Top Ten News Nuggets of the Week

1. SNOW! We're in a huge, record-breaking snowstorm right now. Remember back in December when our flights were canceled? Well, this is worse. Luckily, we learned from last time and stocked up on food yesterday before the snow started falling. The only thing we forgot was milk, which isn't life-threatening. Again, it happened on a weekend, so Juan didn't miss any school and church is canceled... Lucky or Unlucky? You decide.
   
2. Qiana has mastered the art of rolling. She is now a miniature steam roller when we put her down.
3. Siena is only one size up in diapers than her 4 month-old sister. Hopefully she will be out of them soon.
4. We got a pass to the YMCA and have been exercising like responsible adults again. I have been going to an Exerswim class where I am the youngest person by about 20 years. It's such a fun class! However, P90X still works itself into our week here and there. Today's workout was AB RIPPER X. "I hate it!... but I love it!"
   
5. Siena and Qiana have minor colds, nothing super special, but nonetheless out of the ordinary. Usually they have great health.
6. I took on two more students, so now my piano guild numbers to 7! Watch out world!
7. Juan got a part-time dental assisting job in Northeast Philly. It's just what he was looking for until he graduates.
8. Siena has given up her afternoon naps, it seems. I do not know how I will ever survive.
9. Juan brought home some wax for a crown wax-up he was doing for a patient; he asked me if I wanted to try making my own for fun, and I just couldn't turn down his offer. By the time I was done, my molar "wax-up" looked like a Lego.
   
   
   
   
10. We're almost done making our Valentines. If Siena would just stop getting into the inkpads and fancy-edged scissors, we'd be finished (hmph!)... but I love having her "help", just as I love having her "help" while making dinner. Last night, she helped Juan by scrubbing dishes while he made meatballs. As usual, it was a glorious wet mess! Even though the rose-colored glasses of raising a cute little toddler were tossed to the curb many, many months ago, I am still constantly reminded of how much I LOVE it!

Wait! There are more random pictures from the week:

This morning we all stayed in our pajamas until... well... we're still in our pajamas.

Siena had to make a very important call. Good thing whoever was on the other end couldn't see her bedhead; she looks like a hobo.

Piling into the "casita"

Having friends over!

Siena's First Ski Trip

While in Utah, Siena got to go skiing with her papi, uncle, and cousin Ava. She hated it. Then she liked it. Here's the video to prove we actually took her:

After a while she got tired and just wanted to make snow angels. (There's a video, but it's too long to upload. Just imagine cuteness.)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I may not ever do a giveaway again because it's hard to make a random drawing and stick with awarding just ONE person when everyone who enters is your friend. I wanted to give the earrings to everyone, but I had to stick with the first random pick.

So the winner of the Lucky Dangles is.......drum roll please........ NYCOLE

Thanks to all who entered and congrats Nycole!

Christmas Morning

Harper won for the most clever wrapping job:







We got Harper a sweet Philly-grown gift: his very own du rag.

Sierra was left confused on how she was going to get those Calypso Braids (also a gift from Philly) into her hair.

It was a fantastic morning finished off with our traditional waffles, strawberries and cream. Yum.

Christmas Vacation

How could I have forgotten to post this?!

We'll start small. Here's Christmas Eve with Juan's family:

...and opening gifts.

Free to a Good Home

I think it's about time for another GIVEAWAY! You know how these things work: just leave a comment and a little contact info (however you want) and I'll announce the winner in 3 days. Good luck!

Lucky Dangles
(Sorry about the shadowy picture. We are experiencing stormy
weather right now, so I have no natural light to help me out.)

I learned how to make jewelry from my mom a few years ago when she was designing accessories for her Fall line. This was more of a chore for my sisters and me than a fun hobby because the pretty things we made weren't going to be for us and I, for one, didn't appreciate anything handmade. Most of the finished products were for bat mitzvahs, weddings and christenings; we made bracelets, necklaces, purse handles and hair combs from beautiful crystals, pearls, beads and rhinestones. (Wow, I just counted 3 "lists"--a journalistic pet peeve of my mother--Sorry Mom!)

Anyway, the trend is here again to make jewelry and I decided I'd give it another go. Surprisingly, I like making jewelry (although I had forgotten the toll it takes on your hands.)

I admire anyone who can sit down with enough patience to do it professionally.

"It's Keeks with a Q"

"Mom, let's not waste time cleaning the house when there are pictures to be taken!"

(Yes, those are her natural cheeks. We did not fill them with cotton.) And yes, that is my natural bedhead.

Check out her kimono outfit!
Yeah, my MOM made it.

She's pretty amazing.

I love this chub!

2009 Projects Are DONE!

So the only project I really carried over into the new year was this play kitchen for the girls......... This was a HUGE undertaking for me because if I see an idea that is clever, cute and doable, I immediately put it on the TO DO list, which inevitably grows to the point of IMPOSSIBLE. This kitchen was almost certainly destined to go incomplete forever. However, I mustered up the courage and spare time, and finished it one week ago today.

It started out as this cute, but DEFINITELY USED play kitchen with Dora and Diego stickers all over it that we bought for $20 off of Craigslist:

Before:

So the first step was to clean it and rid it of the stickers, tightening all the loose screws along the way. Once done, I resolved to add a cutting board/bar table to the side. The wood was collected at the IKEA Scratch 'N' Dent section for $0.39 and we already had the 90 degree braces so it wasn't much of an investment.

Next, I saw a picture of a kitchen with a backsplash and thought that would be a cute addition. After another trip to IKEA's S 'n' D, I came back with a large piece (around 4'x2') of 1" particle board and a 3' tall, but skinny, piece of wood, each marked at $0.29. The smaller piece of wood was to stabilize the cutting block.

I covered the larger piece with scrapbook paper I had and then covered that all with Con-Tact Paper. (There is probably a better way of finishing it off, but I already had that on hand.) I didn't attach the board to the rest of the kitchen so it is more portable when we move.

The next thing was to add a kitchen timer into the empty stainless steel hole on the original backsplash. Found one at Ross, and wrestled it into the open hole. Didn't quite fit, but I had a backup plan--my go-to project solution: the hot glue gun.

The last thing to do was to add the kitchen window and make the curtains. I had spied this decorative plate frame at a discount store and thought it would work perfectly. It was only $2 and it already had a rod that, if rotated and re-inserted, could serve as a curtain rod. I made some quick curtains with some fabric I had saved for something fun like this and the project was COMPLETE! A breath of fresh, project-free 2010 air!

Ta Da:

Siena already had all the right tools, she just needed the work station.

Talk about an AWESOME Christmas present. My mom got Siena these wooden condiment bottles and a market bag full of Velcro-y, peel-able produce... the COOLEST food you can use in the kitchen, by far.

Siena really loved it, but I had to throw this random frown pic in because it cracks me up. She cooks in her kitchen all the time now, mostly whipping up birthday cakes and soup. After I eat, she indulges herself on her imaginary cuisine and pretends to nibble at it very daintily. Why can't she have these manners when she eats her real food? ;^)

76ers Game

We got to go to the 76ers game tonight against the Portland Trailblazers and it was so fun! To be honest, I had never been to an NBA game before. From what Juan says, Utah Jazz games are way more fun to be at because of the energy in the arena, but we really enjoyed getting to go to the game tonight. The scores were really close the whole time, and we like games like that, so it was definitely a successful night (although the Sixers did end up losing.) Amber couldn't go, so Kurt talked us into bringing Siena along so he could have a date. Of course, we had to get pictures, but we didn't want to lug around the camera. That left us with camera phones and the Fan Gallery pics cemented with watermarks. Oh well, it works.

On her date with Kurt. Of course, her parents were sitting a couple rows behind her (literally three rows from the highest seating in the arena,) making sure she behaved.

Qiana did extremely well. She didn't make a peep throughout the entire game. She didn't even get hungry until we got home. I'm such a lucky mom!

Tank and Pot

We had a Girls Day Out at the doctor's office today. (Okay, it wasn't as fun as it sounds.) Qiana weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs. 14 oz! HUGE! That means she's in the 90th percentile for weight. She's only 25 in. long, so her weight definitely isn't by way of her height. Oh, I LOVE my little sumo wrestler!

And don't you love (*wink*) toddler bathroom stories? Here's one for all the moms:

Siena is getting so much better at potty training. Although we really have only had one (yes, I repeat ONE) success on the potty...and that was after 3o minutes of sitting there... she is now waddling really uncomfortably when she is wet and she's been really interested in sitting on the potty. Today, she was SO CLOSE to making it. She ran her naked little bum up the stairs as fast as she could, but didn't quite get there in time. A minute later, I was cleaning poop off the carpet as Siena repeated over and over again, "No poo poo on the floor. Poo Poo in the potty." I'm just glad she is starting to make the connection.

Another Year, Another Post.

Yes, we're back and blogging.

What's new? Well, Siena says about 20 words a second and I've got to write them down before I forget.

• "Gobay, Gobay, Gobay, Gobay"- this is Siena jibberish. I'm 80% positive it takes the place of what could be a stutter. She says "Gobay" just to fill in dead space in her sentence. It's hilarious but I really hope it doesn't become a crutch for her language development. Look at me, I am a worried mom!
• "No way, Jose!"
• "Aww, man!"
• "Pink-a-ler" - "Tinkerbell"
• "E-foof-me"- "Excuse Me"
• "Snowmain"

There are more, but I can't remember them right now.

Qiana is getting bigger and fatter, but of course, she's still so cute. She surprised us the other day and rolled over, (actually off the mattress we were sleeping on while visiting our family. I put her on the bed so I could go take a shower and when I got back, she was face-down on the floor, whimpering. It could have really been scary, but the mattress was less than a foot up from the floor. She hasn't done it since, and I'm okay with that. It's funny how with Siena, I was just so anxious for her to be able to roll, and crawl, and walk; with Qiana, I'm fine if she takes her time. Oh yeah, and she's extremely ticklish.

Juan is back in the clinic and loving what he does. He's also started the search for a part-time job as a dental assistant so he can get some more exposure to a dental office. He's also trying to organize a dental outreach trip to Peru with Kurt. They have been in contact with an organization that will help them put the plans into action. It's cool to see the process of getting volunteers, funds, practicing dentists to oversee, and finding destinations for the trip. I might be able to convince him to take me along.......

Well, I'm not up to much other than organizing our clutter at the moment. The next projects on the docket are to finish the play-kitchen for the girls' 3 WiseMen's Day gift and to get some blog headers done. Before I know it, January will be left in the dust.


p.s. Christmas vacation pics to come.