Weekender and Birthday Fun!

As most of you know we celebrated Miss Amira's 5th birthday on Saturday.  We had a party in her honor with lots of food, fun, family, and friends.  By her request everything was pretty much bright pink and Monster High.  She was grinning ear to ear and running around like the wind with all her friends and cousins. 

The kids got to bat at this piñata till it finally busted open and spilled out the candy Amira had filled it with so diligently.  I swear when children see candy they go deaf to their parents.  I always like to blindfold them and spin them around for it too, I'm so horrible!

Monday was Amira's actual birthday and I was so lucky to help out at her classroom that day.  Being able to see her interact with her teachers and school mates was amazing.  She is such a big girl and much more talkative and outgoing than I had pictured.  She is just growing up before our eyes and I have to cherish every moment.

She loved her gifts and Gia is having a blast playing with them too!  Blowing out her five birthday candles on her first ever Dairy Queen ice cream cake, yummy!  We definitely had a sugar rush going on here this last weekend. 

Thank you so very much for all of Amira's birthday wishes on Facebook and Instagram.  We are so touched by your kindness!

What a 5 year old wants, for her birthday!

Well my soon to be 5 year old wants everything!  Every commercial for pooping dog toys I hear a, "I want that" or every infomercial for some strange Snackez container I hear a, "I want that mommy."  I tell ya, kids these days...

When we run to Tarjay she likes to show me the certain toys she likes.  I'm hearing things like, "can I have this for Christmas" in the middle of April.  Seeing as her birthday is at the end of this month, what! I thought I'd share with y'all what we got her for the big 5!  Its surreal to me that my baby girl is growing up so quickly.  Where is that dang pause button?!

She has a little kitchenette in her room that she got for Christmas a couple years ago, but its definitely seen better days.  The oven burners are all worn off.  The oven door was completely broken off a few months ago, my girls are great at rough housin'!  So I mentioned a while back a new kitchen would be nice and she went over the moon for the idea.  Hopefully she still feels that way when she sees her new Sundae Kitchen from Zulily. This one is bigger and better and I'm pretty sure she'll be baking her heart out!

I decided to stay on the cooking path and picked up this Smoothie Set, also from Zulily.  Amira is obsessed with fake food, and pretending to cook. When ever anyone comes over to the house, such as Mario's friends or my friends she asks them first off if they'd like to see her room <3 This online shopping site is a good place for moms to get in trouble ;)  I love all these wooden toys and the pretty pastel colors they use.  Makes me want to go whip up a fresh smoothie myself!

I picked up a few odds and ends of clothing items she needs, like jammies and Summery clothes but those are less on the exciting scale to her.  I will say it again that time is flying by with my little ones.  Turning 5 is such a big deal, like a kiddie right of passage.  Amira is, and always will be my baby girl.  Despite the fact she keeps telling me, "mommy, I'm a big girl now" with her big baby blues looking up at me.  You know the look.

Picnic Pasta Salad.

Oh my goodness when was the last time I blogged about a recipe?  Too long and I'm pretty surprised with myself considering how much I looove food!  Over the Easter weekend I made a humongus batch of my picnic pasta salad.  When you gather with my hubbys side of the family you gotta make enough to feed an army.  I tripled what I'm showing here.

My mom would always make a similar simple pasta during the warm months and camping season when we were kids.  I've sort of taken over for her in that department.  I don't think she minds.  With that being said here is my recipe for the pasta.

Picnic Pasta Salad

1 16 oz package Tri Color Rotini Noodles
2 6.5 oz jars of quartered Artichoke hearts
1 4.5 oz jar of sliced Mushrooms
1 4.8 oz can of sliced Olives
1 diced Red Bell Pepper
1 small diced Red Onion
1 diced Jalapeno
1/2 chopped Cilantro
1/2 cup shredded Parmesean
1 Bottle Italian Dressing, season to your liking

Obviously you can add or subtract any of the ingredients  I just boil the noodles, drain and let them cool.  Then I add all of the veggies except the cilantro, add the Italian dressing and mix.  I usually put in fridge to cool completely and mix in the cilantro last.  I hope you enjoy this pasta! If it makes any difference I was told twice last weekend that a person could bathe in this dish!  Thank you for reading. 

Easter Weekend!

Happy Tuesday friends!  Hope that you are feeling refreshed from the great Easter weekend.  Everyone celebrates in their own special ways and follows family traditions.  I loved seeing all my friends beautiful pictures on IG and FB. 

 

The girls found their baskets in morning and relished in all the chocolate goodness.  They loved all the coloring crafty parts too.  Later that day after they bathed and dressed up in girly fashions they did a backyard egg hunt.  They found all 24 eggs and had a time cracking them all open to see what treasures were inside.  Their piggy banks have some extra change flowing through them and we are rationing out the pastel candies till I can toss it all out, haha.

We finally colored eggs, and I must admit I was way behind on that fun activity.  Amira kept asking me when we were doing it and each time it would slip my mind.  Mommy brain is alive and well over here!  I do love how the eggs turned out.  They look so rustic.  I'm sure if I had used white eggs instead of brown they would have been more vibrant.  (I don't think I've ever bought organic white eggs)

Later that day we celebrated Easter with some of Mario's family, something we do most Easters.  It was an amazing gathering of family and everyone was grateful to be together.  There was huge spread of delicious foods and I was stuffed to the max.  At his uncle and aunts house they do egg hunt as well.  One for the kiddos and one for the 20 plus adults there.  Hundreds of eggs are hidden throughout their property and everyone is tromping around searching for these special silver and gold eggs!  It can be pretty comical to watch, I stay back with my girls and look around with them.  It was all around great weekend and this week I'm prepping for this coming weekend, Amira's 5th birthday bash!

 

Thank you so much for reading!

I've Never Heard That Before...

It goes a little something like this.  "Oh, your daughter looks nothing like you."  "She must really look like her dad."  "She's her daddy's mini alright." 

Little me on Easter Day ;)

What can I say?  I have heard these comments way to many times in my life as being a mother.  At first I kind of nod and say yes, or try to convince the person "No she really does look like me."  Then after hearing it so many times I sort of get annoyed and feel like, "Hey I carried this child in my body for 9 months and pushed her out all by myself.  I'm pretty damn sure she looks like me!

Obviously I hear this about both of my girls.  Should I feel bad about getting irked the more and more I hear it? Sometimes it makes me feel pretty crappy.  I know we all say things without thinking first, once and a while.  Maybe I'm just PMS'in. What I do know is that I hear and feel the exact same way my mother did with me. I just never gave it much thought until I became a mom, myself.  Or maybe she has thicker skin than me and let comments like this slide off her back. 

 

My mom is totally Irish looking with the exception of red hair.  She is fair skinned, blue green eyes and light brown hair. When she gets a tan its pretty much freckles.  Then there is my dad who is pure Cambodian, brown eyed, black haired, and has brown skin.  Apparently the darker features usually dominate the gene pool, like they did in my case.  However for little Amira she has the most porcelain skin and blue eyes.  So I definitely hear this about her.

Now there is my little baby Gia (yes I still call her that)  Everyone always say she's the spitting image of Mario.  Yes, I know she looks so much like her good looking daddy.  But come on, they look like me too! There are many features my girls and I share that most don't take the time to see, so I am getting use to that.  I use to say, Oh we have the same ears, or same birth mark, nose, or whatever. Finally I just stopped.  I just have to keep those things special to me and see them through my motherly eyes.

I was reluctant on posting this only because I don't love blogging about negativity in my life.  Then a wonderful friend reached out to me talking about very similar issues in her life. As humans we all make mistakes and can pass judgement, but really, we as a whole should work on that.  Especially when children are involved and the hurtful things are being said in front of them...

Bunny Love!

This last weekend we took the babes to visit the Easter Bunny and get a picture taken.  If it was going to be anything like last years, I already expected tears and to be sitting along side him too.  Well I was right!  Mama knows these things ;)  It didn't really matter to me if the girls smiled or not.  I want to get the photo taken for the cute memories and have the family look back on it and laugh.  At least in this years Bunny picture no one is crying and looks terrified.  Just very somber faces.  Mario and I sure look happy though!

Also, I love getting them dolled up in their fancy dresses and "Cinderella shoes."  Amira is obsessed with wearing frilly clothes and princess costumes, she is definitely a girly girl.  Gia on the other hand is starting to tell me NO when I dress her in tutus and flowy tops.  It is pretty hysterical so I take them off right away.  I was pleasantly surprised when she didn't fuss one bit about putting her lemon custard colored dress on that day.  She kept posing with sissy and saying pretty, score! 

I'm pretty much finished with the girls Easter goodies and baskets.  I'm not sure why I keep buying that fake plastic grass stuff, I loathe picking it up all over the floor.

Here is a picture of the girls opening their Easter package from grandma and grandpa yesterday.  So sad we'll be missing Easter with them but they'll be here next weekend!  Thank you so much for reading.

Beauty Bag Swap #2 The Lip Edition.

After taking Amira to school today I came home to see not one, but two packages on my front porch.  Woo hoo, love that.  One is from my folks for Easter fun, and the second was my Beauty Swap goodies.  If you don't remember me blogging about the Beauty Bag Swaps before you should go visit my homegirl Brittany's blog Fabulously Faint.  She is mastermind who put this fun and girly goodie bag idea together.   If you love blogging and beauty than this swap is for you!

I was randomly paired with the sweet, bubbly, girl of many hats Tessa.  You can find her blogging adventures here at Tessacotton.  It was good to be linked up with a blogger I hadn't been previously following so that I could learn and read about her.  Today I'll be showing you what she sent me in my goodie bag, which I must say is some really great stuff!  I felt like she had been reading my mind when I opened everything!  My lips have been so dry and cracky gross lately, so for that she gave me a wonderful tutorial on a lip sugar scrub, definitely making this one!  Here is picture of her recipe, love the little sugar packets she sent me to use.  I mean talk about thoughtful, she even gave me a pink washcloth to wipe away the scrub!

Also on the dry lips train she sent me two EOS balls, Summer Fruit which is my fave scent and Pomegranate Raspberry.  I've never bought any EOS balms before, all of the ones I own have been gifts from lovely bloggers!  She also added in my other favorite Baby Lips, in Pink Punch, I adore this one!  Believe it or not she gifted me one more lip product, a Maybelline Lipstick called Pinkalicious, I'm wearing it in the picture below.  It is very pretty and I'm happy to add it to my pink collection.

Thank you so much Tessa for the awesome beauty bag!  I love everything!  Also thanks to my friends Brittany and Kayla for hosting this Beauty Bag Swap!

The Balm Cosmetics, Beauty Review.

I have a makeup confession.  I've been searching for the perfect highlighter for over a year now.  My collection consists of drugstore to higher end.  All of which have left me uninspired and looking like a hot mess.  Sometimes when you use a highlight it can leave certain parts of your face looking worse than before.  I blame that on blemishes, large pores, or chunky glitters in the highlight it self.  Sometimes when your skin is on the oily side highlighters can magnify the oil instead of looking like a sunlit angel from the sky.  The preferred look.

Fortunately, while browsing one of my favorite online shopping sites, Hautelook.  I came across a Balm Cosmetics event.  When makeup is on Hautelook its usually at least 50% off.  Who doesn't like that!  I have been wanting to try their Cindy Lou Manizer Highlighter for a while now but they don't carry it my usual place, Ulta.  So this time I made sure to pick up their stuff while it was on sale. I also have been in the market for a new bronzer so I picked up their Bahama Mama Bronzer too.  I have heard really great things about The Balm, and these two products so I put my trust in some of my favorite beauty gurus.

The Balm packages their cosmetics in super cute ways.  Think Benefit style, with a bit more sexy edge and some hilarious names.  A big plus for me is that their makeup is also Paraben Free and Cruelty Free!  I've made the choice to start buying healthier skin makeup.  The prices range from around 20$ each for both of these products which isn't bad, but I got them for half off on Hautelook so it was definitely worth the wait.  I have been using the bronzer and highlight for over a week and I love them.  Bahama Mama is matte and easily blend able.  Not muddy or orange.  Cindy Lou Manizer gives my face a pretty sunkissed bronzy and pink glow, perfect for the Spring and Summer months. 

I applied both of these products in my pictures here.  I am on the lighter handed side with bronzer and contouring. The bronzer is on my cheek contour area and forehead.  This is just my everyday makeup look, but you could easily bronze and contour for a more dramatic look. The highlighter is on the high parts of my cheeks and bridge of my nose.  Other good areas for the highlight would be your cupids bow for a full lip look, or even on your eyelids for a fresh awake face!  Thank you so much for reading and I hope you found this post useful!

Tuesday Ramble!

Hello friends, its Tuesday and I missed my weekend review post so this will be my Tuesday rendition.  Gia is taking a nap and Amira is in school so its the perfect opportunity for me to write.  Our life is pretty steady, in that not many big changes have been happening.  Last week Amira was on her first ever Spring break.  I wanted to plan fun outings for her and Gia to do everyday.  One day we went to Jungle Playland with a few other mommies and tots. That day was crazy and the girls were beat by the end of the day.  They hibernated very well that night! Then we had a couple playdates with friends and went to local bouncy house.  Amira had another first, the Lateover.  Sorta like a sleep over but not.  Only because Miss thang is still too scared to stay away from home, which I completly understand.  I don't think I stayed the night away from my parents with the exception of grandparents, till like age 10!  None the less she had a great night with her bestie and got to go buck wild on some popcorn and a candy buffet! She's pretending to be a wild animal here, lol.

My husband and I ( my hubs) have been trying to finish painting the main rooms in the house white.  Which is such a tedious process because he likes to take his sweet time so its perfect, and we also need someone to watch the girls because its next to impossible to keep them from touching wet paint!  He was able to finish the hall and closet, next up is the kitchen and that will entail removing old ugly wallpaper border, fun!  I did finish my Easter mantle and I am almost done collecting cute Spring items for my littles Easter baskets.  Hoping this weekend we'll take them to see the Easter Bunny, last years picture is full of tears and scared faces.

Last Saturday Mario and I had a nice chunk of time to ourselves, thanks to my awesome sister in law, Christina!  My husband took me to a fundraiser/auction/dinner event at the Rhodes River Ranch.  All the proceeds went to the families fallen victim to the Oso Mudslide.  We bid on quite a few items but lost, which is actually great since it went to the highest bidder.  I thought I had a certain bag but it was taken from us last minute.  There was some live music from some great local country bands.  Although the event was humbling, it was very inspirational to see hundreds of people gathering for a specific cause and finding hope is this great tragedy. 

So other than that I am prepping for Easter Sunday which is a huge event for the family, like 400 hidden eggs huge.  I am also trying to plan Amira's birthday party at the end of the month, holy cow she''s going to be 5!  I'm hoping that her party day will be sunny and warm like it has been the last few years.  I'm pretty much done with her gift and I hope she loves it!  I just took out a hot chocolate cake from the oven and it smells divine.  I'm going to be making cake pops for the first time ever today.  Wish me luck, because if I'm pleased with the results I'm making them for her class on her actual birthday :)

Thank you so much for reading.

Giaisms.

Today I thought I'd share a little bit about my doe eyed wonder, Gia.  Only a select few actually know the feisty personality of this girl, so I'm talking family and close friends.  She can be a lover and she can be a fighter.  She is definetly like her parental units!  The first thing she says when she wakes up is "where's daddy, and asks for cookies."  This child of mine has a passed down sweet tooth that is hard to curb.  Her favorite is M&M's and those Brookside dark chocolate pomegranate things.  Her favorite fruits are strawberries and bananas, all which she calls apples.  I've tried correcting her but she doesn't care.

She is super independent for being just over 2!  She can put on her own sneakers and pull the velcrow straps over, is it just me or is that amazing!?  She likes to pick out her own coat and take it off.  Having two girls I've learned how early the personal style trait comes in.  She only likes to get her hair brushed after a bath and the two times she let me trim her bangs she saw me cut her sisters first, so monkey see monkey do is totally prevalent in our house.  Gia doesn't like to wear headbands or ponytails but the other day she asked me to put her hair up and I almost died!  She loves to wear hair elastics as bracelets and sports about ten of them at a time, totally 80's ;)

She loves having books read to her and has recently really been into puzzles.  She talks up a storm and has me in awe on how much she says already.  Gia carries her babies around with her all the time and has specific ones she sleeps with.  It seriously melts my heart to see her sleeping soundly with a puppy in her arms.  When we drop Amira off at school she has to bring at least two or three toys with her.  Currently she only wants to walk everywhere we go.  So grocery trips are the NO cart kind, which is so stressful for me because my girls run around and yell like maniacs!  If I try putting her in the cart she has a total fit and I give in and let her walk.  She is getting better (kinda)    Trips to Target and places like that are going on the back burner because she grabs everything and I don't want to buy every toy on toddler arm height.

Since Spring time is here she is loving being outside and playing in the playhouse. So thankful for sunny days!  She also loves swinging  in the backyard and collecting rocks, I don't know what it is about my girls but they love gathering rocks and putting them in bowls, buckets whatever they can find.  Gia also has a pretty mean arm and can throw a ball really well.  That makes daddy happy :)  Now that she is 2 I have been getting braver and braver taking her to fun places like bouncy houses, or play centers.  I was so timid at first to do so but she is a tough cookie and I'm so impressed on how well she keeps up with her big sis and loves being in public places like that. 

So ya, I sort of went off.  Sorry about that.  Love being a proud parent!

Big Girl Room Redo!

Since my sweet Amira is turning 5 at the end of the month I decided it was time for change in her bedroom.  We didn't do anything drastic, but we did add a few new things.  I gave her the reigns in her "big girl room" with colors and personal touches.  Amira has been sleeping in a full size bed since she was 1 1/2 and her bedding had pretty much been the same since then!

She choose this bright turquoise ombre bedding from Target.  I was so proud of her picking something so pretty and ruffly.   We opted to keep her lavender walls simply because she still likes the color and no one wanted to paint them ;)  If you ask her what her favorite color is she'll tell you Rainbow.  So this confetti yarn garland we purchased from TheLittleFischies on Etsy is perfect and we love it!

We switched out her previous window valance for these turquoise pom pom curtains.  They were the perfect clearance score from Target since they match so well! They also block out the daylight if you close them for a nap, ya right! I would like to note that her tv just plays dvds, no cable in there.  We use to watch a movie before bed, but now the girls are on the move till sleepy time so, we aint got time for that ;)

I also painted her nightstand table white, it was a gray color before.  A very subtle change.  One other paint related thing I did was repaint her pictures frames on the wall.  They use to be shades of pink and she wanted those blue too. Her room is stuffed with toys and we keep them in designated corners on each side of the room.  This is real life people, not pictures of girls room on Pinterest, lol!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog!