Computer Savvy

Today we visited Tia Liz's new house. Grace loves her Tia Liz and all the lovely tea sets Tia Liz has at her house. Aside from setting up the table for a tea party, and exploring in every room, Grace climbed up on Tia Liz's lap and got a computer lesson today! Yes, Liz is now convinced that Gracie will do great things :)

Dessert Has Two S's

Okay, okay...so I did it. I gave into temptation. I bit the bullet. Well, it's more like I bit the little pink, plastic spoon that you can only get at Baskin Robbins. Lately I've decided that I needed to watch my waistline a little more carefully. I've been eating smaller my portions, working out, sticking to pretty much chicken and fish, eating my veggies, drinking water, doing salads with dressing on the side, passing on the bread....you know, they things we are "supposed" to do as we are rapidly approaching 40?! Anyways, today I ate my healthy lunch (a veggie burrito wrap) but found myself c-c-c-craving ice cream! I have truly been delighting myself in Weight Watchers ice creams or Yoplait yogurts, but today they weren't going to cut it. As I pulled into the parking lot of Baskin Robbins I was telling myself, "Kristie, you're not hungry. Kristie, you just ate. Kristie, don't do this!" But, I put the car in park, opened the car door and headed straight for ice cream counter. As I carefully looked over the beautiful menu on the wall, inspected all of the flavors, asked a few questions (but no taste-tests), I decided I would silence the screaming voices in my head and just put my foot down and order a Banana Royale! A beautiful Banana Royale. I watched so intently as ice cream girl chopped the banana, scooped up one scoop of chocolate chip, then the mint chip...I thought I was going to fall over when she said the words "hot fudge or caramel??" Oh yes, I was in heaven! Then she said, "All the toppings?" How could I say no to whipped cream, nuts and a cherry? I hadn't come this far to pull out any of the stops now! I know I sound a little over dramatic, but you have to understand—it's been a looooooooong time, a really long time, since I have had a Baskin Robbins Sundae. The taste was even better than what I remembered. I enjoyed it so much. Now that that delicious sundae is making it's way to my hips, I've decided to blog about it, get it out in the open....no secrets.....(LOL) and, I will be on my elliptical machine for an extra 15 minutes every morning for a week! :) Yes, dessert has two S's. One "S" is for the Sweetness that dances on your tastebuds as you savor every bite, and the other "S" is for the Sweat you have to give to work it off!

Gettin' Better and Better

Thank God we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! We have been so sick these last few weeks but it looks like things are clearing up. Both Larry and I have an irritating cough hanging on, but that's nothing compared to what we faced last week :) My poor Angel has a cough and cold, but he never lets anything stop him. Thank you LORD we're gonna make it!

Spring Is Here!

Hallelujah! Let me say it again, Hallelujah! I am so glad spring has arrived. For the past 5 years we've spent each spring sitting on bleachers. My girlfriend, Becky, has a sign at her house that said, "This family stops for baseball." That was our life. This year, I am secretly shouting from the rooftops because we took the baseball season off! Yep, you read it right...no baseball this year. We actually get to sleep in on Saturday mornings!! It's so wonderful. My sonny-boy was having a hard time concentrating on his homework and lagging on his chores. He wouldn't finish 'til almost 6 o'clock. And my Alliah was also having a hard time with her studies, so we decided to skip baseball/softball season this year to concentrate more on academics and our responsibilities at home *not to mention saving ourselves $300+ for registrations and uniforms.* Angel enters junior high next year *can you believe it?* so we gotta make sure he's totally prepared. Alliah's will be in her last year of elementary school *(gasp)...I know...* Wow! Where has the time gone? And just yesterday I called and put Gracie's name on the preschool waiting list! For now, she's still loving her daycare and all the little friends she has there. But man, before I know it my babies will be off to college :( Okay, I can't think about that - too sad. So! Back to enjoying spring....Larry and the kids took their first "spring walk" last night. I was relaxing, cooking my son's favorite dinner (enchiladas) for when they got back. We're loving the extra light we have at the end of the day now that daylight savings has passed. I hated getting home when it was already dark. Now we're looking forward to talking walks together, playing at the park, riding our bikes, hiking some trails...Yaaaaa-aaaay Spring!

Thankful For Wontons

Here's a SHOUT OUT of gratitude for Pastor Tom and his wife Kristie for being so caring while our family was home sick. All five of us were home for about a week and half. Larry & I were all medicated up with bronchitus, Gracie was fighting a double ear infection and had a bad reaction to her meds, while Angel and Alliah were coughing and sneezing like nobody's business. Thankfully, our Pastor Tom bravely entered our virus-infested house and brought us several meals and prayed a prayer of healing for our family each time he came. We are so thankful for a caring Pastor who takes time to tend to the "sheep" and share the love of Christ. Oh, and we were really thankful for that wonton soup! Luuuuv-ed it...

Hot Oil

Our family has been out of commission the last few weeks - down with bronchitis. I was upstairs sleeping when Larry and Alliah decided to make dinner. They agreed on pork chops and fried potatoes. Larry put some oil in the pork chop pan and then went over to the kitchen sink to wash the potatoes. Alliah was standing next to him watching so he asked her to check if the oil in the pan was hot. Well, my Alliah walked over to the stove and stuck her finger in the oil! She let out a scream and ran over to Larry, waving her finger around in the air. I was half-asleep when I heard Alliah yelling so I ran downstairs to find my daughter like this:

Aye, aye, aye...My Alliah!

Sickie Baby

I couldn't help myself from capturing this moment. My poor little baby Grace has been so sick. Fever, vomiting, diaherrea, cough, cold, double ear infection...all she does is sleep and drink her applejuice *her most favorite drink EVER* Get better my princess...Mommy loves you!

My Playmates

Today I went to visist a few of my most favorite little people on the planet. I was so excited to see Eli running to hug me the moment he saw me! His brother, Isaiah, was sleeping so I didn't have a chance to attack him and smother him with kisses (I'll get his pic another day). My neice, Isabella, loves when I baby her. I cuddle her up in my arms and talk to her like she was a little tiny baby. I even fed her the baby bottle that belongs to her baby doll and she smiles and coos as I serenade her with "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" LOL Whenever I'm having a hard day and need a break from the office, I take a drive down to my mom's house to visit with my little playmates. They bring such joy to my spirit and flood my heart with love. I do leave there a little more tired, but feeling the love these kids pour out is worth it. I love you Eli, Bella and Isaiah!! Tia will come to visit again soon...

We'll Bring Dessert...

Tonight we're having dinner with our good friends, Jose & Yesenia Hernandez. We've been friends with the Hernandez's for a few years now and there is nothing better in this world than friends who love you for who you are - period. We can sit and talk with them for HOURS! We talk about everything under the sun! Time flies by so fast when we're together. Tonight, Yesenia is making dinner and I'm bringing dessert. I just LOVE how this cake turned out!

Casa De Fruita?

In all the years we've travelled over Pacheco Pass, we had never stopped to play at Casa De Fruita. We were headed home from my Grandfather's Birthday party and decided to stop and let the kids walk around for a while. They were already thrilled by the trip. They love seeing family and they love staying in hotels even more! It had been YEARS since I had stopped at Casa De Fruita (other than to use the bathroom) so I was looking forward to stopping too. The kids took off running when we got there. We all rode the train, got on the double decker merry-go-round, brought some candy from the Sweet Shack and posed for all the "photo ops" :) Next time you pass it, try stopping! We had a lot of fun..