Time4learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

Down 7 Lbs.

So, in concocting a diet pan for my husband, why in the world wouldn't I do it too? It's not like I'm any Julia Roberts or somethin. So anywho, I'm down 7lbs. in 4 days. Psyco? Yes. Water wieght? Oh I'm sure. I expect the loosing will slow waaaay down after the first week or two, but I'm not one to complain..much...in public. Anyways, it's bound to be a good thing I'm doing it with the hubby, when he feels crappy like he doesn't wanna go on I usually feel fine and can keep him going, and visa versa. For now I'm just trying to improve our variety and keep it rolling. So yeah, woot.


now, for your viewing pleasure...Cutest.Kids.Ever.

My body sucks!

LOL....OK not in the looks way (even though that leaves something to be desired too) in the...I dunno....health way I guess. I'm getting oooooolllllddddd. Not really but I feel like it. Every time I turn around a new something is wrong with me. My ankles ache in bad weather...my back cracks if I think about it lol. Blah. Oh and you wanna hear a good one? OK, so I'm sitting at my vanity looking at all my feminine junk...and I take note of my "face creams". Now what sounds wrong here? I have 2...one is anti-wrinkle cream...the other is acne cream! How can I possibly be worried about acne and wrinkles at the same time?! Aren't those like 2 completely different fazes of life? one would think. lol oh well....end rant.

Ok....well then....

Ok....so it's been MONTHS since I posted. Lots has happened...both the boys had a birthday.
Tony turned 4


Alex turned 6


Lots has changed in the world of parenting for me, as they get older so much changes, I don't think I'm handling it too well. I don't seem to relate to them as well as I did when they were toddlers....I dunno, I've always been able to understand toddlers very well, and the more they become "kid" the less I understand them. I'm getting better though and they are learning to express what they want and need, and I am learning to comprehend the language of kid-dom haha.

I've been homeschooling the boys, home school was NEVER my intention but it works best for our situation, and as it turns out it seems to be spectacularly good for Alex. Alex has a very unique personality and a "different" way of expressing himself. He always has, I don't think it's a "flaw". It's just who he is. And who he is is great. All that being said, I think with his...unique...qualities he would've been either left in the dust or pigeon holed into special ed in public school. As it turns out the kid is pure brain i tell you what. He just doesn't know how to express it. He is very far ahead, and I have a feeling he might skip first grade. He is reading and writing, and understands concepts that truly surprise me. His conferences and assessments have all been spectacular. I really think home school is the best thing that ever happened to this boy.

Tony, not so much taking off in the home school thing. I think it has more to do with the fact that he's 4 than anything...I mean he has the attention span of a gnat lol. Next year when he officially starts kinder will be the real test for him. Don't get me wrong he's quick as a whip...sharp as a tack....he's just a squirrel! Can't get that kid to sit still and focus.

Otherwise, we're pluggin along same ol' same ol'. Which is fine by me. I love the stability and comfort of being married to a man I have known 15 years and been in love with for 11.

To paint or not to paint....

So...I'm a girl, in case you were wondering. And I like to get my nails done....always have. Since having kids though, I havn't really done it. A: I don't want to spend the money, and 2: I just can't talk myself into going.

So I think to myself, I'm artistic....my nails grow long and strong quickly...there's no reason I need fake nails and there's no reason I can't do my nails myself. So, I looked up how to paint my nails the right way, and I've been practicing. I can now do my nails well enough that a paint job will last me a week or 2 without chipping. So now I'm getting into the creative and adding embellishments.

Here's an example of my new skill-in-progress of self mani-pedi's, my favorite so far:

Way to freak me out...

So, I almost killed my husband today, and not in the Haha he's driving me crazy kind of way. This afternoon I made Eddie a snack and we sat down to watch some Dick Van Dyke. I made him a PB&J, a cereal bar and a soda and we watched a good 3 episodes of our oldie but goodie sitcom.
Afterward we were walking toward our room and Eddie says to me, "My neck hurts". So I check it out and he had a breakout of hives on his neck. This is not all that uncommon for him because he has a good many allergies, and we have a good many pets. So he went to take a shower to calm the hives down and when he got out I put some aloe on his neck. After a few more minutes he started to complain that his stomach hurt and that he was dizzy.
This concerned me. So we tried to figure out what could've brought on the hives. We couldn't come up with anything. Nothing was new in our surroundings. He didn't eat anything out of the ordinary...but the peanut butter was a new brand so I went to check the ingredients on the list. Nope, nothing odd. So I checked EVERYTHING. The Jelly, the bread, the soda, the cereal bars.....
Sure enough, way down at the bottom of the ingredient list for the cereal bars, there it was: HONEY
For those who don't know, my husband has a VERY severe honey allergy. I am avidly careful that we never have honey or honey products in the house. 1: Because of Eddie and 2: Because there is about an 85% likelyhood that the boys either have or will develop this same allergy at some point.
Luckily there was so little honey in these bars Eddie is doing OK and his reaction is settling down, but I mean like 1/4 teaspoon of honey and my husband is hospital-bound.

So yeah....I slipped up and that FREAKS me out. In 11 years I have never let honey get past me and to my husband....I guess I have to re-evaluate my system for keeping it away from my house.

Cool Daddy

So, Daddy came home with a surprise for the boys today. I had no idea he was getting this.....they were sooooooooooo happy :)

Our New Baby

Hah...seems like I've been making a lot of these posts lately....but what can I say, Eddie and I are suckers for a baby. We have a house exploding with pets...and kids....and its awesome sauce.
So this is our new cockatiel, Gizmo. When he's grown he will live in the big tiel cage with our other three tiels, for now he lives in a brooder box. I have several pics below, just to show how fast baby birds change. The first pic is of when I got him, friday. The second pic is sunday, and the final pic is this morning (tuesday).

Mommy version 2.0

So, I think I may need a software upgrade. This mom seems to have a lot of bugs in her operating system. Well, at least the boys like me this way. I seem to be mom with ADHD lately, one minute I'll be looking up schools, the next I'll be in the garden, the next I'm baking brownies. Sounds great, but nothing seems to get done, I have a habit of starting something new before I finish what I started. Oh well, I doubt I'll be getting any new software anytime soon...so I guess all my poor boys will be stuck with this version of mom ;)

Garden Update

So I figure I'll give y'all an update on my little garden. It's plugging right along, and I am thrilled with the progress of the tomatoes and the orange tree. THe tree is COVERED in little green oranges, and the tomato plants got there first 2 tomatoes on them. Here's some pics to compare to when I first planted.

Group shot of all the plants in my mini-garden:



The Orange tree lookin all happy, do you see all the baby oranges on it?



The very first tomatoes!



And here is Tony and Phoebe "helping" me water the tomatoes:

Why me?

I find myself wondering why it is that my husband likes me so much, why he keeps me around.

I'm pretty annoying, I can be whiny and needy, I'm not that great of a housekeeper...so why? What is it?

It is then, deep in thought, I trip and find myself careening through the living room as if channeling Dick Van Dyke and I realize, ahhhhhh.....he keeps me around for entertainment value :D

Barrel of Monkeys

So I'm going to have my sisters 3 kids over tonight through friday evening. At the very least it should be interesting haha. I'm sure by the end of the week I should have a scad of pics....so maybe y'all will get a glimpse of mi casa :D
I'm not entirely sure wht I'm going to do with the kids, they're all a fair site older than mine and 2 of them are girls......I have nooooooo idea what to do with girls LOL
Well at any rate it'll be fun.

My yard

So this is my yard, in these 2 pics you can see the majority of it anyhow. You can see the boys play dirt area as well as their "driving" area. Behind the camera, where I am standing will be the BBQ area with a picnic table and all that jazz....but that's a long time away from being ready. All in all not a bad slice of land for city living.


And this is my little garden....so far. I started here and will migrate throughout the yard, in containers and in the ground where I see fit. Here we have large and cherry tomatoes, bell and jalapeno peppers, oregano, basil, and mint. Also pictured is the Orange tree, I am considering surrounding the base of the tree with small colorful flowers.

Life in the slow lane

So, Friday is my anniversary. 5 years of marriage and 10 years of couplehood lol. My sister is going to take the boys on Friday and Eddie and I are going to have a day to ourselves, not sure what we are gonna do yet, maybe just soak up the silence haha. Eddie's also taking a 10 day vacation starting Friday, so it'll be cool to have him home, maybe we'll actually get some things in the house the way that we want them. I do know that for my anniversary present, if you will, I am getting some supplies to start the little gardening project I want to start...so that'll be fun.......I dunno what if anything Eddie wants...he's a hard man to shop for.
So here's to the love of my life, father of my children, but most of all, my very best friend.

Welcome to the world!

Welcome to the planet my new little niece, Avah Armida Rayborn-Mancha. Born March 14th 2009 weighing in at 7lbs 3oz and measuring 20in.

I just have to note that she is perfect and the most beautiful little girl ever...well maybe a close 3 way tie with her cousins Claudia and Sarah ;)

Been a While

Well, I havn't written in what feels like a coon's age....
Maybe that's because I havn't much to say lol.
Well, I've been unpacking like a maniac because the in-laws moved into their new house and now I have the space to unload my things. The boys are ending up with quite the set-up downstairs....we gave them the whole downstairs area, seeing as there is a master bedroom upstairs for Eddie and I, there's really nothing else to do with that giant area down there.
So, downstairs there are 2 rooms, a master bedroom that is really large and the other room is joined, separated by only a door, and that second room is rather small. In between the 2 rooms is a bathroom. In the large room I have put both their beds, their toy box's and when Eddie is done fixing it their computer will go in there too. In the small room they have a "living room".....That's what Tony calls it, and he's very excited about it haha. They have their dresser, TV and 2 folding chairs in there right now.....I'm on the hunt for a futon for that room....seating for them and a sleep space for visiting cousins. It's coming together well....the boys are starting to like it...it's just a little weird for me that short of a kitchen my 3 and 5 year old have their own apartment LOL

The upstairs is coming along and it's starting to look like "home". I'll post pics of the house as soon as it stops being a mess that looks like a storage facility......never ending boxes........

Well, at any rate, this is Tony with a view of about a quarter of the backyard lol

Announcing......

So, I am making a formal introduction announcing the newest members of our family. First up is our new "daughter" Phoebe-Lynn. She is a tiny pug puppy, and pictured above. She is a doll and we love having her here.

Next up is our new buddy Squeaker, pictured below. After the loss of our little rat pup Adrianna, I decided to give it another go and we have a little male rat who has survived and is now old enough I feel comfortable announcing him.

Circle of life......or something like that.....

So, I had a small tragedy yesterday. The rat baby I was trying to bottle raise died, in the late morning/early afternoon time. She was a sweet little girl and at least she died with a full tummy and a warm nest (instead of in a snake's belly). My sister's rat baby is still doing very well, and I'm pretty positive that little one will grow up healthy and just fine. Half the baby's from my ratties littler were sick and dieing when I got her so I assume she had some sort of respiratory illness like her litter-mates, she was always a bit more lethargic than the baby my sister brought home. I knew that it was a possibility that she wouldn't make it, but it doesn't make it less sad. So one last time, here's our little Adrianna

I lost the love of my life.......

MY CAMERA!!!!! WAHHHHHHH!

I'm desperate. The need to take pics is overwhelming......the thought that there may be a 3 week period in the boys lives in which I have no photo documentation is more than I can bear....

Ok, enough with the melodramatics...but, we're all moved and I can't find my camera. It's somewhere in box limbo....and this house-frau needs to be snap happy. Oh well....pisha paysha....it'll turn up eventually.

Pay It Forward

{The Rules}

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay it forward!