New Floors...

Woohooo, I finally got my floors! We bought our house 2 years ago this June. We knew and planned to replace all the downstairs carpet with wood eventually. Having Garrison and knowing he will soon be crawling and walking made me put the rush on getting the new floors. The carpets that were in the house when we bought it, weren't in all that bad of shape. There were some spots where the fibers were caught on something and pulled but nothing major! The thing that grossed me out was that it was berber! Berber keeps most of the dirt on the surface and regardless of how much I vaccuumed you could walk on it and it still seemed dirty to me! I also HATED the color if it.

So a couple weekends ago Marc and I went shopping at a local store that was having killer deals! We found a color that we both really liked and couldn't pass up the deal! That Saturday morning we began ripping up carpet and installing the new floors. I say we because I did do my fair share in between taking care of Garrison! We had a fairly large area to install. On the downstairs level there is a laundry room, kitchen, nook, family room, theater room, formal dining room, formal living room, and half bath. We were installing new floors in the family room, formal living room, formal dining room, and small walk area that leads to the bathroom/theater room. At a later date we will also install the new flooring on our staircase and hallway upstairs. Surprisingly enough, Marc got almost all of the downstairs done by Sunday night. This past weekend he got the last small area in the formal dining room completed and then finished most of the base molding! He was even in a bit of a good mood and showed me how to adjust and make the angle cuts on his table saw! I only use his saw to make the straight cuts since I was never shown how to adjust it before! Hopefully this coming weekend he will finish the last of the molding and caulk! Once all that is done, it will be time once again to bust out the paintbrushes! Something I am NOT looking forward to doing!

Here is a picture of all the cases of wood and underlayment needed for our "project"

This is what the family room looked like when we pulled up half the carpet and padding.

Here is the after shot of the family room with the new floor installed.

Here is a shot of the formal living room all finished!

Garrison Is 3 Months...

Yeahup he is 3 months old ALREADY! He smiles a whole lot more these days. His sight is getting better everyday. He follows objects, looks around when someone makes a noise, and even gets excited when put in front of the tv or in his bouncy chair with the toy rings hanging down in front of him! So far he is my morning baby! As soon as he decides its time to be awake for the morning, he coos and smiles for a decent amount of time before wanting to be picked up! I truely cherish every single moment of these days as I know how fast time flies!

DisneyLand 2009...

Sigh.... good ol DLand! DLand is one of the many reasons we miss being Southern Cali residents! When we lived in the High Desert we were only 40 minutes away from Anaheim! These days we are a good 6 1/2 hours away, which doesnt seem like all that long of a drive but with 4 kids it is needless to say ... interesting! The kids did very well though! We had the dual DVD players playing, Nintendo DS' charged and ready for hours of play, lots of snacks, coloring books, crayons, and fun music to sing/listen to! After visiting our friends, Sunday morning we headed down to Anaheim for Day 1 at DLand. Papa and Grandma at the last minute decided to make the long haul out for the day and meet up with us. The kids were very so shocked, surprised, and happy to see them! Sadly the excitement was short lived, since it became clear that the rest of the world had the same idea as me (go to DLand for spring break). It was ridiculously busy! We made it on only a handful of rides before calling it a day at an early 6pm. Papa and Grandma had to leave (they had to drive all the way back to AZ that same day) and the children were so overwhelmed by their new surroundings anyway. Monday morning we woke up and made it over to the park by 9:30AM. It was busy but not nearly as busy as the day before. Lines were still long so we were limited on how many we were able to go on. Our biggest challenge this day was getting Ava and Dillon to understand only 1 of them to go on a ride with myself or Marc. We tried to go on all the rides Garrison could go on, but then there was our daughter named Liliana who kept picking the rides that had height restrictions! It wouldn't have been a big deal except like a I said above... only 1 adult and 1 child could go on at a time! By the middle of the day they did start to understand the dilema and all worked out. I had planned two meals with the characters for the children, but didn't tell them ahead of time. I wanted it to be a surprise. Monday morning was the first meal... it was a breakfast/lunch buffet at Goofy's kitchen! It was so much fun and totally worth the price we paid for it. The children got to meet Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Alice while they ate their meal. Needless to say they loved it! The rest of the afternoon we decided to spend in California Adventure (for those that aren't familiar with DLand, there is a Disneyland side and then California Adventure side). We made this decision so that around dinner time we could grab a table located in the front area of the the Pixar parade. After watching the parade, Marc took Ava back to our hotel room (she wasn't feeling too well she had a small cold) while I stayed and took Dillon, Liliana, and Garrison over to Disneyland. We were able to go on a few rides and walk through all the character homes in toontown before I called it a night. The next morning we all woke up early so we could take advantage of our early entrance pass. Too bad everyone else had that same plan as well!! The lines weren't as long but were still decent in length! We hopped into the Finding Nemo ride (a 45 minute wait) but was very neat, then headed over to Pixie Hollow (which isnt even a ride its just where you walk through where Tinkerbell lives and you get to meet 1 fairy and Tinkerbell). If your wondering how long we had to wait at Pixie Hollow... try a little over an hour long wait! Ava was in heaven though once we got to the fairies! The day went on similar to the day before, but we did notice it wasn't as busy as the two days earlier. I started thinking maybe I should have booked our trip at the middle/end of the week but oh well maybe next year! My last surprise for the day was a dinner at Ariel's Grotto with the princesses. Poor Dillon didn't really get anything out of this since he isn't into the princesses (he will regret his chance to take pictures with the pretty princesses one day in the future though) but he enjoyed his food! After eating with the princesses, we headed over to the only ride left that was newly added that the kids were dying to go on... Toy Story 4D. The wait was over an hour long and the park was closing in 2 hours. It was our last day in Anaheim and our last chance. So we braved all 4 kids in line as we waited! Too bad 30 minutes earlier the kids enjoyed a dessert platter that had all RICH CHOCOLATE items which the kids scarfed down! I kid you not, the kids were wired!! Dillon didn't stop moving and grooving the ENTIRE time in line! It was annoying and comical at the same time! Annoying because you could tell it was bothering some around us, but very funny because he has never had such a huge sugar high in his life! We finally reached the ride and enjoyed it very much! It was totally worth the wait. As we headed to exit the park Liliana had enough time to hop on the roller coaster 1 more time. Dillon decided he wanted to be measured and go on it if tall enough! Once again that chocolate was keeping his engine moving! Sure enough he was JUST tall enough. Keep in mind the last 2 days, we tried to get him on this roller coaster over 10 times. We walked up to the roller coaster, sat down, locked our bar and off we went. Its a roller coaster where it takes you on REALLY sharp turns and down 2 decent drops and then 1 small one. As we went down the 1 drop, Dillon wasn't too sure if he liked the ride, then we went down the second drop and he was giggling and screaming of enjoyment, the third drop he said "Oh man is it over?" As we approached the man letting people out of the cars, I asked if we had time to ride it one more time. He of course had to be a party pooper and say NO! Dillon's face was so upset! He was crushed. He finally built up enough courage to go on the dang ride and now couldn't go again because they were closing! Poor little guy!

We exited the park and headed over to the Disney side for the fireworks show and then back to the hotel. We had a long, tiring, exhausting, funfilled 3 days in Anaheim and even though the kids were trying at times, the smiles and excitement their facial expressions showed are PRICELESS memories I will NEVER forget! We took over 400 pictures so I will be sending out a link to shutterfly so you all can view them. I hope to get the email out sometime soon so look for it!

DisneyLand In The Children's Eyes...

Liliana

Did you have fun at Disney? yeah

What did you like best about your vacation? having fun

What did you like least about your vacation? I liked everything

What was your favorite ride? Mulholland Madness (a roller coaster in CA Adventure)

Who did you like going on rides with, mommy or daddy? papa (what a stinker, he was only there on day 1)

What was your favorite food? turkey legs

When do you think we will go back? July (no we aren't)

Dillon

Did you have fun at Disney? yesss

What did you like best about your vacation? going on the roller coaster Mulholland Madness (same ride as Liliana except he didn't feel comfy braving it until the LAST DAY and the last 20 minutes the park was open, so sadly he only rode it 1 time)

What did you like least about your vacation? Tea Cupsn (cause he already went on them and didnt want to go on them again)

What was your favorite ride? Its a Small World

Who did you like going on rides with, mommy or daddy? mommy

What was your favorite food? mickey mouse waffles and pancakes with two syrups (regular and strawberry)

When do you think we will go back? umm.... Wednesday

Ava

Did you have fun at Disney? Um...... Yeah

What did you like best about your vacation? My Crayons (she loves to color)

What did you like least about your vacation? Um.......... Noting (nothing)

What was your favorite ride? Watermelon ride (Heimlich ride from Bug's Life)

Who did you like going on rides with, mommy or daddy? both of you

What was your favorite food? ice cream (Goofy's kitchen)

When do you think we will go back? when the clock is on that number (she pointed to the clock on the wall so I am not sure what number!)

Obviously I can't ask Garrison these questions but he had a very fun time!

A Visit With Friends...

Recently we planned a vacation to California. It didn't seem right to just take the children to Disney, when friends (Annette and Frank) of ours lived 40 minutes north of Anaheim. So after inviting myself to Annette's house and confirming the dates were ok, I booked a 3 day 3 night stay in Anaheim. We left Friday morning, drove 6 1/2 hours with only 3 short bathroom/feeding stops and arrived just in time for dinner at our friends house! Another friend of ours stopped by for a visit with her 3 kids. The kids all played well together and it was such a flashback to when we all lived near each other and were at playdate. One morning it was so cute, we found B (Annette's daughter) brushing Ava's hair for us!

I think I was the most excited to visit. We hadn't seen each other since this past June. Annette and I are two peas in a pod. We think the same about pretty much everything which allows us to talk about anything and everything. She is an awesome friend and is one of the many reasons I miss the good ol high desert! We stayed at Annette's from Friday night until Sunday morning. It was a very short visit but so fun to see her and her family! So I will end this post with a BIG THANK YOU to Annette, Frank, Francis, and B!!

We had fun despite it being such a short time visiting you guys!!

Liliana's First Confession...

I couldn't be a more proud mama! Today Liliana made her first confession! It was a busy couple weeks to prepare for this special day/event! She had to not only attend her normal weekly religion class but also two 2 hour sessions after church on the last two Sundays! Then attend a retreat last night (Friday). I sometimes felt like it was alot but knew she would make it through such a busy/hectic schedule! She had various things to complete at home which she then brought back last night to the fun retreat they planned for all the children! Marc ended up taking her to the retreat since Garrison's feeding schedule got in the way of me going. They had a few stations set up to mimic what would happen the following day at confession. I think they did an awesome job making the children feel a little less nervous with the whole process and informed them well on the events of the following morning! Liliana said she wasn't nervous and just wanted to go and tell the priest her sins. After going in and confessing her sins, she sat in front of the alter where they had set up a cross and said her penance. She then headed over to the "followers of Jesus" quilt, filled her name out on a sheep, and hung it as close to Jesus as she could! The quilt symbolized all the children who have confessed their sins at our parish since opening its doors 3 years ago. It , of course, also symbolizes that the children are now followers of Jesus and serves as a reminder that this should NOT be their last confession! After she hung her sheep both Liliana and myself had to go back to the alter, kneel in front of the cross, and say the ending prayer for the morning! I sadly have no pictures to post of this special day however I did take the flyers home! I am so very proud of her! Next up First Communion and Confirmation!

Garrison's 2 Month Stats...

Today was Garrison's official 2 month old doctor visit. He is growing at a normal rate and doing all the things a 2 month old baby would be expected to do! Here are his stats

He weighs 10 lbs 1 oz (12th percentile just like all the other kids)

His head circumference is 15 inches (also 12th percentile)

His length is 22.3 inches (19th percentile)

He had to get 3 shots, 2 being combo shots along with an oral dose of the rotovirus! This is the first child I have had that received the rotovirus vaccine! He didnt seem to mind the taste of it, but he did mind the nurse sticking not one, not two, but three needles in both legs! Poor little guy. The doctor did confirm that he has adic reflux so after his visit was complete, I rushed off to pick up a combo medicine (flavored to appeal to babies tastebuds) that we hope will put him in better spirits! It will be hard to tell if the acid reflex medicine will help any over the next 24 hours since he is NOT HAPPY after having all those shots! I probably should have put a better picture at the top of this post instead of him smiling but I am hoping to see that toothless prcious grin over the next 24 hours despite him not feeling his best!

Easter Dresses...

I have been sewing since 2003, when my wonderful inlaws bought me my very first machine. I never learned how to properly use my machine and never made it to sewing lessons. So from 2003-2007 I basically just straight stitched pillowcases, small blankets, and curtains! In late 2007 I decided it was time to expand my sewing talents and try new projects. Liliana needed a few things (dress up type stuff) for school and I wanted to try making doll clothes figuring it would lead me into the world of grown up clothing! I was successful in all projects sometimes on the first try and other times on the second and even third try! In early 2008 I decided to dive into the world of cloth diapering after doing much research. A friend of mine also gave me a lot of information but sewed me covers to help with the upfront cost of cloth diapering. After cloth diapering Ava for a couple months, I found out we were expecting Garrison. I decided to try making some diapers for myself (my friend made the bulk of them for me though! She is a much better seamstress than I am). I had a few that came out usable but then there were those others that I did not take pictures of and was not proud of! Cloth diapers were the first items that I followed a pattern for. After making cloth diapers, Dillon got a little jealous and wanted cloth pull ups, so back to the sewing machine I went! Successful with making cloth pull ups! Liliana then was jealous, she decided she wanted me to make her some pretty dresses! She is so dang skinny and tall that its very hard finding dresses that fit her up top but then are long enough on the bottom! Last month I crashed, JoAnns had a sale on their patterns (normally $6-$12 per pattern) they were on sale for $.99 cents! I grabbed as many as I could find along with great deals on pretty fabrics! I have been so busy trying to get into a solid routine that up until last week I hadn't even opened any of the patterns! At this point I promised Liliana that I would make her dress. Of course that started Ava asking for a dress. That got me thinking... how neat would it be to make coordinating dresses for both girls for Easter! I made Ava's dress this past Friday. I did it over a couples days time. Today I managed to make Liliana's dress. If I added up the time I cut, pinned, and sewed today it was no longer than 2 hours! I am very happy that still to this day I have NEVER taken a single sewing lesson yet have been successful on not just one but two dresses AND two hats! I can not wait for the girls to wear these dresses! Liliana is so happy with the final result of her dress that she has now requested a dress for this Saturday (yeahup 5 days away) so she can look pretty during her first confession! I didn't make any promises but would love to make her one!

Anyway here are pictures of both dresses and hats!