I'm such a slacker...

I'm warning you now... the title is the reason this post will last forever!

I won a give away on Mel's blog... Fishing and Wishing oh, I don't know... about a MONTH AGO!!!  I really wanted to post on here a picture of the item I won.

I won this really cool wall decoration by Max 'N Me Studio on Etsy.  These are unique works of art created by a mom and son duo with a portion of the proceeds being donated towards arts programs for children with autism! 

Isn't it wonderful!  I absolutely love it... I'm giving it to my dancer daughter Isabel, for her birthday... which is right around the corner.  Thanks Mel and Max 'N Me Studio for the wonderful art work!!!!!


So the other things I am behind on is my ridiculous obsession with ebaying.  I discovered eBay about 6 years ago and went nuts... I bought a bunch of "stuff" that I honestly really didn't need.  So I swore off eBay for a while... every so often I would relapse and purchase a thing or two... but two weeks ago I searched for wool yarn.  WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING!!!!  Needless to say $100 later I have sworn off eBay once again!    But take a look at this yarn...

100% wool... hand dyed... Isn't it lucious?

And wait until I get the rest of it!  oh, and I also purchased a couple of grams of silk yarn direct from India!

I'm signing up for Ebayers Anonymous tomorrow!!!

In other news... I tried my hand at knitting some longies, I found this really nice Patons sock wool blend yarn and decided they would be really cute for Sebastian.  What do you think?

I think they look adorable!

OOOH I forgot to mention, I made my first salad made from items harvested from my garden!

Yes, I realize the tomatoes are green, but they are delicious this way!

So I added a 1/2 of a ripe tomatoe and some shredded carrots from the fridge... but the end result was the tastiest salad I have had in a LONG time.

Just look at it... Isn't it lovely?

I tasted just as good and better!

Now that you managed to stick with me to this point... I'm gonna let you take a break!

Chao baby!

:OP

Happy Birthday Sebastian!!!

I'm a little late... but this past week was a whirlwind of prepartaions and fun! 

Believe it or not... Carlos Sebastian turned 1 on July 29th!!!  I still find it hard to believe that it has been a year since my baby was born!  I can vividly remember that day like it was yesterday... and it makes me a little sappy.  Yes I get the oooh my baby is getting big.... but I'm fighting it back!

So we threw a birthday bash a week ago, mostly because my sister was flying to Colombia this friday and wouldn't be here if we threw the party this past saturday.  But it was great!!!!

I was very excited to make his birthday cake... what with all my vast experience as a cake baker.  So I got the Wilton's Year Book to check out the cute cake ideas and see what I could come up with.  So I picked the most complicated cake I could possibly find and said "What the hell... I know I can do it!!"

Yes, its completely edible.... and I was determined to make it!

So I began, 3 days befor the birthday to create the circus creatures that would decorate the cake.

Here are the "heads" and the other pieces of fondant I would need to make the animals.

Oh, did I mention that I have NO EXPERIENCE WHAT SO EVER working with fondant???  Oh yes, my cake decorating experience is limited to buttercream frosting and roses.

GULP!!!

These are the brownie "bodies" 

Yes, I know I look awful... it was only like 98 degrees for four days straight!!!  Even the AC wasn't cooling the apartment down enough to make it comfortable.

Monkeys and Tigers

The completed product!!!

Isn't it cute?  Yes... I noticed AFTER that I left a HUGE gap in between the two circles on the front of the cake...and of course by this point they were pretty much stuck on the cake so I had to leave them.  Oh well... it is an ORIGINAL.

Then off to the party... and the big reveal!  I was sweating bullets, because I didn't want anyone to say that it looked crappy.  I knew it wasn't horrible, but I was stll worried that it wasn't good enough. 

So breath held, I brought the cake out....

AND

THEY ALL LOVED IT!!!!

The kids all ran over calling the animals they wanted....

The adults asked me what bakery I had bought it from and if it had cost a lot....

The birthday boy couldn't wait to grab the elephants!

I was ecstatic!  I really didn't expect anyone other than the kids to love it... but they did!

I made a butter cake with strawberry jam filling, buttercream frosting and fondant!

I loved the fact that when my cousin asked me what bakery I had gotten the cake from, my mom's friend quickly stated that "SHE MADE THIS HERSELF!!!"

I couldn't stop smiling!

Isn't he cute as a button???  My mother-in-law sent me this outfit and I think he looks like a little doll.

The birthday pavillion...

Sebastian enjoying his fondant elephant...

The birthday boy taking a wack at the pinata!

hee hee hee... He's sooo scrawny!  poor Tyler...

Sneaking a peek at the big gift bag...

He LOVED this dinosaur walker thingy...

Then a dip in the pool...

I love this pic of all my boys!

Surfing on dad's flip flops!

I don't have any more pics because I got lazy and then put the birthday boy to bed.

But all in all it was a fabulous party! 

AND I got a bunch of requests for birthday cakes! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEBAS!!!

:oP

I'm soooo behind

I just realized that I didn't post at all last week!  Wow... and I had a bunch of stuff that I kept saying to myself "I gotta post this on my blog"... oh well... thus is the story of my life.  So I will cram all my interesting happenings into this one post.  Grab your coffee and a snack, and get ready!

First of all  I FINALLY FINISHED TYLER'S SWEATER!!!!  Yeaaaaaaaa meeeee!!!!!

This is my first time making such a complicated cable pattern... I like it...

Here is a little closer look at the cables...

Yes, I know it took me something like 4 months, but seriously its hard to find time to knit when I have a baby yanking at my yarn, stealing my needles, crying for my attention, Tyler and Isabel needing my attention, and oh yeah, homework to do as well.  Now that I think of it, I'm proud of myself for actually finishing it!  So I presented the boy with his sweater and can I say he has got to be one of the sweetest people on this earth... he couldn't thank me enough and he proceeded to put it on and try it right away, even though it was like 85 degrees out!

Can you see his sweaty head?!  He is too funny.

BUT the important thing is he loved it and it fit!  He also told me that he was intending to wear it to school the next day... um sorry bud, it's gonna be like 90 degrees, no sweater!

So on Tuesday, Isabel had a Mother Daughter tea party at her school... the first in the 3 years she has been attending Johnny Appleseed Elementary.  It sound interesting, even though it was 90 degrees out and I was sweating like a pig!  I love all those events though, I feel that they create memories that last a lifetime, and if I have to sweat a little so that we creat wonderful memories, then so be it!

So I freshened up as best I could so I wouldn't smell like a smelly, sweaty mess... and off to the school I headed.  I arrived and was told to find a seat in the jam packed cafeteria... but at least I was lucky enough to get a spot near the back where they had the doors open.  Then the principal started his speech, thanking us mothers and thanking the kids... most of all the 5th graders that would be leaving the school this year.  Then out came my baby....

The theme of the tea party was "Fairy Wishes and Dreams"... all the girls had princess crowns and wands, very cute!

Can you believe how big she is!!!

Yes, I am a hamm and YES I had to wear the crown, because I can...

We had a great time, apparently the tea had a dual purpose which was to bring awareness to some syndrome that I had never heard of before of which one of the school's students suffers from.  They had a donation basket for those that wished to donate to the finding of a cure... I wish I remembered the name of the syndrome, but it was week ago!!!

I love taking Bel's pic in profile... I think she has a beautiful profile...

Wednesday it was rainy and crappy... typical New England weather... and off to Isabel's softball game we went...  they did not do good at all!  Poor things lost 16-3!!!!  It was awful!!!  The other team's pitcher looked like she should be in highschool and pitched with blinding speed!!!  At one point I heard one of Isabel's team mates say "how do they expect us to hit that???"  It was sad.

So no pics of the game nor the players, but I did get a pic of Sebastian eating cheetos...

this boy likes his cheetos!!!

On saturday the coach had a 2 hour practice to work on the girls' catching skills, play skills and hitting skills.  Apparentlly it worked because on saturday the girls one against the best team in the league, 10-7!!!  Go Tigers!!!!

I lied apparently I did take a pic of Isabel on base... she got this run in, the one that put them on top!!!

So on Friday I felt like some chowda... yummm... so I went to the store early and picked up the needed ingredients and made a big pot o'chowda...

Can  tell you, this was some damn good chowder!  I wish you could taste and smell it... but no wonkavision here!

Oh and lastly I discovered, after 25 years of living in this same town, that there is a few dairy farms in the area and one of which sells its milk, as well as products from other local farms!!!

So I wandered in, but since there wasn't a lot of veggies available yet, I picked up some milk, cheese and strawberries

Yes, I took a drink of milk before   took the picture... but I couldn't wait!!!  1% milk, but it was so delicious and creamy!  I can't wait to go back.

So there you have it... that was my week... oh wat on Thursday I went to the auto auction with Carlos annd we picked up two cars. A 1994 Infiniti I30  and a 1995 Acura Legend L...yes the are old BUT they are in great condition and NICE.  I don't have pcs but I'll post soon... oh yeah and I rode a mechanical bull at the auction!!!  yeeeehaaaw!!!!

That's all, I'm sure you've had enough, so I'll be back later!!!

Chao baby....  :o)

I ain't gettin' any younger...

I don't really know why I named this post as such, but the truth is just that... I am not getting any younger. 
And Isabel seems to like to point that out to me, both knowingly and unknowingly.  She is quick to point out to me that she will be going to 6th GRADE  in the fall... WHAT THE.....  WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN????  I feel like it was only a year ago I was taking her to her first day of kindergarten, and now she is starting 6th grade.  Besides that, she is about an inch taller than me already, is wearing MY size shoes, and can fit into my sister's clothes. 

So why should Friday be any different?  Yesterday I took Isabel to her first weekend camping trip with the Girl Scouts.  When I tell you that I was not prepared... it is an understatement.  There were no tears shed, but I was not ready for her to be SO happy to leave and spend the weekend alone, well at least away from me and not with her dad! 

So we got the necessary camping equipment... sleeping bag (check); lantern (check); travel sized toiletries (check, check, check); pillow (check); change of clothes (check)... yup we are ready.

OMG... I can't believe she's camping!!!!

So we headed over to Harvard and dropped her off at GS Camp Green Eyrie... which is beautiful!  The girls had their "tents" and they were assigned 4 to a tent... they couldn't have been happier.

They are quite spacious too!

She's always posing that one!

Here she is making faces because all the skeeters were CRAZY!!! I think I got bit 5 times in the ten mnutes I was there!  But I sent her with bug cream, long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts. 

Also, I want to point out that at the camp ground it was about 10 degrees colder than everywhere else! 

I can't wait for her to come home and tell me all about her trip.  I wish she could have taken her camera but they didn't allow any kind of electronics, no Ipods, no phones, no cameras... good since the idea is to be in Nature... and nature is not wifi ready!

:oP

OH, I almost forgot... last sunday we had Sebastian baptized!  I'm gonna make a seperate post of that... stay tuned for more!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!  My day started off great, the kids got up and couldn't wait to give me their presents they had for me.   Sebastian had a bunch of big, wet, drooley kisses and hugs for me... and honestly, what is better than that???  Tyler gave me a daisy seedling he grew in school, in a little plastic pot he decorated himself, and Isabel wrote me a poem about how much she loves me.  Do you want to hear it?  Ok, it goes a like this:

I Love You Mom

I Love

I Love a lot of things, a whole lot of things

like

when you took me to Hampton Beach and with titi and Ache and we all ate at a resturant

AND

when we went and shopped all night

AND

when I first met Beto

and I love him

after the night

BUT I love

I love a lot of things, awhole lot of things

And Mom

I love you too.

By Isabel Deyanira Draleaus
May 10, 2010

awww... isn't it sweet?  I love my girl, it's these moments that erase the bad ones!

On friday my sister called me to tell me that Macy's was having a ridiculously great sale on saturday with a preview on friday, and would I be so kind as to verify that the sale prices were good today... oh, and she just happened to see the Kitchen aid stand mixer 've so badly wanted on sale.  OK I'll go check on the sale prices.  Yes, the sale prices were valid today...AND YES my stand mixer that normally costs $299 was on sale for $179!!!!! Wooo Hooo!!! So I purchased myself a wonderful mother's day gift and brought home my stand mixer to make some bread! 

Isn't it beautious!!!  I have wanted one of these FOREVER!!! OK, maybe not forever... but it sure seemed like it!

So I took it out of the box as soon as I got home, washed it and put it on my tiny kitchen counter.  Then I broke out the cook books... I just needed to make some bread.  I found one for french bread, I had all the ingredents, and got to it.

I got my loaves formed and in the oven...

THEN......

looks good, right? ehhh it could have been better, I didn't measure the salt... I just eyeballed it and they were a little bland.  Oh well, live and learn.

But I made my bread, I ate my bread... and though it was not as delicious as I had invisioned, I liked it.

Enough about the bread... on to the rest of my day.

So my day was filled with sporting events.  Both kids had games, Tyler had soccer and Isabel had a softball game.  So we got up and had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, which were yummilicious.  Then took showers, got clothed and headed out the door to Tyler's soccer game.  Here I would like to note that it has been all of 60-65 degrees out the last four days... WHAT THE HELL!  It was 80-90 degrees a week ago!  Not today.. today was cold, blustery and COLD! 

We went to the soccer field, and I swore I was going to get blown away!  It was just plain ridiculous how windy it was.  But Tyler played his heart out, and tried as hard as he did the white team was GOOD!  He almost scored a couple of times, but they shut him down... he was a tad bit upset, as he HAS to make a goal every game (his goals NOT mine)... but I pointed out the fact that he played his best and that he had done really well despite the fact he didn't score.  This seemed to help a little, not much.  So to console him, we went out for ice cream.

In case you don't believe me that it was blustery... just take a look...

I can't believe how big she is getting!  She just doesn't look 10 years old in this picture to me... *sigh*

Poor Sebastian kept getting his breath taken away by the wind gusts!

After the ice cream, we stopped home so Isabel could grab her equipment and change into her softball uniform, then we headed back out to the Lassie League fields.

The game was great!  The two teams fought hard for the W... but they ended up tied.  11-11!!!  Isabel almost got the winning runs in, but the wind blew the ball foul, the next hit was a base run.. but she was at least able to hit a run in to tie up the game.   I would love to post pics, but I took videos of her hitting instead, and for some reason I can't get them to post... next time.

After we came home and ordered some pizza and ate some grub.  I had the kids jump in the shower, and change for bed while I crashed on the couch.

That's it... that was my mother's day.  Not the most exciting ever, but I spent the entire day with my three angels and that's good enough for me!

I hope everyone had a great mother's day!!!!

:o)