sand and surf

 

The best pictures seem to be those the are captured at the beach.  Everything works together perfectly – light, wind, happy kids, candid moments, and sandy babies.  We made an unplanned visit to Clearwater Beach, which turned out to be an enjoyable time for all of us.  I’m still finding sand in the car though that has crept its way out of pockets and shoes, and other nooks and crannies.

Iliana and I took  a quick run to the water’s edge to dip our feet in the cool water.  Notice the rain clouds creeping in over by the right side of the picture.  That’s Florida in July for you - one minute the suns out, the next minute the rain clouds come out to cool us off…and then the sun comes out again.  We will definitely come back for another visit.

toothless

before…

after!

After having a loose tooth for about 10 months now and in no way seeming to want to fall out anytime soon, Iliana finally had it removed.  Actually, she had to have ALL 4 bottom teeth removed!!!  Her 2 bottom teeth were already making their way out with no place to call home, so the dentist needed to help make some space.  It seems Iliana will always have issues of overcrowding and may eventually need braces (like mom and dad).

She was a brave little girl though, and talks pretty funny too.  By dinner time she even felt well enough to have pizza for dinner.  I guess nothing can stop her from having a yummy slice of pizza.  The tooth fairy recognized her bravery with lots of praise that night landing her with $4, a prize, and a certificate for bravery.

velveteen rabbit…or something

We have been watching The Velveteen Rabbit movie over the past few days. The girls really loved this movie and how is flip flops from cartoon to “real life.” So, of course I was asked to make a bunny rabbit.  I searched my easter holiday bin for bunnies and offered up 2 of them, but they were not good enough.  Iliana wanted a homemade bunny.  So I got to work.

The end result…pretty cute, I thought.  But for my Ili, my lover of all stuffed animals, it didn’t meet ”Build-a-Bear” standards.  “It looks a little wierd mommy, ” was her response.  I still think it’s pretty cute! Notice the uneven ears. Well, those are the perks of all things homemade.  When she is older, perhaps my age, she’ll have a collection of pretty-wierd uneven homemade stuffed animals and dolls to pass on to her kids.  Then, she will love them!

I still think he’s cute!

a walk

A walk…

  I love to see my daughters together doing their sister thing.  It wasn’t that long ago when Iliana was holding little Deleyni’s hand and walking her around to show her the world.  To see Deleyni do the same with her little sister is a hopeful view into the future that these girls will always lend each other a helping hand.

Love them!

gotta love Tampa Bay

Gotta love Tampa Bay weather!  Well actually, in my short 10 months here in the Tampa Bay area I have learned to surrender to the unpredictable weather.  This is the beginning of the rainy season which is June through September, and typically is starts off like this…

A beautiful sun filled sky with low clouds.  Towards the afternoon, those clouds get darker and lower.

And then…the down pour.  The good thing about this weather is that it doesn’t last very long. The bad thing is that is gets in the way of afternoon plans.  Just the other day I rode my bike, as I usually do to pick up Iliana from school, with my two little ones in tow in the bike trailer when out of nowhere (because the sun was out and I assumed it was safe) it poured buckets of rain! This is the 2nd time this school-year that I got caught in the pouring rain picking up Iliana from school.  So, I started yelling at Iliana to peddle faster so we could get home and out of the rain.  Poor thing couldn’t focus enough to bike faster than I can run.  And, on top of that we had to get off the bikes to cross the street, AND we had to get off the bikes to open the gate entrance into our community. 

Finally, I surrendered.  Why not! We were soaked anyway, so why not enjoy it and create a great memory of getting caught in the rain and riding the bikes through the puddles for added wetness.  Iliana was so siked that I actually agreed to let her ride through the puddles, which by this time were BIG puddles.  Once we reached home, we changed out of our wet clothes watched the rain fall from under the cover of our back lanai.  About 10 minutes later it was over and the sun was peeking out again laughing down at us saying “ha ha, gotcha again!”. 

A lovely surprise in the sky.

designs by Ili

Perhaps a future fashion designer is what we have on our hands.  Here is Iliana sporting her lastest sweater design (like she really needs a sweater in the month of June here in Florida).  

This sweet lilac fleece sweater features a very sheek curl-over collar and designer buttons in 3 different colors, shapes and sizes.  Tied ends that fall to the side is so cool and is like nothing you’ve ever seen before…totally original! 

Okay, so Iliana was bugging me to play with my bin of fabric and I was regretfully telling her no imagining that is was ME who was going to be spending a lot of time into putting something together and cleaning up scraps of fabric. (Did I mention I had a headache from being out in the sun all day with the kids and desperately wanted to nap, which I never do).  Anyway, she took out a long rectangular shaped peice of leftover fleece I once used to make a blanket for a friend’s daughter.  She wrapped it around herself like a shawl and described her vision of making a sweater out of it.  I love it when she finds interest in sewing and knitting, and wow, now designing.  So, now I was hooked and felt bad I had turned her down before.    She went on to tell me where to cut the slits in the fabric for her arms and how to turn her collar and that she wanted 3 buttons to close it like a sweater.  Then, I had her pick out the buttons she liked from our button box.  I was trying to convince her to go with all purple buttons to match the fabric.  But I stepped back, held my tongue, and reminded myself that this was her idea, her design, and besides don’t 6-year-olds like to mix-match colors anyway.  After I sewed on the buttons for her and cut out the button slits, she modeled her sweater for us.  Not yet satisfied with the look, she wanted to change the bottom sides that seemed too pointy.  I suggested cutting it or tieing a knot at the ends, and well…voila! A  sweater/shawl/cozy fleece thing-y.  I have to say, it looks pretty good!

Kids have the best ideas, we just have to be open to them.

a day at the zoo

A visit to Lowrey Park Zoo.  Yup!! We just loooooove the animals. Especially Nina, who signed dog for every animal that she saw.

Bats! I know, Gross, but… fascinating.  I guess I’ve been reading too many vampire books.

 

 Petting the stingrays was the best part of our visit.  I think Deleyni was just about ready to jump in and swim with them.   They really enjoyed their calmness and the slimy feel to their skin.

I just love the way this picture came out. When I saw Iliana and Nina looking into the aquarium I had one of those “Oh, blog shot!” moments.  But, the tearjerker was hearing Iliana explain to Nina what she was looking at in a way that was so loving and motherly.  What a great big sister.

fishing with dad

We don’t have to go far to enjoy Florida wildlife because it’s right in our backyard.  But, this post isn’t about lions and tigers and bears (oh my)… that would be another post about my long list of neighborly creatures in my backyard.  Our “human” neighbor spends a lot of time fishing in the back pond and has so kindly given my husband and the kids some pointers to fishing.   So, of course, Iliana the animal lover, was ALL over this little adventure.

Together they caught about 4 fish, both small and medium sized ones and released them back into the pond.  Hopefully they escaped the alligators too.  Iliana wondered why we couldn’t just bring the fish in to keep in our fishtank.  As I talked her out of that big idea, we also decided to make it a habit of stepping out more often to enjoy the pond, minding the alligators, of course. 

Here are my girls with our dear sweet, sweet, neighbor, Mr. Bob, enjoying some peaceful quiet time.

I’m b a a a a c k…

Okay, so lots of you were wondering were I ran off to.  Well, to tell you the truth I was removed from this world by aliens and plopped  into 2 other worlds for some adventure, because you know, 3 kids just wasn’t enough adventure for me.  The first world was called Facebook.  Yes, good ‘ol FB swept me up in a whirlwind of status updates, and family and friends of past and present.  It has been wonderful to reconnect, and very time consuming. The second world I was taken to by these aliens was called The Twilight Saga World.  However, I am not a stranger to this world.   Many of you know this world too well.  I am officially DONE with each of the 4 books, which put together seem to weigh more than my baby girl.  It was amazing! I had an awsome time there!  My husband, on the other hand, would have his own opinion about my voyage to The Twilight Saga World.  He is also glad that I am DONE.

So there you have it.  And now I’m back with tons of pictures waiting to be uploaded to my computer for some storytelling. 

Thanks for reading!

sun, sand, and dolphin

A day with Tata, Deleyni, and Nina at the beach in New Port Ritchey.  Deleyni swam courageously in cold water with her Tata, loving being twirled around against the water.  Nina, staying closer to shore, enjoyed her snack of sand and leaves.  As for me, I just enjoyed finding the perfect moments to snap pictures of them.  

The best part of the day was a friendly visit from a spunky dolphin.  This dolphin  made his way right through the sectioned off  swimming area like he owned the place.  He jumped in and out of the water, threw fish, and just continued twirling and jumping as if he were putting on a show for his visitors.  Beautiful.

Nature’s little discoveries

       

Instead of walking along a sandy beach here in Florida, my family and I decided to do something more “New England” style. We went on a hike through a nature trail. Not to say that this isn’t a “Florida” thing, but the sound of the crunchy leaves on the ground, the cool air, and the marshy streams felt like I was back in the Northeast. But then, I was reminded where I was as we would pass by palms during our hike, and also by the fact that it was late October and I’m still wearing a summer shirt and my 2 year old was in flip flops.

 

And there off…. The kids were excited to see what they would encounter and what they could discover. They also used this opportunity in the wooded trail to be as loud as they could. My oldest daughter and my nephew were on a mission to find the biggest stick. Not to use as a walking stick, but as a microphone stand. 

 

Along the way, they discovered some creatures of nature. My oldest daughter, Iliana, who is very curious about animals and not afraid to hold a snake over her shoulders (as she has done in the past) was more than ready to shake hands with these creatures.

   

We ended up at a stream and took the kids to walk the plank! Being goofy, I couldn’t resist making my husband reenact a scene from Dirty Dancing…you know the one. Thankfully, no one fell into the water.  We ended our Sunday afternoon as we usually do, heading over to my parents house for more family time and dinner.

bringin’ it back to the yarn

This is the time of the year where I start thinking of some knitting projects. Something about the fall kick starts a need for something warm and cozy.  Well, since I don’t need anything warm here in Florida I’m aiming for the cozy.  Several months ago we braved a road trip from Connecticut to Florida with 3 our kids in our home-away-from-home Honda Odessey.  One of my planned activities for my 5 year old was to teach her how to sew. I precut a back and front side of the teddy on fleece and with embroidery yarn had her do a basic stich all around the teddy (right side). Then she stuffed it, picked out buttons for the eyes and nose, and voila…a teddy was born. 

 Recently she asked me to make her another teddy so this time I decided to knit one.  I found a pattern for a Knitted Pal from The Crafty Art Book by Jane Bull.  She picked her color from my stash of yarn, but towards the end I realized there wasn’t quite enough yarn so one leg is a little shorter than the other. Good thing is she can’t tell and loves it anyway. My husband, on the other hand, thinks it looks more like Gumby than a teddy, which is now teddy’s name. Here is teddy Gumby:

Now I’m working on another Knitted Pal, called ” a friend for Ted” for my 2 year old. Hopefully I won’t run out of yarn this time. Now let’s see, what else can I knit up…

hablando Espanol

As parents, we are our children’s first teacher. However, as parents my husband and I get a big fat F in the Spanish language classroom. Since before our kids were born we talked about the importance of teaching our kids to speak Spanish. I myself wrote my master’s thesis on the loss of identity and the Spanish language amongst Latinos in my generation.  My husband and I are both fluent in Spanish, but we mostly speak English to each other. That was our language of communication when we met. But when we don’t want the kids to know what we are saying we speak to each other in Spanish (it’s like when you spell out words to each other so the kids can’t follow along).  But I don’t want my kids to grow up learning that Spanish was some kind of secret code between mom and dad. I want them to speak it, love it,  and connect to its cultural roots, as we do.  So why don’t my kids speak Spanish? – That’s a question we get asked by everyone all the time. It’s a little embarassing actually, I mean why the hell are we holding back! Laziness perhaps. Lack of confidence perhaps. Perhaps the language IS getting lost as each generation of Latinos becomes more and more dependent on the english language that there is no need to use Spanish.  Whatever the reason, as my 5 year old gets older the more I feel like I’m loosing precious “learning” time. I want to make sure that she is not only able to speak Spanish but speak it like a Latino, with a Latino accent and all. I fear the older she gets the less likely she’ll develop an accent and end up talking like a gringa.

Well, in this time of change that my family is going through since relocating here to Florida, this is one that is going to start now, AHORA!  The other day a woman I met in my moms’ group gave me an idea. She’s also Latina and speaks Spanish to her kids. She suggested we speak Spanish to the kids at home and speak English and Spanish to each other (my husband and I). This sounded like a plan that would work since I told her that in the past people have suggested we just all speak Spanish at home all the time, but for us it would seem a little awkward since we always speak in English, it’s what we are used to. I mean, I don’t think I could come up with a quick come back if we were arguing in Spanish (ha, ha). “Why can’t you just put your damn plate in the sink” just won’t roll off my tongue as quickly or as sternly.

Anyway, today I was surprised because during dinner my husband began talking to the kids in Spanish.  And this is before I told him about my conversation with my fellow mama. So I joined in by talking to them in Spanish too and repeating it in English. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the night in Spanish lesson Day #1.

We were happy to see that our daughters were interested and receptive to hearing us talk to them in a different language. We know we made a commitment to teach Spanish to our kids once before and slacked. This time I’m hoping to stick to this commitment.  I look at it as also being an investment into their future, just as we invest into their 529 plans, we have to invest in building valuable skills. 

 All hope is not lost, I believe. 
 

making homemade beads

A few weeks ago I checked out the book, Kids’ Crazy Art Concoctions, from my local library. This is a great book if your kids like to get down and dirty and cook things up in the kitchen.  This book if full of simple concoctions you can make at home with things you already have in your pantry, cornstarch, slat, flour, baking soda…etc.  I usually make my own homemade playdough with my daughters because they enjoy adding things to it like glitter, or cinnamon, or lemon extract… so this was right up my their alley. They also really like to do beading. I swear I must have more beaded necklaces in my house than Mr. T.  So I decided to try one of the recipies in the book for making homemade beads. The concoction was a simple mixture of cornstarch, baking soda, and water. Once the ingredients are mixed, and cooked over the stove top it become your dough for moding the beads.

On one of our Sunday afternoon/dinner nights at my parents house, my sister-in-law and I gathered our kiddos to get their craft on.  I divided the dough into 4 parts - one for each of the kids to add their choice of food coloring (tip-if you try this project save some white dough on the side). It was my intention to have 4 different colors of dough, but the kids were much more creative than I. My brilliant niece, Saela, at first put a few drops of her signature color PINK, as I was kneading it for her she said “now I want purple.” Then, the controlling side of myself told her “well then it will get all mixed up”…well DAH that was the point! Her dough ended up looking like a beautiful tie-dye swirl of pink/purple/white.  Then Iliana, and my nephew, Amai saw how cool it was to mix colors and make swirls in the dough that they were adding blue, green, and of course PINK.

The kids made all kinds of different shaped beads. This was a good project for them to practice making shapes and letters. As for my siter-in-law and I…yeah we had fun too making sun and moon beads, bumble bees and heart shapes.  After a while, we realized we were still creating with our dough and the kids were no longer around us.

Here are our creations, after baking:

Part II of this project will be glazing the beads with a mixture of glue and water and stringing them together.

to be continued

day trip to: Morocco

Okay, all kids are sleeping and since Sunday I have been dying to write this post about our “day trip to Morocco,” but my girls have not been very good sleepers these days, especially my 10month old who can not seem to fall asleep till 10/10:30 at night…AHHHHH
Anyway, I’ll stop rambling and get to the story. So, this past Sunday we spent the day at my parents’ house as we usually do along with my older brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. My mother, who is always feeling adventurous, and my dad ( “El Chef”) who always cooks up an adventurous meal for all of us made this day a day trip to Morocco. El Chef enjoys cookin’ up a meal from another country. It sets him up for a challenge, inspiration, and inquisitive eaters. I guess you can say that with him, we are taking a trip around the world...every Sunday that is. I didn’t catch the name of this dish, but it was YUMMY!  It was a colorful mix of chicken, tomatoes, zuchinni, black olives, roasted almonds, cooked plums, and some other things I can’t remember. To go along with this theme, my mother made almond flavored rice and garbanzo beans.  Here’s a picture of this tasty meal:

 

To get us into the Moroccan mood, my mom put on some Moroccan-like music and drew on our faces (hum, is that a part of the Moroccan culture? Not sure, but it sure was fun). The kids loved it, of course. They welcome any opportunity to draw on their faces. We were aiming for a simple design on everyone’s forehead, but somehow the kids reverted back to Halloween mode and wanted a whole face painting.

Yes, the adults had artwork done on their faces too, of course, my mom would not have it any other way. My mom drew something that looked like the letter “i” on my forehead (which could have meant “i” for idiot intelligent). My husband decided he wanted eyes drawn on his eyelids so that when he closed his eyes he would still be looking at you…spooky! My brother drew a big blue question mark on his forehead maybe because he is always in thought. My sister-in-law had a sun & moon, which represents her two kids. My dad had something that looked like lightening bolt, which made him look a little like Harry Potter. Finally, my mom asked me to make an attempt at drawing an Om symbol on her forehead, which is like a #3 with a tail.

To get more into the Moroccan mood, my mom handed out finger cymbals, dangle bracelets, and put on a belly dancing instructional video for the kids.  The kids LOVED it. My 5yo, Iliana, loves to dance to almost any kind of music.  She seemed to be in some kind of trance as if she was in a world of her own shaking her little rompshaker, rolling her belly and waving her arms to the beats of the music. I couldn’t help but to roll with it too since it was an opportunity to slip in a little exercise.

The funniest part of the day was when my brother went out to the grocery store and completely forgot all about the big ol’ blue question mark that was on his forehead. He didn’t remember until he got back in the car and looked in his rearview mirror. I amlost peed my pants when he told me because I could picture this big macho straight faced looking guy walking the aisles of a grocery store, checking out at the register and with a big ? on his forehead. And I could just picture someone staring at him and him looking back at that person and saying “WHAT.” Too funny!

Our little day trip tp Morocco was so much fun that it didn’t leave us time to get to our homemade beads for glazing and stringing.  But, we’ll get back to that next time. In the meantime, I can’t wait to find out where our next road trip will be to.

day trip to: India

WOW, I am really crammed for time! It has been 5 days since my last blog. Well, I have another HOT minute to write since all kids are sleeping right now. Baby Nina is doing better with sleeping. I noticed some more teeth cutting through, so I think the teething has been keeping her up these past couple of weeks.

Well this past Sunday’s dinner at my parents house day trip was to India. We celebrated my husband’s 35th birthday and his dinner request to “El Chef” (who I am renaming “Papa Chef” since he is know as Papa to all the grandkids) was for Indian food and Coconut cake (recipie found in Cake Love).  Now, I am not a fan of Indian food, or anything spicy for that matter, but Papa Chef hooked up once again. I ate it and I actually liked it. The pic didn’t come out so clear. Sorry.  But, I guess you could say it was all the spice was heating up my lens.

Although we did not get into our Indian groove this time like we did on our day trip to Morocco, my nephew Amai was still able to get his Sultan on…

However, we did manage to revisit our salsa dancing days and practice some spicy Latin dance steps. After dancing, it was evident that this mama is a little rusty on her toes.  But, leave it to us Puerto Ricans to start salsa dancing anytime, anywhere! Even on a day trip to India.

finding inspiration

I’ve added an “inspiration wire” on our craft board, one of my many inspirations from The Creative Family book by Amanda Blake Soule. I have definitely been finding my inspirations these past few months and I want to teach my girls how to find their inspirations. In many ways I don’t have to, really, since by nature kids are curious and creative makers. But, I can help them to find connections to the things in the world around them.

I told Iliana that we would take pictures or draw pictures of things that inspire us and hang them on the wire.  I explained to her what it means to feel inspired and gave her the example of when she found a big smooth rock and how it inspired  her to paint it. So right away she began looking around the kitchen, grabbed an orange and said “this inspires me to draw on it.” Okay, that’s a start. At first she wanted to use markers, which would not have worked, so I grabbed some whole cloves and showed her how to poke them into the orange to create something. Well, this was her creation.

Inspired by an orange

And here’s a picture she drew of her orange faces hung on our inspiration wire.

a pal for ted…

This little guy is called A Pal for Ted, or Spongebob as my husband says. Either way, it’s very enjoyable by any kid. The pattern for this is in The Crafty Art Book, which is where the pattern for the other teddy bear I knitted is in. The yarn is baby cashmerino by Debbie Bliss. It’s a very soft and silky yarn to work with.  This was a quick and easy knit project since you’re just knitting a rectangle, folding it in half and sewing up the sides, and knitting up smaller rectangles to attach on for the arms and legs.

This little guy, or gal, is for my 2 year old, Deleyni.  It was a great “baby steps to knitting” project to have her involved in as I let her play around with the yarn, pick out the buttons and stuff the body.  And now that it’s done, she’s enjoying stretching out the arms and legs. Great! 

On to the next knitting project…

all things handmade

I have been working on my “Empty” page and have decided to make it my “all things handmade” page.  In coming up with this page I was in need of a home for pictures of my handmade holiday barrettes for girls. 

These are super cute barrettes that make great christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, kids party favors, and any other giving ideas you have for your daughters, granddaughters, nieces, or any other little girl who is near and dear to your heart.

Hope you enjoy this new page and ride along with me to watch it grow.  New ideas for all things handmade are always brewing in my busy mommy brain. And it’s time I bring these ideas to life.

Enjoy!

little toes

I was looking through some pictures trying to find a picture of Deleyni on the potty for a post I was writing on potty training success and came across this picture.  I love, love, love back and whites.  This is one of my favorites. These little toes are not Deleyni’s though, they are Nina’s. When I saw this pcture it was a quick reminder of how quickly time goes by.  This picture was taken by my mom of me holding Nina’s yummy feet just a few days after she was born.  This was late January and it amazes me that she will be turning “1″ next month.  I think it goes to show that no matter how many kids you have it is still a big deal when your baby turns “1″, and it is still a big deal to watch them meet different milestones and grow into their own person.

Here’s little Nina’s little toes now.

day trip to: Japan

This past Sunday’s dinner at my my parents’ house “day trip” was to Japan. Papa Chef worked up a delicious meal beginning with sushi. We scarfed down California rolls and Philly rolls. Another yummy dish was wasabi mashed potatoes.
Now, I thought this would be a great opportunity for Iliana to use her Mulan costume and wear it to dinner, but then the rest of the gang showed up and took this “dinner around the world” meals to a whole new level.

And just to be a goof, here’s my brother.  He’s staking out an attack from behind the Weber.   Hmm, are ninjas from Japan?

The night got even funnier as the men in the family tossed back a little too much Saki.  I knew that that was some strong stuff once hy husband started to slurr his words after about one drink and my brother was giggling and laughing through dinner.  But, no Saki for this nursing mama, or else my baby would be slurring her little squeals. 

Cheers to another fun night!

little mama

Little Deleyni, the little mama in the house has taken on a more nurturing role with her baby dolls when she’s not dangling them upside down as she runs down the hall with them.  I’m proud of this little mama though.  Already she learning how to treasure nursing moments like this one.  She, on the other hand, is a nursing vampire!  Everytime she sees me nursing baby Nina she too wants to nurse, or wants mook, as she calls it.

I think in this picture she’s trying to figure what this is all about.  And as my mother tells me when I complain that I’m being sucked dry, I tell her…enjoy it while it lasts.

christmas joys

Enjoying an early Christmas present. Here are the girls (Iliana is up on top) enjoying their brand new bunk beds.  Although it may seem a little early in their age for bunk beds, there a few reasons we decided to do it sooner than later.  First, I sometimes go to Deleyni’s room to comfort her back to sleep when she awakes in the  middle of the night (about 2 or 3 times) and squeezing myself next to her on a toddler bed/crib mattress is NOT comfortable.  Secondly, Iliana has an opportunity to hang out and read books or color high up from the little ones who are always after her stuff. Thirdly, we got a SWEET deal  on it that we couldn’t pass up.

I had bunk beds as a child and I remember how much fun it was to build a fort around it and junst hang out up top. I hope they discover how much fun it can be too.

Here’s Nina poking out from under the Christmas tree.

Here’s a picture of my mother’s Christmas village. She does such a grest job every year. Seeing it always reminds me of  being home for the holidays. Once my husband and I bought our first home she got me started on my little village too.  This year, since we are in a smaller home, I had a hard time finding a spot to put my village. Creatively, I found a spot on top of the raise bar. I’ll come back and post a picture of it.

a very latin christmas

This Christmas was a blast! It’s been a while since my family spent Christmas all together, and this being our first Christmas as Florida residents made it all the more special.  But also a little wierd.  The absence of cold weather and snow made it a little hard to really get that Christmas feeling. On the other hand, not having to spend 20 plus minutes bundling up the kids while getting hot at the same time  just to get out of the house is something I don’t miss.

Okay, enough rambling… Papa Chef and my grandmother cooked up a storm this holiday.  Abuelita made TONS of her famous empanadas. This year I paid extra attention to how she makes the dough so that I can one day carry on her empanada legacy.

One the menu was pernil (of course), arroz con gandulez, pasteles, chicken tamales, abuelita’s beer gravy for the pernil.

 Oh, and let’s not forget Papa Chef’s best tasting coquito.  

For dessert… flan and a christmas log that Papa Chef spent 3 days working on and the result was a masterpiece.  However, I can’t show you a good enough picture of it since we ate most of it before I could snap a shot of it, but this should do.

We all enjoyed the chaos of opening up presents all together and everyone  yelling thank you across the room. The floor covered with gift wrapping and tissue paper.  Oh, and of course any celebration with Latinos involves loud music and dancing. Some how it also involved instruments this time. My abuelita couldn’t find an instrument so she grabbed a cheese grater and a metal spatula and went at it. So adorable my grandmother, gotta love her.

These were good times. I hope your Christmas was filled with lots of love, laughter, and good food!

more christmas joys

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This was Christmas time – Florida style. It is definitely a joy when you can hang by the beach and listen to the ocean water crasing up against the rocks. It was so peaceful and mesmerizing…I wish I was back there today! My mother, my grandparents, and my 3 girls spent the day at Honeymoon beach in Dunedin, not too far off from my parents house in Trinity. 

Although I love walking barefoot in the sand, this shot made me wish I was soaking my feet at some exotic day spa.  Ahhhhhh….

While I was endulged in soaking my feet and searching for seashells for the girls, Iliana and Deleyni were involved in some good finds  (or treasures, as they say).  Iliana found a beautiful heart-shaped rock, perfect for painting.  Deleyni found some really pretty seashells to add to our collection of seashelles in a vase at home.  And as Tata took them walking  treasure hunting, they came across a baby hammerhead shark that had washed up shore.  It looked a lot a toy rubber shark, I know, but it was real…although no longer living.

Iliana’s footprints in the sand as she “treasure” hunts.

This was a great way to end the year and refresh ourselves for the new year. Good fun, good food, good sun…good napping!

creatively handmade- pencil wrap

For Christmas I bought my little picassoIliana a set of 8 beautiful wooden colored pencils to add to her collection of art tools and supplies. I realized that I needed to find a way to keep them protected from her little sisters having there way with them and ultimately destroying them. So, I made her this pencil wrap using some leftover flannel I had from a previous sewing project and ribbon.  It’s very similar to what you might find to hold knitting needles in ( which is another project I will get to one of these days), but smaller. The result was this little cozy thing.

She was thrilled when she saw it.  I was so happy to see her reaction when I surprised her with this post-christmas gift because her reaction showed me  she’s realizing  how much I respect her love for drawing.  In turn, I’m also teaching her how to respect the tools she uses to create her beautiful masterpieces.
A lesson well learned…wrapped up in a cozy piece of flannel.  Enjoy Ili!

a beautiful night to be sunspired

This evening I joyfully took our dog Zeus for a walk to do his business and while I was walking and wishing Zeus would hurry up so I can get back inside to my kids who are patiently (haha) waiting for dinner, I looked up and saw this.  So beautiful.
A better view than what I had to pick up. The sun was setting behind our house so I rushed back home because I knew the view would be so much better from the back of our house. The open pond and lined cypress tress made the view even more spectacular. I yelled out to the girls to quickly come and see the sky. I knew they’d love it because of all the pink hues.
And, of course, Deleyni says to me ”mommy, it’s pink outside.”

With sunsets like these who wouldn’t be sunspired (smiling BIG).  Hope you are enjoying your evening as well.

day trip to…the park

We decided to shake things up a bit with our day trips, ( as if we don’t shake it up already) and take a trip to Lake Park in north Tampa for a BBQ… over in my neck of the woods this time. It’s a nice big shaded park with lots of grills, pavillions, walking trails, horseriding trails, and did I mention shade! (Sidenote: Yeah, as a new Floridian and as a mom who goes to the park A LOT with her kids…I quickly learned where the parks with the most shade are.)

 

Burgers, hotdogs, corn-on-the-cob, grilled asparagus, potato salad, watermelon…oh yes, and let’s not forget Papa Chef’s “adult” drink specialty. Yum! Later on, the kids (including us adult kids) opened up 3 Kings Day gifts. Deleyni was thrilled to get her very PINK princess umbrella, and Iliana was ready to whip out her art skills when she opened her art kit.

she’s a very serious artist, I must add.

Most of us went walking through the horseback riding trails where Deleyni found that poop ( or dirtique, as she so elegantly calls it) can also come from horses, and to her that was hilarious.  So she was on a mission to point out the horse’s dirtique so no one will step in it.  And each time she’s stumble upon some dirtique she’d throw her head back, her hands out and giggle as if someone just told her the funniest joke ever.

Furthur into our walk Deleyni had some dirtique business to take care of herself.  What’s a mom to do with no potty, no wipes, no bathroom in sight, and only one kleenex stuffed in my pocket.  Well, she’s been potty trained for over a month, which means no diaper on, which means…horse dirtique  meet kid dirtique.

We all enjoyed ourselves so much that we hope to make more day trips to the park for our sunday gatherings.

Again…good food, good laughs, good fun!

homemade “love day” playdough

Making homemade playdough is something I’ve done a bazillion times. I started making it at home once Iliana began eating store bought playdough (YUK). This way, if she ate it then I at least knew she was eating eatable stuff from my kitchen. 

Yesterday, Deleyni and I got an early start on our Love Day activities and made some Valentine’s playdough. She wanted to surprise Iliana with a gift of love when she got home from school.  How thoughtful of her. Two years old and showing love and compassion for others. Muah!!!  She also remembered that Iliana’s new favorite color is purple, so she chose purple as Iliana’s playdough color.

There are several playdough recipies out there.  The recipie I used makes the best playdough in my opinion. Here it is:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup salt

1 tbsp cream of tartar

1tbsp oil ( not heaping though, just a little under or else it comes out too oily)

1/2 water with a few drops of your choice of food coloring

Mix dry ingredients in a medium size pot.  Add oil and water with food coloring. Cook over medium heat while stiring continuously until it forms into a ball. remove from pot and place on lightly floured countertop.  Knead the playdough until cool.   You can now  add glitter to it for sparkle. For Love Day, I made pink playdough with red glitter.   Around Christmas tiem, our favorite is cinnamon (this colors it also) playdough with gold glitter…YUM.  Then she makes little gingerbread cutouts with it. So cute! Other things to try are apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, kool-aid powder packets….the list goes on. 

Needless to say Iliana was very happy to come home and recieve her sister’s Love gift, even if it is only January.

blueberries anyone…

We can never get enough blueberries in this house. Thank goodness for bagged frozen blueberries…there always on hand. To give back some love, Iliana made these delicious treats for her sister, allthough mama ate most of them (oops).  We found this quick and easy recipie for Gale Gand’s blueberry bites in the Parents Connect insert of the November issue of Nick Jr. Magazine.  In the center of the cookies we added strawberry jam and wild blueberries (great for these small sized cookies). I think Iliana ate more jam and blueberries than what she was putting on the cookies.  By the end of the night there were only four left, and this is only because Iliana convinced Deleyni to hold off till breakfast so they can have them again.  

Since these cookies are kid-tested & mother approved in our home, I think we’ll make some more for our sunday gathering, which by the way a little birdie told me is going to be a day trip to the city of love…check back in to find out where.

one man’s trash is another man’s treasure

The saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” was so true for us today.  Today I was outside with the kids while they were riding bikes in the coul-de-sac.  We noticed one of our neighbors cleaning out their garage and putting big bulky things out beside their mailbox. I didn’t think much of it, but then I noticed this square thing.

This mystery item stood out to me because it seemed like something I could use to put “things” in.  With 3 kids and little storage space, I’m always looking for something to put toys, books, and odd-ends in. So, I grabbed it to show to the girls for help in figuring out what to use it for. I thought it’d be great to put their favoite bedtime books in and put it next to the bunk beds, but Iliana had better plans for this mystery item.  She figured it would get better use as a baby doll crib.

Perfect!  Together, they have about 6 baby dolls and no where to house them except for piled up in their baby doll stroller.  But those baby dolls stayed right in that stroller because she only wanted to use the crib for a doll I recently knitted for her ( I’ll post about that little handmade  later). So after wiping it down, I folded up an old white sheet and placed it in the little crib as a mattress and topped it with a folded up quilted pillow sham. Viola! Now, she’s asking me to knit her doll a blanket for the crib…another future project to add to my list of knits for the kids.

our newest treasure…

day trip preview…

I was holding back the itch to blog on today’s day trip, but I can’t any longer. I was just looking at the pictures I took of today’s gathering and they are too funny to not share at least one or two of them. I just had to share this one of the goofballs my brother and I as a preview of today’s day trip to…Paris! 

madamoiselle Mini and messieur Amai…

to be continued…

day trip to…Paris

I had to start this post with this picture because it is too hilarious…sorry bro!  Some how our sunday gathering themed dinners have reached a new level. Hmm…how did that happen? Mostly everyone fashioned a baret and a side of sex appeal. Our eating frenzy began early (as the french do) with tea and sweets (ahh…the best way to start).  My parents were pleased for the opportunity to use their china and collection of fine tea cups.

the kids table…

To go with our tea, Papa Chef laid out his lemon bars and strawberry fondu. My girls helped me to make another batch of blueberry bites that we made the other day. This time they came out even better and they were perfect with tea.

On the menu:

Papa chef made a very rich and filling seafood graton topped in a saffron cream sauce topped with breadcrumbs. In it was julianne carrots, leeks, white wine, shrimp, scallops, 2 types of fish, and lobster meat. It was absolutely to die for people! As a side dish we had seasoned rice, french bread and Perrier water, of course. 

During dinner I was reminded to take pictures of the food before it gets devoured. Sorry readers, have to work on that one!  Something about a beautiful presentation of food and a comforting aroma of a home cooked meal sends me to the dinner table first, camera second. 

This was another fun gathering, and more amusing to say the least. Here’s a hint for our next sunday gathering day trip:  you ain’t a southerner until you’ve had this ultimate comfort food… 

 We are too new here to be “southerners”, but this could be step one for us.  Some other ideas for upcoming day trips were discussed on sunday also. Two places we will be visiting are Mexico and Equador. Yeah baby!

If you have any day trip suggestions, please feel free to post a comment.

the knitted doll…

 

Oh yes, that lovely little doll I knitted for Iliana. You know, I really need another doll in this house like I need a hole in my head, but hey, I can’t say no to a knitting project and I guess with 3 girls …well, what’s one more doll, right.

This one was fun to make though, because Iliana helped in the designing. Now, if I can only get her to knit with me, but she’d rather color and draw than pick up needles.  That’s okay, my moment of knitting with her will come as it did for me and my mother and my grandmother.  In the meantime, I better work on my drawing skills, which are not as good as my knitting skills.

day trip south for soul food

Papa Chef takes us down south for some good ‘ol soul food.  When I think of soul food I think of comfort foods, kickin’ back, and laying low with family. So this day trip was just about that.  Slowing down our pace and enjoying the day for what it is.  While it is always a whirlwind to get our family of 5 ready and out the door, this day started off as a light breeze.  Iliana was not feeling well, which resulted in her falling asleep in our bed for an early afternoon nap and soon after Nina also fell asleep in her daddy’s arms. Which left us with one lonely-for-a-sister 2 year old to devote our attention to and  keep for waking her sisters. A couple of hours later, we were ready for our trip. We made it just in time to sit down for dinner.

On the menu:

The most obvious, southern fried chicken, collard greens,  a yummy and oh-so cheesy corn casserole, black-eyed peas (with a little kick to it), homemade biscuits, and Papa Chef’s southern comfort mix drink to make it all go down smooth. 

For dessert:

A very southern, and very delicious sweet potato pie with a cranberry crunch topping.

Doesn’t your belly feel full by just looking at all this good stuff!

Another “chill out” moment here as my hubby attempts to play the piano. This was another excellent day. Full of good food, good fun, and good laughs.

a frosty morning

I am now a believer of the fact that it does get cold in Florida. This was what we woke up to for the past 2 mornings.  I know my northeast friends will laugh and say “Ha! That’s nothing”, as I did when I lived in the northeast and my family in Florida would tell me that they were getting out their winter coats and turning their heat on.  Brrr, I say Brrr!

This past week the weather has been in the 40′s mostly, and in the high 50′s during the afternoon.  All the girls, including myself, came down with colds because of the unpredictable weather and the fact that we gave away our winter coats before leaving Connecticut except for a few fleece pullovers, which are keeping us warm.  Of course, I have all my knitted scarves and hats -so that helped.  But, I could not believe I was bundling up my kids and myself in layers and with hats, scarfs, and gloves.  I thought those days were behind me.  What next? Are we going to be shoveling snow?  And if it snows here… man- we are in trouble.

The good thing about chilly mornings are that they are perfect for some cozy knitting lessons with mama.  Now, this reminds me of  my days of living in the northest and being housebound due to a snow storm.  And with the perfect cup of french vanilla coffee…ahhhh!

The days also allowed me time to knit up and little gift for my dear friend’s daughter who is turning “6.” Happy Birthday Katelyn!

Stay warm my friends!

day trip detour

For this Sunday’s gathering we took a detour in day trip.  We bypassed visiting an exotic spot to visit some relatives in Orlando for a family barbeque (yes, a barbeque in January). We also took a moment to celebrate Nina’s 1st birthday.

 

 Papa Chef kicked back and relaxed and left the cooking up to my cousin John and his wife Leidy. Thanks guys! (sidenote: notice the adobo, yup, us Latinos can’t grill without it!)

 However, Papa Chef  did make some delicious red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese frosting for Nina’s birthday. For fun, we let the kids frost and sprinkle their own cupcake.

Here’s Nina wearing her birthday crown made by her sisters.

And let’s not forget how much the kids love tio Mario.

This picture of my mother and her dearest friend (my Titi) of 30 plus years is by far my favorite picture.  It sits close to my heart because to me it speaks of years of loyalty, dedication, understanding,  love, pain, and laughter. My mother and her friend have been friends since high school. They have been through many ups and downs together only to prevail as friends. Together, they’ve watched, as each other’s children grew up to become adults and parents of their own.  And now, these two young beautiful women, share the experience of being grandmothers together.

We can all remember saying to friends of the past – “we will be friends forever!” But does it really happen? Can you really promise to maintain a lifelong friendship? Well, these women are proof that it is possible. These women are inspiring.  I hope to be like them in this picture chatting away, catching up, and watching my grandkids and my friends’ grandkids playing together.

It’s been 5 months since I left Connecticut and I’m really missing my friends {can you tell}.  As my mother and her friend have, my friends and I have been through good and bad times together (like the best and the worst years that college life has to offer), we have watched each other grow from girls to women, and have watched each other become wives and mothers.  I love the friendship I have with them and look forward to what the future holds. You girls know who you are and just want to let you know…I think you rock!

Sooo {wiping back the tears}, this new year’s  belated resolution is to make sure I do my part to stay connected…no matter where I live.

Cheers to family and friends!

rainy days, cold days, sunny days

Here’s my little one looking out into the rain wishing she could go out and play. The weather has been unpredictable and unforgiving to the beautiful palms I’ve come to know. One day it’s raining, one day it’s cold, the next sunny and warm.  Both Deleyni and Nina have been house-bound due to a stomach bug, which started as nasty cold.

Just this morning it was chilly and raining, which meant I had to drive Iliana to school today and told her I’d pick her up by car because of the rain (usually we ride bikes). Then by the afternoon it was sunny, dry and warm out. Can’t mother nature make up her mind!  Fingers crossed here for a better day tomorrow.

day trip to…well right here in Tampa

Yes Superbowl Sunday right here in Tampa meant that this day trip was right here at home (well…in the cozy comfort of my parents home).

On the menu:

Of course…gotta have wings. Papa Chef made these super flavorful terriaki wings with sesame seeds, cilantro (my favorite must have) and a little kick. We also had ribs, chili topped with a mexican cream sauce and avacado relish, dumplings (or pot stickers), a broccoli salad, and my famous 7-layer dip.  Hold on while I wipe the drool from the corner of my mouth. Thanks!

I don’t know what happened in the game – sorry Superbowl fans, but it’s not my thing.  But, this sunday’s gathering of food and family was again the best event.

what to do when your stuck at home…

 My 2 little ones and I were stuck at home recovering from a stomach virus and trying to make the best out of our day at home.  So, what to do when you’re stuck at home…you see if your little sister can fit in the fridge. Poor little Nina. She’s on the move and on a mission to discover every nook and crany in the house, including the refridgerator. Then along comes  mommy’s little helper big sister, Deleyni to terrorize the little one – besides, it’s what her big sister would do to her.  So, why not.  Oh something tells me this is just the beginning of many pranks to come in their journey through sisterhood.  Well, gotta praise creativity, right.

And this would be the next best thing to do when you’re stuck at home – trash the place! Yeah, so that mom can chase us around and try to get us to clean it up.  But, I can look at it as a moment for exercise.  Tomorrow… the park!

day trip to Turkey

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Papa Chef slams out another awsomely tasteful dish.  This sunday’s gathering was a day trip was to Turkey (notice the Sultan’s Kitchen cookbook).

On the menu:

We started with an eggplant dip with pita wedges, olives, and tomatoes. I loved it because it was garlic-y and garnished with fresh parsley. This didn’t last long.

For dinner we had lamb topped with a yogurt and garlic sause, a lentil salad, and rice pilaf. I think I’m in love with Turkish food because I love  food cooked with garlic and fresh herbs. I love Italian, Spanish, Greek…yum!  I even asked Papa Chef to make me a shrimp scampi pizza for my birthday this year, and boy it was gooooood! Thanks Papa, this could definitely be a repeat.

After eating, playing, walking in the neighborhood, and making some Love Day crafts, the kids ended their day with a nice game of rock, paper, scizzors with Bernardo (aka Daddy Tio).  This was enough to knock the kids out on the ride back home and put them right into their beds.

through my child’s eyes

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in preventing a mess my kids are bound to produce, or keeping the baby from “getting into” things, but then sometimes you just gotta let it go and see what they see… through a child’s eyes.

To my youngest, Nina, everything is new. The taste of dried up leaves, dirt and sand are just a few of her flavors of the month.  Although she doesn’t care much for the leaves and spits them out, she does like sand. But, it’s all a part of discovery, right. I love the look on her face when she’s figuring these things out and trying to make sense out of her little discoveries.  However, the only little discovery she has made that does make me jump these days is how toilet water splashes when you slap your hand vigorously in it. Gross!

All her discovering and exploring makes for one sleepy baby.

The best discovering is when I get to stare at her sleeping and I always find something new or something I haven’t noticed before about her, like a brighter glow to her skin, or a new angle that shows me just how plump her lips are, or a new curl in her eyelashes, or a new smirk when she seems to be having a happy dream.  Yeah… that’s the best.

student of the month

We are very proud of our little Student Of the Month!  This is won by making good choices and good academic progress. And we thought kindergarten was going to freak her out…geeeze, not this chic!

The proud parents.

day trip to Venezuela

My apologies to Papa Chef fans out there for having been neglectful of  this past Sunday’s day trip feast reporting.  Without further ado, let’s go to Sunday’s day trip to Venezuela…

On the menu:

To start Papa Chef whiped up some mildly spicy shrimp with red peppers to go along with some bread for dipping.  Then it was on to the mother sandwhich of all sandwhiches…arepas Venezolanos.   This arepa sandwhich was filled with (in order) platanos maduros ( fried green plantain), black beans, juicy shredded beef (muy guisado), and mexican queso.  This was “dripping down the corner or your mouth like a 2 year old” kinda GOOD!  Ricisimo!!

For dessert we had besitos, which were like coconut macaroons topped with chocolate.  Perfect for this chocolate lover…oooo, that just reminded me that I still have one in the fridge.   It’s all mine!

Anyway, although it wasn’t Venezuelan weather on Sunday, it was at least warm enough to go in the pool, which Papa Chef so thoughtfully had been warming up since the day before.  But not so fun after Iliana sit up in it 2 times from swallowing too much water gagging herself.  Sorry Papa, but thanks for the foodel!

day trip to…well, my own kitchen

This was not a Sunday day trip, but it was quite a trip to have my 2-year-old help me cook in the kitchen.  In the past couple of weeks Delyni has grown very fond of the kitchen, and I don’ t mean rading the pantry.  Anytime I’m cooking or preparing, she pulls up a chair to stand on to help out.  And although it involves a little more clean up and a little more time, at least I have a little helper in the kitchen.

Today we made homemade hummus.  Deleyni likes to suck the hummus off of the carrot stick, while Iliana just like to eat the carrot sticks. Either way, at least I know they are both eating good stuff.

The hummus did come out a little watery though since Deleyni emptied the whole can of garbanzo beans in the blender before I could drain it.  Now if only I could get her to make a lasagna for dinner…life would be sweet!

Hummus:

1 can garbanzo beans

1 clove of garlic

3 tbsp Tahini

2tbsp olive oil

the juice squeezed from one lemon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4-1/2 tsp of sugar

Add all ingradients in a blender and whip until blended well. May need to add some water little by little to help with the blending. Not too much or it’ll get watery. If it does try adding a little more Tahini.

*adjust the salt and sugar to your taste. I like it on the sweet side, so I add a little more sugar in mine.

Enjoy!

future business women

For over 6 months now Iliana has been begging us to have a lemonade stand.  However, we just could never get around to it.   So she went to the next best person, grandma (or Tata as we call her)!  Tata was more than pleased and energized to get it started right away.  So we did just that at this past Sunday’s gathering at my parents’ house.  Deleyni was also in on the action, but she was more involved in swiping sips of the profits. 

The girls were out there selling for 2 hours.  This business 101 moment was another great opportunity to teach Iliana about money and math and to teach Deleyni about teamwork and commitment,  and of course - how to make the perfect lemonade.  At the end of the day they made $21.75!!!!  Iliana couldn’t decide on what she wanted to do with her half of the money so she’s safeguarding it in her piggy bank while she ponders if she should save it or donate it to a charity.  One thing she is definite on is using some of it to start the next lemonade stand. 

a running we will go

I have been goo-goo-ga-ga over my new double jogging stroller these past few days.  Since I’ve moved to Florida I have been taking full advantage of the outdoors and the warm weather (although we have past up a few camping trips already).  Running was something I never committed to before since running in the cold was something I could not brave.  Here, I’ve forced myself to wake up early and run before the kids wake up.  However, lately the kids have been waking up first – and way too early.   I just can not wake up at 5 am to go run.  I am not a morning bird.  I am a  night owl.  So I howled and howled about needing a double jogging stoller so I can take the kids with me and run with the sun.  Finally, my wonderful husband heard my cries and came home with this double jogger.   YAY!  So, now I can hit the pavement once again and stay true to the night owl that I am.

 I’ve discovered that while palm trees and ponds make for great scenary for running, this is the best view I fall in love with every time – yummy chunky baby feet.

the baker and the domestic diva

Let’s start with the baker.  Iliana had the brilliant idea to experiment with baking.  What started out with “oh, let’s just add some flour and water” became “oh, let’s just add a little bit of this and a little bit of that.”  For a moment I thought she was making up her own concoction of homemade playdough -as I so proudly taught her.  Not! This “concoction” became - well… I guess you could call it cinnamon raisin bread. You decide.  It had raisins in it and it had cinnamon in it, among other things.  I kept telling her to add sugar because I knew I would HAVE to try it and making it sweet would help me get through it.

So, we baked the thing. Cooled it.  And the end result was this:

Yummy, huh.  I know, can’t decide if it’s bread, a block of some kind of cheese, or a small concrete block.  Well, being the  super-mommy that I am,  I HAD to try it.  Thank goodness for that extra sugar (and cinnamon that I sprinkled on top for added flavor).  Dad tried it too.  But, it took some convincing that he would not get food poisoning, and a lecture that he MUST try it or else he would have one dissapointed “daddy’s girl” on his hands.

The kids, of course, liked it though.  Iliana kept picking out the raisins and eating them.  Deleyni, on the other hand, had other plans for the bread, which included turning it into a sculpture.

Now for the domestic diva…

This little nugget is the perfect little helper.  She is my shadow.  Always two steps behind me and always observant of what I am doing.  She loves to help me (and dad too) cook, do laundry, feed the dog, dress the baby, and spray things that need to be wiped down.  It takes a lot of patience on my part though because I’m often on fast mode and she slows me down.  I know I should look at it as a good thing – and I will work on that more.  But, boy she feels proud of herself for what she can do and for her contributions to the family.  The cutest part is that while she’s helping me she’s also singing the theme song from Nick Jr.’s Wonder Pets…  ”WHAT’S GONNA WORK… TEAMWORK. WHAT’S GONNA WORK… TEAMWORK.”

She’s right, you know.  A family needs TEAMWORK in order to function and grow.  How else would my laundry get done?   Thanks for that little reminder, Deleyni, my little domestic diva.

love between sisters

Although it looks like Iliana has her in a headlock, it’s really a very loving embrace.  And why the random loving embrace, you ask . . .well,  Deleyni was playing too close to a really wide sewer drain and it concerned us that she could atually fall in it.  So Iliana goes up to her, cradles her face in her hands, and says “listen to Nana.  Don’t play next to the drain because I don’t want you to fall in it.  I want you to grow up so we can ride bikes together to school and sleep on the top bunk with me.”  Then . . . the embrace.

I love it when I get to see those intimate, loving, yet comical moments that happen between my daughters.  As a sister to 2 brothers, I don’t know what it’s like to grow up with a sister.  I have a few girlfriends who I love to death and are forever in my heart “my sisters, ” but seeing a sister relationship begin to develop is a wonderful thing.  Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not always hugs and kisses.  As young as they are I’ve had a glimpse here and there as to what the future holds in having 3 teenage girls.  Okay, let’s not go there yet – that’s years away!

So, on to the love…

Here they are spreading the love and taking the littlest one for a spin in the cul-de-sac.  I’m certain they are going to “teach her the ropes” on a number of things. 

Nina supports wearing a helmet for bike safety, especially when she is being pulled by her sisters by a piece of rope tied to her big wheel bike.  It’s a good thing the helmet fit almost just right because she toppled over shortly after this picture.  But, I’m not sure if she toppled over because Deleyni yanked the rope to get Nina going, or if the helmet made her head look so big it put the rest of her body off balance.