Happy Halloween!!

headed to the pumpkin patch one last time. glad we had went earlier in the month - the haystack pyramid's steps are barely gone, the cornstalk maze is all dried up showing the orange barrier plastic fence, slim picking on the pumpkins. ariana lifted the small pumpkins that she could find in the wheelbarrow, while cousin justin followed her. she pointed out alot of them were "messed up". justin pulled her around in the wagon too. ariana is wearing the gap pumpkin shirt again. even tho its a sunny 70 degrees day, this way the long sleeves will protect her arms when lifting all those squashes. ariana put on her silvermist fairy dress (minus the wings) around 5 o'clock. we headed out to a local church Trunks of Treats event by 6:00 before the dusk. cars fills the parking lot with decorated trunks and handing out candy. its a safe trick-or-treating event, and sure beats ringing doorbells going house to house. i think they should have a contest for the best trunk display. we went to a couple of neighbors houses afterwards, and probably got no more than 3 groups of treaters. ariana made sure we didnt give out any of her loot away.

Silvermist Fairy

great that preschool happens to be on friday, the day before halloween - perfect timing for a party. its potluck and i signed-up for rice krispy treats. my plan was to make an orange batch and use a pumpkin shape cookie cutter. i dont know about the color and ended up cutting squares, waiting til the last minute to make them didnt help. i forgot to allow time for my handy helper to count out exactly 40 marshmallow puffs. ariana will tell you they are PINK looking than orangey, i call it a peachy salmon color. ariana dressed-up as Silvermist, the asian blue water fairy in tinkerbell movie. its actually a dance costume that i picked up. sure saved me from making one (whew) and/or buying one. theres actually 2 versions out there, but not available at the disney store. the kids did arts & craft project and story time first. followed by the party and paraded thru the sports center. then played outside in the "palace playground". it was funny the kids called each other by their costume names - mulan, super hero girl, sleeping beauty, snow white, unicorn, nurse and silvermist. altho mulan was the queen and the boys were monsters.

Hello Kitty

Thursday, October 29, 2009
If its not keeping up with ariana's wardrobe - laundry, ironing, whats too small, etc - then its her TOYS!! its like it happens right before your eye in no time. you think she's playing with one thing, when all awhile she is bringing things out one-by-one. at one point i was trying to collect everything that goes back in her room, figuring i'll make one trip to each place. now i just pick up 5 pieces and put them back all over the house. if somebody could come up with a better system - let me know. byron gave up as he blames me "she could only play with what you bring in". ariana is wearing a sanrio hello kitty outfit. it was a birthday gift from her ninang lulu. she's been slipping on the skirt for dress-up play. comes out of her room "dont look mom"...when actually i know what she has on. guess we better wear the tshirt as its 2 minus days til halloween. ballet lessons are at 6:30 in evening. its a little chilly from the parking lot to the studio. rolling out the coat collection. we have been wearing them or i take one with us. tonights pick is the gymbo tres chic quilted jacket. ariana felt so chic-y in it that she put on some pink lipstick. one girl at ballet was trying to touch ariana's lips to get some. the girls make a choo-choo train to get from one end of the room to the other. its so funny to watch them arrange themselves - some girls want to be the front, one girl goes too fast, sometimes they make 2 sets, and AJ runs arounds only to end up as the caboose.

Snow Bunny Princess

guess we are in the full swing of fall...oh no my indian summer is gone. i always tell byron i have that seasonal SAD disease - thinking we'll hop on a plane to the islands. sad thing is - he's not buying it. i officially took down most of ariana's summer dresses, keeping fingers crossed they'll fit when spring comes around next year. actually i needed the hangers (and space) for fall/winter wardrobe. luckily her coats/jackets are on one of those portable clothes rack in our bedroom. a 3T snowsuit made it to the "too small" pile. ariana tried on the bigger one (as i'm always prepared) and wanted to wear it for the most part of the morning. next thing you know it - she comes out with the princess hat and lipstick. this year she is looking forward to going to uncle lano's cabin (twainharte) - eversince he told her it snows up there. and if she could wear her ice skates around the house - believe me, she would. i ran out of hangers or could it be she has too many clothes (hmmm??) - so time spent in her room is done for the day. we're gonna brave this coldfront, more like windfront. ariana is wearing a gap top from last years boho (bohemian) line, gymbo dark brown leggings.

Don't take me....

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
to the doctors. ariana 4-year checkup. we tried prepping her last night - dr.marsh is just going to check your weight and measure how big. you're gonna play games (tests) with the lady. all we got was crying and pleas "please don't take me there!" i dont know whats worse - taking a bath or going to the doctors. i knew if i told her where we're going, she would never get in the car; let alone leave the house. she was all for picking up daddy and meeting him by his work. actually the plan was to meet byron at the drs which happens to be by the airport btw. ariana fell asleep, so imagine when she woke up in the waiting room (bwah!). ariana is 39-3/4" tall and weighs 34 lbs. 50% on the chart for height and 40% for weight. not bad given her statistics for being half filipino. remember these charts were made 50 years ago for caucasian babies and they havent been updated since. can you imagine if they made one specifically for asians, she would be off da charts. NO shots (whew), only becuz they didnt have any. so in a couple weeks - one regular flu mist, one H1N1 flu shot. followed by one month later, the second H1N1 mist. and they want to start on her kindergarten immunizations consisting of 4 shots. i'd really hate to cram all 4 in august next year before school starts. ariana is wearing a custom made t-shirt dress. the material is amy butler called "shopping girl", and made by sam readersfive.

S.S. Polo

ariana has her 3 dolls - dolly (aka sweetie girl when we cant find her), merry doll who's birthday is on xmas, and babybaby. when dad or joshua leaves the house, she wont let them go without "dont forget to say goodbye to my babies." like they are part of the family. ever see grown men kissing dolls goodbye? ariana also has imaginery friends - hannah, nornia (nor-knee-ya). she knows and will admit that they are pretend. if you passed by the house today and saw the two of us twirling the jump rope - did you see hannah jumping?? nornia lives in china. the weather was nice until the wind kicked in later in the afternoon. ariana is wearing a tunic from ralph lauren polo, stripe navy leggings from crazy8.

Jungle Gem Jump

i really should title todays blog "i wanna be stinky". ariana takes a bath at least 2-3 times a week becuz of her skin excema. and especially on the weekend when dad's home to help. if she had it her way - ariana would prefer in the sink. funny she doesnt even like me to mention the words "bath" nor "tub". i put everything out there - wont go to the party, no more ballet, no preschool, even not to go outside cuz i dont want people to smell her. it didnt work as she agreed to stay home being stinky. ariana cried to byron, which worked out great as he was able to get her in the tub. on our way home tonight, she smelt something in the air outside. i said "i thought you like stinky??" ariana replied "i like only stinky me!" off to kaylie's 5th birthday party. kaylie is considered one of ariana's bff and going to disney on ice 2 years ago ogether is an event ariana tells everybody. it was at pump it up right down the blvd from the house... and love love the 4:00 time. you went into one room with 4 inflatable jumpy house, then another jumping room, followed by pizza, cake & ice cream... all in 2 hours. enough time to wear a kid out. ariana is wearing gymbo jungle gem again - plaid pants with silly monkey top. luckily i left some summer outfit lines in the drawers.

Black Corsica

rode the tricycle...realized the helmet is too small. sidewalk chalk - ariana surprised herself she could draw a diamond. ended up making kites all over the driveway. even one with her holding onto a long long kite string and an ice cream cone. funny she colored her face with pink chalk - lipstick, cheek blush and eye shadow. hopefully it'll still be there tomorrow to take pic of. she was my handy helper today - with laundry folding towels, front yard picking leaves. when i suggested to go inside - she said "no its not time, daddy is still paying bills." its not like she has to be quiet, maybe it was an excuse to stay outside and play. i know when byron watches nbr nightly business report on tv, she knows not to play loud. funny when its over - she says "ok can i be normal now?" or "can i talk regular?" ariana is wearing gap corsica line - the black dress. perfect fall color dress to wear in this sunny 75 degree weather with black saltwaters sandals.

Pre-School Potty

at preschool ariana has everybody playing at her palace (the playground). she was barbie princess and wore orange wings (which she still had them on til i picked her up). her bff was snow white. the big story of the day was a boy went poo-poo in his pants, and the teachers had to call his grandma. ariana told me it was stinky in the classroom and thats why they had to play outside. and get this - the boy was her bff's prince. can you imagine if he was hers?? see you have to be potty trained and the 2 teachers dont help (not sure if they are allowed to or not). ariana doesnt like to go at school becuz she said her fingers poke a hole thru the toilet paper. maybe they dont use charmin. i suggested for her to get more tp to make it thick. well she ended up using the bathroom today and i thought "wow she did it" took my tip. wrong - she reminded me that i also said to just pull your panty/pants up and we'll wipe at home. go figure. it was a sunny 75 degrees today. ariana is wearing a smock/capri outfit from costco. and with vincent "toni" shoes which are great for transitioning from summer to fall. note ariana is still more in the summer - no socks.
after school we went to visit my lola (my mom) who just turned 88 years old on october 2nd, and had a stroke 4 years ago (one month before ariana was born). as a sign of respect to your elders or asking blessing from your elders, it is a filipino tradition to take their righthand to your forehead and say "mano-po". mano means "hand" in spanish, and you add "po" to a filipino word or greeting that indicates respect for older people when you speak. sometimes filipinos say to go "bless" their elders. even with the dimentia and affects from the stroke, my mother acknowledges the kids and automatically offers her hand out to them. before ariana use to bring her forehead to lola's hand, and now she is taking the hand and silently says mano-po. the elder in return makes a hand gesture in the sign of the cross. the kids mano again when its time to leave. we would be in the car ready to go home, i would ask josh if he mano-po'ed lola. whoops and he knew to get out of the car and go back inside. usually the kids mano their grandparents or a relative in the same generation as their grandparents. so when you are mano'ed, dont think of yourself being "old" rather you are being respected to give your blessing.

Gap Corsica

corsica is an island south of france in the mediterranean sea. i now know why gap named this line after this place. it included the orangey sunsets, the blue water, brown mountains and buildings. i googled it and now adding it to as one my many places to go. (note to myself - still need to see mt. rushmore first). ariana is wearing a size 4 dress with gymbo capri leggings. we're on our own tonight as byron has a business meeting, and ariana has ballet.

Red Petti Twirl

gymbo dot dress (4T) from petite mademoiselle line. remember anything with navy blue in it - consider it sold. altho this line is mixed it with lavender. accessories are from gymbo too - curly clips and footless tights. no pants, no leggings! our favorite l'amour maryjanes. this outfit didnt last long as we received a package - the red pettidress. loopies got in on a group order from oppsy daisy last year (long story). i told her that we were just trying it on and taking a pic. she kept asking me "what else can i do in this?" she kept twirling in it and testing the swish factor. oh how ariana wish she could wear this dress all day long.

Facebook Friend

to try making money on CloudCrowd i had to set up a facebook account. the site doesnt have much projects for sahm since the word got out and everybody signed up. it is legit cuz so far - get ready, i made a whopping 77 cents deposited in my paypal. just wait til the big bucks start rolling in. perfect timing too, cuz now i'm able to see all the pics from the wedding this weekend. glad i got accepted as a friend. still trying to figure it all out - questions like who gets to see what. somebody is bound to get in trouble. i go by my maiden name Thelma Laureta, if you want to add me as your friend.
the weather is clear today and sunshine, but there is still a chill in the air. ariana is wearing gap "autumn garden" dress i bought in 2008. its size 4 and thought it would work as a tunic this year and paired it with matilda jane oatmeal ruffle leggings. i washed ariana hair and braided it. its growing longer and gets tangled & knotted so easily. her hair is half straight like mine and curly as byrons and grandmommy's. i use this CurlyQ (referral M0349E71) product called milkshake, and some of what i thought was her straight hair - is beginning to hold a curl.

Princess Jasmine of the Day

partly cloudy at first with 50% chance of rain. ha, whats that saying - when it rains it pours. thats what happened at 4 o'clock. actually i kind of like it to hurry up and rain to get over & done with, then clear up for the rest of the week. i dressed ariana wearing gymbo fall forest - leggings and little sister top. usually when she comes out playing dress-up, she tell me "dont look mom". i have no idea what to expect. today was princess jasmine from disney aladdin movie. this costume is one size big, at least it covers up her belly button. later on i got the line again - and she comes out looking like an eccentric auntie. a skirt that she got for her bday with cinderella glass slippers. please tell me this is what you call dress-up.

HavensGirl Multi

this is what we gave to the youngest YOUNG newlyweds. especially ordered from java jane designs via etsy. its made up of striking architectural photographs that resemble the letters of the alphabet that are artfully arranged to spell any name...or even a word. and in their invitation font - matthew & mary in top lefthand side, est october 17, 2009 in bottom righthand side. i think i want one ordered for da morgan's est 1999. we grabbed a little continental breakfast at the shenandoah inn (hotel). ariana took a lil dip (feet only) in the pool while everybody was getting ready for 11:00 checkout. most guests went back to the ranch. they cooked breakfast and we volunteer all the young men for cleanup crew. plus i got a chance to watch the happy couple open up all their gifts too. ariana is wearing havensgirl - a multi flower tunic with orange biker shorts. theres beading around the neckline, and sequins at the bottom hem. i have a connection with a loopie who shares their linesheets with me. i usually go after their summer-tropical prints. black patent strappy sandals are soda brand, just waiting for saltwaters to come in black patent (keeping fingers crossed).

Wedding Day - Matthew & Mary

its the wedding of matthew & mary (baby audrey's mommy & daddy). the venue was changed to the family ranch to accommodate approx 200 guests. yep what was suppose to be a simple ceremony - grew into a big event. ok seriously believe it or not - ariana did NOT have a single thing to wear. its an outdoor event, almost 80 degrees weather, in the middle of fall mind you. most of her special occasion wardrobe consist of long sleeves or too holiday-ish. and cant be too fru-fru to look like a flowergirl. nothing in her closet fit those criterias. i found this dress on ebay - its C'est Choutette couture with a short sleeve velour top with pink/green crushed taffeta. the black maryjanes are L'amours. oui oui frenche'. josh dressed to match jessica. my dress came from h&m, and byron "Tubs" finally got to sport his miami vice white linen suit in california.

Disney (Princess) on Ice

ariana has been waiting for this day cuz after preschool we are going to disney on ice. ariana told me she played "palace playground" again at preschool, and the boys are monster princes. we probably hit almost 80 deg. wearing gymbo cherry baby dress (4T). they did rubber stamping on the tables - ariana said it didnt work. something did cuz theres some ink on her dress. and wearing polo madras hi-top chuckies. ariana choose to wear her pink sleeping beauty costume to disney on ice. i was pushing for snow white or tinkerbell. she told me "mom, tinkerbell isnt a princess, shes a fairy." of course she only makes me feel dumber with her "you didnt know?" duh. glad we didnt cuz there were alot of snow whites and tinks. guess some parents felt bad that they didnt dress their daughter up. the show was pretty good as they introduced each story line in the first half, then the big grand finale on the second half. ariana really liked cinderella, only becuz the others have a scary witch. the only mean one is the step-mother.

Indian Summer

this is the craziest weather, here i thought it was going to be partly cloudy. i put ariana in black&white stripe ruffles made by loopie yvette... checkout her tag just like matilda jane. i have umpteen black shirts for these - this one is gap. the sun is shining and its hot. most of ariana's summer wardrobe are put away and i pulled whatever was on top. i changed ariana to a havensgirl tunic. she loved the twirl factor plus the bling (sequins) in the neckline. ariana chose to walk her babies (dolls) in the stroller instead of riding bikes. i ended up following the princess with an umbrella to block the sun. a goodie good day - i received ALL my packages one-by-one just in time for the wedding. first the dress ariana will wear. its from ebay and the postman delivered it express. 5 minutes later our regular postman (ariana calls him uncle RC - he's filipino) delivered the wedding gift that i had custom made via etsy. 10 minutes later the brown truck guy (ups) came and rang the doorbell. my gymboree gymbucks order - mostly panties, tights, socks at 50% off. i got a new cellphone last night, i really should be reading the manual. i dont have the patience to read it, and especially with my new progressive glasses. instead i'll just wait for josh to set it up and show me. i remember josh got a new video game when super nintendo came out. i got the manual and was reading all the instructions. by the time i finished the first step, he was already onto the next level.

Harvest Leaves

the sun peeked thru a little bit late this afternoon. went outside to see what damage the storm did. mostly leaves on the lawn (which is one of my pet peeves, not an ocd thing) and water got thru under garage door. ariana didnt like all the leaves either and helped me pick them up. gymbo harvest leaves stripe dress (kidgirl 4), with velour leggings (line??). ariana is still playing with all her new bday toys - infact she got another one today. hope these will take her til xmas, unless i give in and pull something out within the next 70 days. josh's bday is one week after xmas, so he was basically "dry" til his easter bunny (ninang remy) showed up in april.

Braving the Storm

even tho we are staying inside, i really dont want ariana to get used to pajama days. i think its just pure lazy on MY part, and plus it shows dad that we wear all the clothes i buy. shes wearing a dress from kellys kids with matching tights. the material is very similar to hanna playdresses, where the more you wash it - the more soft & comfortable it becomes. this is already broken in as it came from a loopie named kelly (her dd sara is one year older than nana). it has been NON-stop raining all day with high winds. luckily there are no power outages or floods in our area. a break came around 6:30 this evening. byron had to take the garbage out anyways, he took ariana out to splash in the puddles. she was so ready with raincoat & boots - thinking since she had them on she wouldnt get wet... or maybe that it was ok to get wet.

BLACK is the new PINK

most of morning, ariana was determined to play with all her new gifts - TOYS! we went from doing hair, rollerskate performance (think ice skating on carpet), games, puzzles, and to cooking. we ventured outside one last time BEFORE the storm comes in later this evening. ariana is line mixing gymbo - tres chic jeans with wild one bling shirt.