Diego, Dragons, Driving and Doughnuts

A list of Joaquin's favorite things (right now)

* his list changes all the time, so it will be different next week *

1) Spending time with his little brother
2) Anything he can drive
3) Dragons (and Dinosaurs too)

4) Doughnuts (the sprinkled kind)

 

 

 

Diego and his carseat

Diego is not a fan whatsoever of his car seat, so every trip (long or short) 

we took last year had to be planned around his nap time,
otherwise we made sure Robert or I sat in the back with the boys, and took snacks and toys to entertain him.
For Christmas we decided to purchase DVD players for our car.
BEST investment ever!

We try not to use them when we drive around town so that we can all get a chance to talk as a family and also so that the boys
can see and enjoy the scenery around town.

Here are some photos of Diego and his car seat adventures.

First comes the crib, then comes the bed, then comes the baby on the floor

Diego loves to move all over the place when he sleeps in his crib.

So when I went in one night to check on the boys

I wasn't suprise to discover Diego stuck in the rails.
I couldn't resist but to run and grab the camera
and take a photo of this (PRICELESS)

We thought he was ready for the big boy bed just like his brother, so we went to go buy him a toddler bed. Everything seemed to be just fine when we all went to sleep that night...................................until

I woke up in the middle of the night like always to make sure that the boys were okay and covered, when I discovered Diego on the floor asleep.

I guess he fell over board and he never realized it

and just slept there unitl I went in to check on them.

I brought him to bed with us that night.

He was back in his crib the next night

(guess we will try the toddler bed later again)

Moments of 2010

Before I start to blog our new MOMENTS for this new year,
I wanted to share a few

Memorable Moments of 2010:

DIEGO (our youngest son) 

 

 * he turned "1" in the fall and celebrated with a Monkey theme party

* he began his first swimming classes with his brother

* he took his first steps during the Christmas Holidays

JOAQUIN (our oldest son)

* he turned "3" in the summer and celebrated with a Buzz Lightyear party

* he was enrolled to his first day care in the fall (part time)

* he is still in swimming classes and was also enrolled into soccer

ROBERT (my husband)

* he became VP of the modest incorporation he works for

*he did everything possible (maintenance wise) to help with the sale of our home
* he's still the best dad ever to his boys and the best husband, year after year

ME.................where can I start?

I will keep it short and simple.

I turned the big "30"!

My husband planned a great surprise weekend getaway
to celebrate my birthday.

Or should I say OUR birthday?

(yes, my husband and I have the same birthday)

He planned a surprise, romantic weekend to Fredericksburg, TX.

He arranged for me and my 2 best friends to spend a day at

 Grape Creek Vineyards.
 

 

While we tasted wines and relaxed, the hubbies went into town and made dinner reservations at Fredericksburg Brewing Restaurant and
got settled in to our hotel.

I must say, he really SURPRISED me.......he did give credit to my best friends who helped him keep things under cover too.

The home we sold 

                                 BEFORE   (when we bought it)                                

  

AFTER (when we sold it)

Our Living Room/Dinning Room

Our Kitchen

Our Guest Bathroom

Our Guest Bedroom 

The Boy's Room 

 Our Master Bedroom 

Our Master Bathroom

We bought this home almost 4 years ago and did many upgrades to it.
After having 2 kids we decided we wanted to upgrade and buy "our dream and finale" home. After starting the Dave Ramsey Budget last year, we decided to sell our home and start fresh (debt free).
We have a set time frame and are currently working on our goals to get to our next home in the near future.

Some of Dave Ramsey's Quotes, that I like to live by:

"If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else."

"Act your wage."

"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."

Thank You - Carolyn

I am so excited to have this NEW BLOG
(Moments with Mari Belle) created by Carolyn. 

I appreciated everything that she did for me and my blog.

I would like to sincerely thank her for her amazing work and talent and for also replying back to all my emails filled with thousands of questions!  

{She is from Texas, but is currently living in Graz, Austria}

Feel free to visit her blog.

Thank you again Carolyn! 

How it all started

While reading one of my monthly issues of Real Simple , I came across
an article about SWAP PARTIES.
It’s a party where friends get together bring along all the clothing, shoes, and accessories that they no longer want (or fit into) and they swap.

Since I love to find any reason to hold gatherings to get together with friends,  a close friend of mine and I decided to throw our very own first swap party this past fall.

I started to look online for ideas on, food, invitations and set ups. 

This is where I came across Christi’s blog  who had previously hosted a swap party and had a lot of great ideas. From her blog I began to read lots and lots of other party blogs... where I often found myself blog hopping to other subjects too. I was so excited and interested in this new blog world that I decided to have one created for myself. 

 P is for Party is where I found out about Carolyn the blog designer.

It's About Time

I like to think I am a girl of technology. I spend much of my life on a computer. I can TXT U on my Blackberry phone, I can setup/play/delete recordings from my DVR and I can use a navigation system to get me anywhere fast. And yet when it comes to blogs, MySpace, and the Facebook, I've been conspicuously absent. Until now.

I've finally decided it is time to get with the times and get me a blog thingy. I need an outlet to share on my crazy life with two boys under four. I could use a place to record the life of my family. And it's about time I find a use for the thousands of pictures filling my hard drive with no place to go.

I'm not sure where this is going yet, or how often I'll post. But I do know that I have much to write about in my life and my ongoing quest for finding a work/life balance with two young children and a busy career. So, that is what this blog is about for me, it is finding and keeping my sense of balance and allowing you to share in the evolving process.

So please be nice and bare with me as I dip my toe into the world of blogging.

I hope you enjoy the music I have downloaded to my blog.

I enjoy listening to these tunes when I am at home cooking or just simply relaxing.