Haley's 4th Birthday Party

Haley wanted a Hello Kitty Birthday, we didn't have much money to spend on her party but did a lot of DIY stuff and she loved it.

I got a cupcake stand for cheap and glued these jewels on it. I also got some Hello Kitty sugar pieces at Wal-Mart for like $2. I added them to the chocolate cupcakes we made and it almost looked designer.

So you know how at parties have the yummy party mix called "puppy chow"? We just switched it to "Kitten Chow" and it fit right in.

We got a big bog of twizzlers and named it "Kitten Whiskers". Isn't it cute!

Here is the little set up for the present/favor table. I made these flower balls which have gotten lots of use for birthday parties, photoshoots ect. All the girls had pink princess crowns to wear around for birthday.

We also had a fruit tray, hummas and pretzel crisps, a meat and cheese tray and a veggie tray. For the adults we had sodas and juice boxes for the kids.

We made kitty masks out of paper plates and the girls colored and signed a huge paper for Haley to hang up in her room.

Really the only thing that cost the most was Haley's cake. It was a Hello Kitty small round cake surrounded by pink cupcakes with Hello Kitty rings.(I didn't get a chance to get a really good pic of the cake but it was an ordered cake from Albertson's so not too fancy).

Aren't these girls the cutest!

For party favors I  got a pack of pink bags from the dollar store and we filled it with little toys and candy. I drew eyes on the bags, with a kitty nose cut from foam and whiskers cut from construction paper.

The party was a blast and everyone had fun. And the best thing was Haley was thrilled with everything!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Well today is a very special day, its my husband's birthday! Birthday's are always the day to celebrate the life of a person and I just want to dedicate this post to the love of my life.

10 Reasons I love him

 

1. He is ridiculously patient

2. He has a great sense of humor, always knows how to make me smile

3. He is pretty darn handsome! Looks 10 years younger than he is

4. He works hard, at home, at work, at play

5. He has great hygiene, keeps himself shaved and smelling nice

6. He is caring, treats me like a princess

7. He is mentally, emotionally and physically strong

8. He's gentle as a lamb, but still a trained killer.

9. He is a great survivalist. Definitely my first choice for a zombie apocalypse partner!

10. He is one of the most unselfish people I know. He would give you the shirt off his back.

 

 

So, a little history on the hubs. (Since this is a public blog I don't want to reveal too much personal info) Basically, around 6 years ago he came home from the war in Iraq to find he had been stripped away of his things, his money and his beautiful children. After coming back from a place where bullets whizzed past your head, people got blown up in front of you and you faced extreme danger every day, only to find you had nothing left...many men would have taken their life. But my husband held on. He stayed alive and sane to be there for his children. If he was gone who would fight for them? I met him a short while later and we fell in love. I am so blessed to have him as mine!

 

 

 

It's not always easy having a blended family, his 4 boys, my girl and our daughter together. There are many challenges, but many joys also. I'm glad to have such a perfect mate by my side as we progress through this journey together. Occasionally, after all the bills are paid for the month we barely have enough food. I've seen him skip meals just so the kids could have full bellies. How many men would do that for their children? Not many. He (and we) continue to fight for our children, meeting near impossible challenges head on. We don't do only free things, don't go on vacations, don't buy anything but necessities but eventually it will be worth it.

 

 

 

Our oldest, Bryan has been with us since we met. He went through some troubled teen years but with Steven's love, guidance and support he made it through high school, got a job and is heading off to Marine Corps boot camp in the near future. All our boys consider Steven their hero, and that makes my heart swell with pride.

 

 

 

Recently, someone called my husband a coward. Of course he just brushed it off, like the easy-going man he is. I on the other hand was infuriated. How could someone call my husband a coward? He has been through wars and seen and experienced things very few people could even imagine. There is not a cowardly bone in his body. But then I got to thinking. This person is just calling names because they are so dissatisfied with their own life and so jealous of the great man Steven is. This person has accomplished nothing in their life, lives off of several baby's daddy's child support checks, collects welfare, lives rent free and has contributed nothing to their family. This person has never had to work, been handed everything on a silver spoon, or played the victim enough to get what they wanted. I then had to just laugh at the accusation. It was just too silly, they wouldn't last an hour in bootcamp, even airforce bootcamp (haha can you tell I'm a Marine brat?) let alone set foot in a combat zone without running home with their tail tucked behind them crying for mommy.

 

Anyway, I kind of went off on a rabbit trail there. My point being that Steven is one of the greatest people I know and I can't wait until the day where I have enough money to buy him all the nice things he deserves.

 

Happy Birthday my love, and here's hoping to many more!



Being 25

Well yesterday was my birthday. Yay!

I'm halfway to middle age.

(Since I plan on living to 100 haha!)

Reflecting back on my life,

I have to say I miss the innocence and vividness of my imagination.

Before school, work, bills, kids and ex's created such stress.

I've made mistakes and faced impossible challenges.

But with God's grace I've risen above and conquered those challenges

leaving me a better, stronger and wiser person.

Despite our daily struggles I'm happy with my life.

So what have I accomplished in my short years?

I have an amazing husband, 2 beautiful girls and 5 wonderful stepsons.

Even with changing colleges 3 times in 3 years I've maintained a 3.8-4.0 GPA

And now I almost have my degree.
I cooked my parents a 3 course meal in 5th grade and have been cooking and creating my own recipes ever since.

I'm finally happy with my weight (although I do need to build some muscle)

I've made friends that will listen to me when I need to vent but also help me stay positive.

I've been to Brazil and lived in 7 different states.

I've travelled from the East to West coast more times than I can count.

I've written a book of poetry (that I'm too scared to publish)
I bought my own car with my own money when I was 18.

I've learned to play the piano decently.

I've gotten tattoos and piercings.

I've worked as a deck hand on a fishing boat, a waitress, a bartender, a model,

a grocery store manager, a barista, an event coordinator, and probably more I can't remember.

I've taught myself photography and became excellent at it.

Through my photography I've met some famous people: actresses, singers, bands and athletes.

I started this blog less than a year ago and already have over 1000 page views a day.
There is lots more I want to do and accomplish in my life but I am pretty proud of where I am today.
So I guess being 25 is not so bad :)

 

 

Yesterday was lovely. I got to spend my birthday with all my kids and my niece.

My dear friends Shantel and Kelly brought me a gift basket. It had all kinds of ice cream toppings and a bunch of goodies, so the kids and I celebrated with ice cream sundaes.

 



Serenity's Tangled Party

My beautiful little Serenity turned 5 last week! It took me quite a while to plan her party, but it turned out awesome and she had a great time.

I got her a Tangled shirt to wear for the party. Isn't she pretty!?

 

 

 I had a table laid out with a poster for each girl. There were crayons and markers to make art like Rapunzel did in the movie. They also got a foam wand to decorate with glitter shapes.

 

I made each girl a long braid from yellow yarn and glued it to a headband.

 

 

This was our marvelous food table!

 

 

I handpainted a cardboard sign to be like the "Snuggly Duckling" on the movie. I cut the duck out of paper but painted the rest.

 

 

I made cupcakes and dyed the frosting green. I added a fake purple flower on top. The stand was also handmade from cardboard, styrofoam rounds and purple wrapping paper.

 

 

 I made jello boats from blue jello, half a mandarin orange and a toothpick with a purple flag.

 

We also had chips and dip, meats and cheese and fruit all served in frying pans. Notice the golden flower in the back? Yep got that in there too. (If you have seen the movie Tangled you will get the significance of it haha) I made brownie cake pops as well. I stuck them in styrofoam floral blocks covered in purple wrapping paper.

 

 

One of the games we did was pick a duck from the tub. If you got the duck with an X you got a prize!

We also played "Throw pascal in the pan". The girls threw rubber lizards into a frying pan.

 

 

This was our present table. I made the tower in the back from a pringles can, paper, yarn and fake moss. I wish I had gotten a better pic of it, it was a pain to make but turned out really cool!

 

 

I love her face, she was so excited about everything!

 

 

And here is the masterpiece tower my hubby and I made. He constructed it out of cardboard and I painted it and attached flowers and yarn hair.

 

 

Fun times!

Steven's Birthday

Yesterday was Steven's birthday. It was an early day for him, waking up at 3am to head into work. When he got home he relaxed for a bit and played with the girls. I made yummy chicken tacos for dinner and a chocolate fudge bundt cake with ice cream for dessert. Steven fried up the taco shells, he is a pro at that! I won a giftcard so tomorrow afternoon I'm taking him to get a few new outfits for his birthday. Shhh its a suprise ;)