The first day of school is just not the same anymore...

For us, this school year brings-


A Junior, an 8th grader and a 5th grader
3 different schools
3 different start times (7am, 8am, 8:30am)
(are you tired yet?...yes, me too!)

So that meant I had to take 3 different "1st day of school" pics instead of the customary 1 picture of all 3 of them I used to take every year. Hmmm, that was different...and kind of sad?

Then as I walked in Danny last week and Mikey this week to their new classes, I realized that the first day of school is just not the same for our family anymore.  We have no more babies, no more pre-schoolers, or little boys who need us to be there to hold their hands on their way in. Shoot, its our last year in elementary school for goodness sakes! There is no longer anymore the pomp and circumstance of the first day- the colorful name badge on their shirts, decorated desktops, no more pictures of them in flag salute line or in circle time, no more waiting for the teacher to close the door for their 1st day to start.

No, now its more about just making sure they have what they need, dropping them off at the gate, if you get a picture on your way out, you got lucky! Or like leaving Mikey on Monday with him very nicely letting know it was ok for me to leave, and saying something to the effect of "I'm ok, Mom. I got this." Lol!

Ok...

Siggghhhh.....

Listen, Its not that I'm even sad about this. I'm not... at all. I'm fully aware, better yet- I love that my boys are growing up and I appreciate and admire their need for independence...its what they're supposed to do.  It was a simple observation that hit me as I was driving home, about all the little things that as a mother, I can't help but miss.

Do you feel the same? Do you still have little ones starting school? If you do, enjoy it! Enjoy every minute about all those little things that the first day of school means to you and your kids. It goes by too fast, and things change even faster over the years, but that's ok...each change brings its own joy!

From my little corner to yours...Have a wonderful 2013-2014 school year!

 

What did you do this summer???

 The summer was over for our family this past weekend...so sad! 

But as school starts I looked back to see how I would 

answer a typical teacher's question around this time of year-

"What did you do this summer?"

Hmmm...Well, this summer we did lots of things.

We did everything FROM...

re-organizing closets and some major summer cleaning early on

the boys taking up TaeKwonDo and testing for their first belt

Chris working really hard by doing homework all summer long (poor kid) 

having 2 Family reunions and met family we had never met before

making connections and got closer to our extended families near and far

babysitting and spending time with our baby niece...and falling in love

doing a lot of swimming with the cousins and friends

the boys playing in the back yard till dark

catching a few movies with the boys

going to 4 different concerts of varying genres

 (80's, Spanish, Pop Rock and Alternative) - We love music!

going to Palm Springs 2 times- Once with the girls 

and once with the family and the Titos..so relaxing!

taking lots of pictures (of everything)

working on Project Life

catching up with friends over dinners, lunch and over the phone

TO....

 

spending hours in our days with the TV off for a change- something new for us

spending more time with the music on...

having playdates

the boys getting wet outside with a hose (the good ol' fashion way)

signing up for a new Project Life class

Danny carrying a boa constrictor on his shoulders

doing some outlet shopping

getting new blinds for the bedrooms (honestly, it was time ;\)

going to the beach 3 times (not enough for me, but we loved each time)

Celebrating 19 blessed years of marriage

Baptizing our baby niece 

Chris taking his first trip away from home and having a great experience

Chris learning how to drive (pretty well I should mention)

seeing our first movie at the park

taking a last minute trip to Las Vegas with Grandma and Tia to finish off the summer...so much fun!

and treating the kids to a trip to a shark reef aquarium after watching Shark week

Lol, I'm not sure the teacher would want to read/know all of this, 

but this would be my list for him/her.

I think as the summer goes by so quickly we tend to forget just how much we actually do and get done both personally and as a family, so writing it down is a great reminder. We did a lot of this stuff on a budget (because that's how we roll), but I think we also take for granted that its not always about the cost of these moments as opposed to how these moments were spent with our friends and family at varying times that will bring us memories that will last us a lifetime.

It was truly a memorable summer, and I'm sorry to see it end, but I'm ready for the fall!!

From my corner to yours... 

take time to write down your summer memories for you and your family!

Thanks for stopping by!

& Finally (the 3rd part)...Katarina's Baptism

A week ago Sunday was the final event in this trilogy of sorts....

So about 3 months ago during a babysitting adventure, Sergio and Casandra had popped the question on Jerry and myself and asked if we would be Katarina’s Godparents…OMG! Of course!  We were already excited about being her aunt and uncle, but to now be her Godparents...such an honor!  So we toasted to the announcement, and of course started planning.  Baptisms in our family are not necessarily celebrated with huge parties but we do make sure we plan a solemn but special ceremony and reception with close family and friends to celebrate the event. 

 

Sergio and Casandra had each been baptized during a Spanish mass when they were babies, so to keep the tradition going they decided to baptize her at their beautiful parish church of St. Charles Borromeo in Sherman Oaks, where they have a Spanish baptism once a month and picked July 28^th as the date. 

She was walked in by family friends and even posed for some pictures. She was one of 3 children being baptized that afternoon, and thankfully in good spirits and was smiling and seemed to know that it was her special day. 

Her Nino Jerry was especially proud that day as he held her as much as possible before and during the ceremony.  I love how totally comfortable she is with him. She loves him and it shows, and I love how he lights up with her too. 

  

Although Casandra’s mom wasn’t able to attend the ceremony, she sent Katarina’s baptismal gown all the way from Texas. It was a beautiful dress and she looked adorable as always, but that bonnet was just too darn cute!!!

 To add to her gown the day of the baptism, the Godparents are responsible for making her baptismal shawl. So believe it or not, I still had a scrap left over of the material used to make Casandra's wedding dress that was just big enough to make the shawl with! (coincidence or fate??) And I also had some of the lace left over from her dress that I used to cut out the lace edging from to sew around the shawl and then sewed on some religious symbols in pink felt to make it just for Katarina. I  loved making that I was able to use something of her mom's special wedding day for her baptism to make special connection.

                                                                       

The ceremony was supposed to be done fully in Spanish, however, the deacon doing the ceremony was not as fluent as we would have liked. But nonetheless, the ceremony was performed as usual and by church standards, and she is now a full-fledged member of the Catholic church. YAY! Jerry and I will be right there along her parents side to make sure that we help guide her physically, emotionally and more important…spiritually.

 

  

And then some family pictures....

 

(Thank you Steve Cañas and Dan Morris for taking pictures during the ceremony)

After the ceremony it was back to our house for a small, simple reception…the part I loved planning for of course ;).  

 We kept the same set up from the last week’s reunion with the tents and added white tables and simple floral vases.  I DIY'd the vases and tinted pink pasta and pickle jars that I then decorated with ribbon and beads- They were (free) "inexpensive" and turned out really cute, and the guests were able to take them home! I put up some white lanterns, some paper pom-poms (I had kept the ones from her baby shower), and some outside tulle curtains to give it a summer garden feel to the event- All of these things, I already had. (Party tip- I love buying things for parties that I know I can store for later, and put them into different uses for different events)

         I made party favors for the guests from pre-decorated candle votives that I just added a printed label, ribbon and a bead to the cross to. Easy and always fun to make.

 

 I also made her cake which was a flowered lemon cake (Thank you Teresita once again for your gift of baking tools) so it gave me a chance to make a different kind of cake I hadn’t tried before. I really enjoyed making this one, and I think she really enjoyed trying to get into it too!

 

And Katarina being the dame of the day was doing her best to be a good party host 

and took pictures with as many of her special guests as possible. 

 And finally Sergio wanted to have a piñata for her so that's how we finished the day. She had no idea what she was doing but looked happy and intrigued at the same time. She was just too cute!!

Having a little niece on my side of the family has been a really special thing for all of us since we haven't had a baby in the family in such a long time. We couldn’t be happier to have her in our lives. 

She has brought so much joy and tenderness to our house full of boys!

Thank you Sergio and Casandra for naming Jerry and I as Katarina's Godparents, 

and for letting us share such a special role on this blessed day. 

To Katarina,

We hope you know that with God's help we will always be there for you!

 We love you Jellybean!

XOXO

From my corner to yours...Thank you for stopping by!