Our First Annual Halloween Celebration

As a kid, I used to love Halloween.
The husband, not so much.
More often than not, the kids weren't dressed up, we didn't take them Trick-or-Treating, we didn't pass out candy. There's a valid reason, but it sucked just the same.

I found Alex to be the least interested as a kid.
Isabel was way more excited... and pushed the limits...
Nic? Has no idea that there's even a POSSIBILITY that people sometimes just don't celebrate  Halloween.
This kid was BORN for it. In fact, he's been planning his costume (changes) for weeks. He is adamant he shares his birthday with his big brother and the big H day. He has been shrieking "Happy Halloween" for months now... to anyone who will listen.

So, this being our FIRST Halloween in our new house, I wanted to make it special. Even if it did ruffle a few of the husband's feathers.   Thankfully, one Mr. Husband, is completely and totally smitten with one Mr. Nicolas.  =) Makes things a LOT easier. It's so hard to say "no" to Nic.

The kids and I spent all day decorating the pad. And I think we did a good job!  My parents arrived around 4:45, ready to help celebrate!  Mom got Nic dressed, I took Isa upstairs to get her all did up. Alex is too cool.

My dad took the kids down the street for a bit while we waited for the husband to come home from work. Once he arrived, just the five of us went off again, in search for scary houses and tons of candy!  My parents hung out at the house to hand out candy and hold down the fort!

I am truly blessed.

I know my husband isn't totally comfortable with holidays, but he was so great about us having our fun yesterday. And that we did. I didn't want the evening to end. We got to meet a lot of great neighbors, which was a true plus!

Here are a few pics:

At one point, Nic decided to add his Pirate hat and sword to his Buzz Lightyear costume. Unfortunately, I didn't get that on camera - but trust me, it was super cute.

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL Halloween, yourselves!!

Weekend Warrior... Not!

I so badly want to get my 3 dressers refinished... but it's a LOT of work.
I pulled out Isabel's yesterday... sanded the top... some of one side... and I was done.
But I couldn't be done. She needs a dresser.

So, I did the drawers. Thought if I sanded and painted them first, I would have more motivation to finish the actual dresser itself.

It didn't work.
But! I got the drawers done!
The dresser once belonged to my mom, when she was a kid.  It is pine - and currently stained "Island Blue" along with some juice spills - and add it a handful of stickers. Don't ask.  And don't you love the the zip tie drawer pulls?! 

Once I get the stamina, this sweetie-pie will be WHITE with beautiful new hardware. 

We still haven't finished painting Isabel's room. Slacker, I know. But, yet again, we've decided on a new direction.  And when we went Goodwill shopping this weekend, I found some really cool things to hang on her walls...  Now I just need to get some vinyl words ordered so I can make my vision a reality!! Can't wait!

Speaking of my vision, I think I've finally decided on the colors for formal living and dining rooms. All thanks to a trip to Michael's and their faux floral department.  Take a look:

Brown and Cream.

I was originally going to go with white, but I love how the cream looks in the room.

I am sure I will have other colors in there - but I think when it's time to focus on window coverings and table clothes, I really like the above combination.

We ended up finding some cool things at the two Goodwill's we went to... Now we just need some downtime to actually do something with them.

On a final note... we made our FIRST mortgage payment today.

The husband and I went in to the bank together.

It was cute.

Only 359 more to go!

=)

Happy Birthday, Birthday Boy!

We had Alex's birthday party for the family - and it went well!  It's so hard to believe we have a 15 year old.
I just want to stop the clock... well, slow it down, at least.

Here are a few pics...

It was so great spending the evening with everyone. We had a big ol' pot of Chili, some corn bread, and a delicious salad. No one went home hungry!  And everyone was so sweet with their cards and iPod donations. [Alex's iPod was stolen at his old High School, right from the locker as he was getting his gear on for football practice. So he wants to buy a new one.]

Thank you, family, for making this a super special birthday for our beloved Alley-Oop!



Recovering

Sup?

I've been busy recovering from the Great Skunk Attack of 2010.

I will post a full blog post soon, promise.

In the meantime...

Tonight: Native New Yorker - .39 cent wings, sweet tea, and Phoenix Suns vs. The LA Lakers Utah Jazz.

Tomorrow: Party like it's 1995 - Birthday Bash for one Mr. Alexander Ayala. (and Suns vs. Lakers)

Saturday: Furniture shopping. I need tables and shelves and stuff. The new area Goodwill is calling my name.

Sunday: The real birthday of my sweet baby boy turned exasperating teenager. And HALLOWEEN! 

I will take lots of pics and post them soon!
Well, just as soon as I finish recovering!

TTFN!

I thought I was pregnant... Part 2

Oh my! What an adventure.

BTW, in order not to scare my momz or any of our family members... we totally ARE done with our child-rearing. Promise! It was just the first thing I thought of when I got a whiff of that smell...

Anyway... here is Part II in pics...  I am exhausted...

At this point, the skunk went BACK under the gate and into our backyard... Where the husband was waiting with a hose.  He coaxed it back under the gate into the front yard where there were some landscapers staring and taking pictures. A flurry of Spanish ensued [between the landscapers and the husband] and a plan was hatched.

Of course, the skunk ran for cover, right under the husband's Dish van. So, the husband moved the van.

And then...

The landscaper dudes had no issues with walking right up to the rodent. None! They kept trying to capture it; running quickly when the skunk started to get angry.

It was kinda of funny.

But in a weird way.

Eventually, they got him.

They plopped him in the back of the landscaping truck and went back to work. Crazy.

Not much of a lunch break for my man... but at least the skunk has been dealt with.

Now, here I sit with ALL of the windows open, candles burning ,a seance going on, and all of the fans circulating as fast as possible. 

I am so over this skunk fiasco. I am thinking mid-day nap on MY lunch break.

Ahhh. The adventures of living in the "country."

I thought I was pregnant...

I can't share the WHOLE story. It hasn't finished playing out yet. There will definitely be updates to this post.

This morning, while the husband was getting ready, Alex decided to make coffee for the two of them. I woke to a horrible smell. It had a coffee smell to it, but it was much worse. I could barely stand it.

I laid there in bed, with my comforter up to my chin, trying to figure out why the coffee smelled sooo bad.

"Maybe it's the new bag your mom brought over," the husband offered.
"It's the same as we had before - and the last bag didn't smell like that," I said.

It was bad.

Then I started thinking about why it was affecting me so much  more than the husband - who basically shrugged it off.

THEN I started going over the calendar in my mind. You know, THE calendar. How long has it been... Is it possible. Of course not.

But...

Hmmm.

Thankfully, my thoughts were interrupted by the husband leaving... and then my son yelling up to me "I can't find my keys, and I don't want you to have to get out of bed, so I am going out the side gate."

"Alright," I yelled back down. "But don't think you're off of the hook for finding your house key!"

Could I be?!

Hmmm.

[KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK!]

Huh?

I race down the stairs and there's Alex at the front door. So much for... Ah well.

"Sup," I ask.

"Mom... there's a skunk stuck between the garbage can and the gate on the side of the house. And it smells!"

"What?!" Yes, I am not with child!  Which is a good thing, cuz we are DONE.

"I walked right past it," Alex continued. "And it was making this 'pift' sound.  No wonder Milo [the dog] was going crazy."

I told Alex to scoot - I didn't want him missing the bus.

But that left me, Milo, Nic [asleep upstairs, missing the commotion and SMELL] and Isa. 

I knew what I had to do.

But obviously, since I mentioned this story would have several parts, I didn't get the job done.

But we tried. I had Isa camped out in the van to get pictures. Meanwhile, I looked for anything I could find to maybe, perhaps?, push the can over from the back side of the gate.

Nothing. The can is full. It's garbage day, after all.

Which means, #1 I have a stuck skunk. #2 We may miss the garbage guy.

It smells soooo bad. 

I am very upset with the construction worker who, instead of offering his assistance, called out to let me know I had a skunk stuck between the wheels of my garbage can.

$150 to have it professionally removed. I checked.
Might be worth it.

But, for the sake of entertaining you all - I have the husband coming home from work to help get rid of this little rascal.  And I will have my camera ready for some action.

You're welcome.

TTYL.

Another beautiful evening in the neighborhood

 First... I cannot believe it's only 6:30 PM and it's completely dark outside. Fall/Winter is coming for sure. I generally prefer summer, but for some reason, I am not hating the idea of cold nights, hot cocoa, and fire pits.  Guess we need to see about getting that fire pit built!

Decided to take Isa out front for an impromptu photo-shoot.... Had to capture the sky, first...

And then I took a ton of pictures of her... but is soooo not comfortable in front of the camera. The moment I point it her way, she starts grinning like a Cheshire cat. Not a good photo that makes. I keep telling her to practice in the mirror, because I am not going away!

At least I got her running and jumping around in the grass for a bit. Until we both heard a loud "swish" and realized the sprinklers were turning on! We got outta there fast!

I had my aunts, cousins, and my grandma over at the house today... We had to get our 4th Quarter schedules and calendars in sync.  We have a lot going on the next few months - so much to plan for!  Like 10 birthdays, 3 anniversaries, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc, etc, etc....

It was so nice to see everyone. We enjoyed brunch and each other's company!

The kids are starting to get ready for school - I cannot believe tomorrow is Monday already! I am not sure if I am ready to go back to work. Even if "back to work" means waking up and taking the stairs to my downstairs office.

Here's hoping your Monday is completely manic-free and that you have a wonderful start to your week!

What do cookies and sunsets have in common?

Oooh! A riddle!

Orange you glad you stopped by today...? :)

The kids and I decided to make some Halloween cookies last night.  I need to put it out there first and foremost... I have never EVER made sugar cookies. Nope. Never.

And after last night, it may be a long while before I ever attempt to again. I think I am a chocolate-chip-cookie-maker type of gal.  I am sure the dough was not supposed to be falling apart as I rolled it to 1/8 of an inch.   After an agonizing 7 minutes, they were done. Thankfully, my taste-testers said they tasted ok.

Did you get that?  OK.  Not "great!" Not "These are the BOMB, mom!" Just ok. Lowercase oh. Lowercase kay. 

Wait, I just remembered, Nic did say they were the best cookies ever. Can I trust a three-year old and a smile?!  See for yourself...

I wanted to share this [below] with you. This is the view from my kitchen table each and every night. Aren't I a lucky gal?!