2 weeks before so they knew what it was all about.
After the park we had reservations to have dinner at Chef Mickey's inside the Contemporary Resort hotel right down from Magic Kingdom. On the looooong walk there, the girls took a snoozer lol. We had walked ALOT!
At first Veronica did not want to get up with the characters, but after we bribed her with ice cream, she got up and was excited to see the characters.ahh what a day... Day 2 coming soon

Dinner outside - missed post Sept 5

2009-09-07T16:38:00.001-07:00

The girls wanted to eat outside so bad, so I agreed. We have a nice new patio table we got over the summer, and it was a nice cool evening with storm clouds rolling in. We had Meatloaf (recipe here), velveeta shells n cheese, corn and sunbeam dinner rolls, with sweet tea to drink.
it was thundering and lightning as we were finished eating!! perfect timing!

Lots of Picnic n Park fun!!

2009-09-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

I was really pondering what to do today. Picnic was suggested and I thought that was a great idea. I packed us a lunch and away we went with our stroller down to our subdivision's park, just down the road.
We unpacked our sandwiches, chips and drinks, and had a yummy lunch, under the shade of a nice oak tree. Haha, Veronica's picture smile is rather toothy.Veronica had to potty, so thankful they have a bathroom down there. We then went onto the playground. The slides were pretty hot esp on one side, but they went down a few times anyway. They also love to play on the monkey bars. They need my help to cross, being so short I hold their legs while they swing across with their arms, lol. Valerie went first, Veronica didn't like that too much :Pthen Veronicanow THIS is a REAL smile!!!
After the monkey bars, we went and looked for acorns, Veronica loves to look for these, and Valerie was a big help to her sister in finding a bunch today.While looking for acorns, I saw some of these little plant things. They close their leaves when you touch them. I showed the girls and the thought it was very cool. I have no idea what the name of these things are.They were touching them together, getting very close to see the leaves closing.shortly after, we all agreed that it was time to go home.
BYE

view all the pictures from today here..
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=134948&id=656893254&l=d910c48ed3

From scratch cinnamon rolls

2009-09-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

My first time making cinnamon rolls, and icing from scratch. Thanks Paula Deen for THIS recipe.
total time from start to finish 3hr 15 min
finished product... yuuuuuummmmmyyyy !! the girls of course had the same reaction

Just playin

2009-09-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hanging around the house this evening, snappin some pics.
My girls are my heart ♥
My Valerie - aka Balerie
My Veronica - aka Ronca
Veronica hugs Valerie :)
Valerie hugs Veronica

My surro baby's debut!!

2009-08-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

I delivered my 2nd surro baby today, 8-28-2009 10:25am 8lbs 4oz 19 1/2 inches long
see more pictures posted on my surrogate blog page, www.surrosaurus.blogspot.com or to the single post - http://surrosaurus.blogspot.com/2009/08/big-day.html

We love to color.

2009-08-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

The girls have been really into coloring and drawing lately. They each have their own box with their own colors, and bring them out daily. Veronica has also taken to the scissors lately as well and seems to cut out at least every other page that is colored.
I joined them today at the table coloring a HUGE coloring book with Disney Princesses. Needless to say, my picture did not come out as great as it could have, seeing as how I was coloring with nub tipped crayons, lol. (excuse my 9mo fat preggo belly, lol I tried to crop my fat butt out already, couldnt remove the whole picture, :P )

When dinner goes... yuck

2009-08-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

I made Matzo Ball soup for dinner this evening. I have had it once before at a restaurant in Houston near the galleria , called Kenny and Ziggys (which I have a lunch date with a friend there tomorrow) and it was sooo good.. well what I made was NOT.
I was pretty hungry and so I made myself breakfast for dinner complete with coffee (instant Tasters Choice, my fav!)!! yummm
excuse the bacon, the ends are never done all the way, and to get them done I just pull them apart and cook them by themselves since I hate bacon that is too crunchy and hard.

Goofing around

2009-08-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

We were goofing around the other day, see what we were up to. :)
Veronica and Valerie were pretending like the had babies in their bellies, lol. Veronica took her "baby" out and was holding it. I have one of those yoga balls and the girls can't stay off of it no matter what! you can't see it, but Veronica is sitting on it!Here Daddy was playing monster and attacked Veronica while on the ball. They are so funny.
It was Veronica's Idea for me to take this pic. She was saying how strong she was.
And then Valerie had to get in on the action, she could barely hold it up and it fell 3 times before we got his pic. You can see Veronica running up with her hands up to catch it, hehehe.

Another day, another playdate.. busy week

2009-08-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

I don't mind this being a busy week. A lot of kids are starting school next week, and I will be having this baby soon, so a week of "busy fun" is cool with me.
We went to Another Time Soda Fountain with more gals from our "mom group" and had a yummy lunch, along with ice cream at the end, which they brought out toppings and the girls got to top their own ice cream the way they wanted. I also had Kaley with me again.
here they are coloring so nicely. Veronica LOVES to color
and heres Valerieand Kaley.and the GRAND finale.. yummm

Incredible Pizza Co = Incredible FUN

2009-08-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

We had a play date at the Incredible Pizza Co. with a few gals from our "mom group".
I brought along The Girl's, and Kaley.
Here they are with their shotguns, LOL. Its a TEXAS THANG!
Valerie riding on a horse.. yee haw.. another Texas thang I guess, lol!!
Veronica wanted to drive the go carts, but shes too small.. so the arcade game had to do.. She really does take after Paul.. TOO MUCH! lol
and last my friend Nena playing a drum game, kinda like "Dance Dance revolution" but with a drum.. so funny. and her daughter Peyton in the back ground, one of the girl's best friends.

Dancing Princesses

2009-08-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a sweet thing. 2 Sisters playing dress up and dancing together. They fight alot, so I had to capture this loving fun moment.

Merlin so cute

2009-08-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

I saw him laying on the floor next to me like this and I thought it was cute! looks like he is holding his toy. :)

Today is my 26th Birthday :)

2009-08-15T17:44:00.001-07:00

I had a great birthday today, even though my husband had to work last night AND tonight. my mom came over and made Chicken Spaghetti for me and also brought over a yummy Ice Cream cake!! My mom also watched the girls for me while I went out to kroger super doubles event with my friend Nena, because Paul couldn't, he was at work.
Also my IPs sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, Thank you F & L !!!

This doll...

2009-08-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

I picked up some clearance toys for the girls birthday and christmas etc. and this one has me weirded out, because I think it looks pregnant.. do you see it?? strange..

goofing around..

2009-08-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

not quite tall enough to reach on their own, so they figure out how to get where they want to be, haha.
getting nice and hot and sweaty in their oh so cute dress up dresses!!

day of parties

2009-08-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

We had 2 b-day parties to attend today. 1st Was for their friend Peyton, who is celebrating her 4th b-day, and the 2nd one was for my niece Nicole who is celebrating her 11th b-day.
I got a pic of the girls before we left for Peyton's party, but didn't get any pics at the party. I did remember to get pics at Nicole's party as there wasn't as much going to distract me from pics.
The girls all dressed up ready for Peyton's Tinkerbell, fairy and pirate party.At Nicole's celebration, the cake was an ice cream cake, so yummy
Valerie licking icing off the bottom of one candle

Chuck e Cheese day

2009-08-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Chuck E cheese today for a couple of hours, and we brought along Nicole my niece whos birthday is on Friday, she is turning 11!
they started out on the horse ride, they really had no idea what they were doing. lol Valerie after slidingI let the girls have their own cup of coins, and Veronica picked to ride with "Bob the Builder".This ride takes a picture while you drive, "with" Chuck E Cheese. ValerieNiki and Veronica.. don't you just love that "smile"??
Riding in the monster truck. this one was funny to watch!!
this one goes up and down when you pedal. Valerie couldn't reach the petals, so Nik had to spin them for her, so she could go up.The girls playing in the playland. This is the only pic I could get of them, they were practically running through this thing. Veronica did come down at one point and say her knees hurt, I told her it was from crawling on her knees, she said "oh" and went back to play again.
This was our "grand finale" before we got prizes and left. I had to bribe everyone with gum!!

Playing dress up

2009-07-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

I put away Veronica and Valerie's costumes in their closet after Halloween 08. I guess Valerie must have seen the box, or remembered I put it up there because she asked to wear her "widard of od, dress up" today. The box has pieces for 3 characters, Glenda the good witch, Dorothy, and the wicked witch. For Halloween Val was the wicked witch, and Veronica was Dorothy. They decided to switch it up a bit today. I got pics of them in only one of the ones they played in.
I LOVE the way they are looking in this pic, lol!!!

you're going to JAIL!

2009-07-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

I wonder where they got the idea of this game!
The girls used a wrap from around a roll of my yarn as handcuffs, and then the space between the fish tank and bookshelf was the make shift "jail cell" with the baby gate in the front.
Veronica says "your going to jail, get in there and don't get out." ... imagination!

Not BABIES anymore?!?!

2009-07-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast they are growing. they are definitely not babies anymore. They do like to get silly and act like babies sometimes though. They are too funny! they got these fake pacifiers from their baby dolls, and came running in to me "mommy we are babies, wah wah" lol!
summer 2009

Back in summer 08summer 2008

summer 2007
Heres a look back when they were babies, exactly 3 years ago today!! July 19th 2006. Valerie on left 6 1/2 mo old, Veronica on right 1yr 7 1/2mo old.in April of 2006

Summer 2005 - Veronica

Another garage sale =s closer to our Disney Vacation

2009-07-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

So my friend Nena and I had another garage sale with our unwanted stuff, and our couponing items. I am using the majority of my profits to put towards our 1st trip as a family to Disney World in September (not my first trip, but a first for Paul and the girls!!!). Yes we make enough money at these garage sales to make a little dent in a vacation trip. Our couponing items are the majority of our profits, though we do have other items we sell. We also split up our items by the way we price them, our price tags are always different in some way.
If you want to save some money I suggest you start hard core couponing, or just let us do it for you and shop at our garage sales for huge savings!!
We officially open at 7am, but we had people showing up and shopping at 6:20am, and we checked them out at 6:45am, which is way early, and we couldn't believe how busy we were that early. I tried to take pictures, esp before pictures but it was hard because there was people in the way pretty much the whole time.
heres the view from down the driveway, thats Nena messing with some tape. Note the plastic baskets, we wernt selling those, we bought them for the people to use as shopping baskets, they worked GREAT!
The innards of the sale, we still had extras under the table to set out when we sold down a littleMore innerds, more overstock under table, excuse the garage mess, lol.and I nominated Nena as cashier for this sale, checking out a customer with a huge purchase!
Also thanks to my mom and mother in law, for letting me borrow your folding tables!

Chick-fil-a Friday :)

2009-07-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

So we all dressed up as cows today for the cow appreciation day, and got our free meals!! we had a great time while here and the food was yummy like always. Nena, Peyton, Parker, and Dave showed up and got their free food too, Dave only a sandwich because he wouldnt do spots all over, but he got to share fries and drink with Nena (Parker and Peyton in picture)
All was well until the very end, when an incident happened in the play area, Valerie was rough housing with Peyton, and Peyton ended up falling and hurting her arm (we are waiting to hear how bad since she fell aways down, and she was taken downtown in an ambulance, they think it is broken and needs surgery!! :( ). The girls feel so bad for their best friend. Get Well Soon Peyton.
I didnt get a pic of myself when we were there, but I took one on a timer the night before.
I also added ears when we went, and painted my nails and toe nails cow print, and the girl's nail cow print as well, which I didnt get a pic of. Being 8 mo preggers painting my nails was no easy task lol.

Sewing at the Vadon house

2009-07-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

There is Cow appreciation day at Chick-fil-a, dress up like a cow and get a free meal!! I don't really have much to work with for the girls costume, so I decided to make them a dress that looked like a cow. I did not anticipate how much work it would take to make even the "simplest" of cow/dress costumes! Here is my almost final work on one of the dresses. I believe the only thing left to do to it, is hem the bottom. I only used items I already had around the house!!... FRONT - the 2 larger spot are actually pockets!BACK/TAILthis is the second dress, topped off with ears that I made. I tried to get them to look more "cow-ish" and stick out, because if they lay down they look like dog ears, lol.
I will probably try and find something to paint their noses with too :) when Friday gets here
and the back of course, TAIL, lol

I also started this dress up dress awhile back after giving up on making a "pettiskirt", I had this material, so I started cutting and sewing. I started it maybe 5 months ago!! and there are sooo many pieces and steps I just folded it up and put it away because I was tired of working on it. I have since started working on it about a week ago, and have almost finished it. again I think all I have left is the hemming on the bottom, and the sleeves, optional bunching... FRONTand BACK used Velcro so simplicity, and adjustable so both girls can wear it.

SurfSide 2009 - annual beach house stay

2009-06-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

We have been having approx a week long stay at a beach house with the "Chierighino" side of the family, for a few years now. Here are some highlights of our 2009 trip to Surf Side TX (June 5 - 12th) since the beach house we stayed at in Bolivar TX had been practically annihilated. Also a link to the whole HUGE photo album. http://thevadonfamily.shutterfly.com/47
Veronica got stung by a jelly fish on our first day in the water! The jelly fish were BAD that day!We colored on butcher paper taped to the picnic table on the patio, we had a couple of layers going! (Conald papa gino, Quentin, Julian, Valerie, Mom Karen mama gino
We played with water balloons (Valerie, Veronica, Quentin, Julian)
We played all kinds of games this one being Texas Holdem, and everyone seems to be "picking something, lol. way to pose family! (Corey, Kelly, Paul, Rick, Meghan, Conald, Mom Karen, Candace)
We played in the beach water (Veronica, Rick, Julian, Valerie, Quentin, Conald aka Papa Gino)And the Grand Finales!! every family within the Chierighino family, had matching shirts!
top - Rick and Corey
on bench - Candace, Conald, Amanda w/ Valerie, Karen w/ Veronica, Paul, Megan, Quentin, Ryan and Julian
Kaley on the bottomand us being silly!!

Veronica's 1st Dance recital - May 30th

2009-06-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Veronica had her first dance recital on May 30th. She started the lessons back in about Sept 08, and went every Tue. Valerie wasn't potty trained yet, so she couldn't participate. Valerie is potty trained now, and has expressed to me she wants to dance now, I just wonder if I can afford 2 in dance class or 2 in any activity together!
a couple of pics from her class, first one with her teacher, Miss Hilary, 2nd one cheesing for the camera.some backstage pictures.

and her posed pictures. "Tooth Fairies" and "Honey Bees"
Videos from her rehearsal, not the actual recital. (posted from my youtube account)

Swim Lessons

2009-06-22T11:37:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to get the girls into swim lesson, mainly for the pool and water safety, plus its just great fun to know how to swim. I signed them up at the Local school's natatorium, and today they had their first lesson. they are 40 min long and there are 8 of them. Once they got with their teacher I "disappeared" and they had a great time.
They had a platform they put into the water for the little ones to stand on, and some toys to keep them occupied while one of the 2 instructors took each student out. here are Veronica and Valerie goofing around.
Valerie on her turn practicing her leg kicks
Veronica practicing her leg kick

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

The girls were so excited about fathers day. They even helped pick out and make his gifts. They made him each a heart with a handprint and painted it, (he has a hand on each if you can see)
Veronica told him before he open this gift, "its a shirt with a ghost on it" lol. and also funny was that Ghost busters 1 and 2 was on that night!Valerie picked the "license to Grill" t-shirt
I picked out some pictures and made him a collage for fathers day of him with the girls.. maybe I will use this pic in a collage next year, haha. Val holding her hand print and Veronica holding a nice shirt I picked out.

Hello - intro

2009-06-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

well since it is so easy to have all my blogs in one place, I decided to convert the website version of my girls updates, into a blog version of our whole family(also friends and extended family). I think the setup is alot easier to update and keep current, and also easier for family and friends to follow this blog and get the updates.
I have taken a break from my main blog that I started on blogger, and this one will probably start out slow. I have pictures all over the place, and need to figure out where to start, and to get the pictures online for you to view.
lets start out with a pic of everyone in our immediate family - these pics taken during the first part of June 2009, during the annual "Chierighino" family beach house vacation.
Valerie, Me (mom/Amanda), Veronica, and Paul.... and of course in the next pic the BEST dog in the whole world, our wonderful Boxer, Merlin!! who is turning 8 this Sept of 09