Yes...it's me...no really...it is!!

Yes...I'm actually back and I'm sorry...actually, I'm really surprised if anyone is even reading this!! I have been gone so long, and I really don't have a great excuse, except that every time I came to actually blog...I thought about how much work it would be to catch everything up...and I suddenly became very lazy. I know, terrible excuse...but at least it's true!! So I figure, I'm not going to try to catch you up on everything...just kinda start over from right around now.

We celebrated Easter up in Sacramento with Mike's family. And we had a pretty good time, the kids weren't too impressed with the little easter egg hunt that they threw, but I was pretty happy that they only came away with a little bit of candy!! Sweet Pea ended up finding the golden egg and was given this huge marshmallow lollipop as the grand prize. Pumpkin and Monkey were really bummed that they didn't get one too, but Sweet Pea was kind enough to share it with them.

I just celebrated my 1 year anniversary at CHOMP (stands for Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula) and I guess almost a year as being a licensed PT. I can't believe that it's already been a year...it has just flown by!! And except for a few little scheduling headaches and 3 weeks of light duty because of a neck and back injury...it's been really awesome working there!! I love my co-workers, my supervisor is totally awesome (especially when it comes to having to take off because of your kids), and I have to admit...the hospital is absolutely beautiful and a wonderful place to work!! So I have to admit that I am happy with my career right now:)

Monkey has started t-ball, and I have to say that I didn't think that I would enjoy it so much. I had never grown up around t-ball or softball or baseball (except watching the Blue Jays on tv with my Dad). But I have to admit...that it is so much fun to watch when it's your own kid!! It is just SO cute to watch them at bat and playing around in the field. And I have to admit that Monkey is actually quite a little t-ball player. I mean, I'm not having dreams of being a MLB mom, but he does enjoy playing it, and he's pretty good for a 5 year old. He's actually not using the tee anymore, he can hit some pretty good liners off a pitch. And you guessed it...here are some pictures of him!!

And yes, that is Mike giving him a hi-five...Mike is actually the assistant coach of Monkey's team, and I think he really likes it:)

And believe it or not...I'm actually playing basketball again!! I haven't played in about a year because of a partially torn MCL (in my knee). But I decided to start up again, partially because I really need to get in some sort of shape and partially because I really miss playing!! Also, I have a tournament with my asian women's team this weekend in Sacramento...and I badly needed to get out on the court again. So, after talking to a nurse at my job, I decided to join the Women's League in Salinas...and ended up on a team made up of all the people on the wait list. At first I thought that we were going to be pretty good...but now I have realized that we have a lot of work to do. It is really frustrating to play with people who don't really know how to play, at least up to the level (or part way) that I'm used to playing at. And I'm not talking Div 1 level, I'm talking a fairly decent women's league level. I mean, let's face it...I'm 30...I don't expect to be keeping up to the college kids anymore...sad to admit, but it's true. Anyway, for some reason, we keep practicing plays and these complicated zone defenses during our practices. Now first of all...plays? In a women's league? I mean, even this asian team that I've been playing with for years doesn't run plays...and really, who runs plays with a team with no coach?! But not only that...we have a player who has never played ball before and 3 others that I'm pretty sure have only played high school ball, and then have been playing in women's leagues since then. And when almost half of your team just doesn't get it...running a play during a game is impossible. And yet...we've wasted about 3 practices learning plays...and part of it is my fault...I haven't spoken up...yet. But it's come to the point, and I'm frustrated enough to finally speak my mind. I don't think that we should be running plays, I don't think that we should be running complicated zone defenses...we need to get back to basics people!!! I'm talking give and go's, pass and screen away, pick and roll, how to use a screen, how to cut, how to block out, shell drill...basics!!! It's so frustrating that I'm not even that excited to play with this team...sad, but true!! I mean, I am by no means playing up to the level that I should be playing at...and my shot is just ugly right now...but it's hard to get in to any sort of rhythm when you run down on offense, just to turn right around and have to run back on defense because your team just can't help but turn it over!! I'm just hoping that this weekend, with my normal team will build up my spirits about playing ball again...then maybe I can stop playing down to this women's league level...and start bringing them up to mine.

We just celebrated Sweet Pea's 4th birthday...I can't believe that my baby is actually 4!! We had a birthday party for her at a park by our house. And it actually wasn't too bad. What made all the craziness totally worthwhile was when she ran across the field and threw herself into my arms and whispered in my ear "Mom, thank you SO much for my birthday party!" This was the first birthday party where we invited people outside of our immediate family, and she was so excited that everyone was there just for her. So I wanted to share a few pictures with you...and I have to thank our friend Ron for the majority of the pictures...I was busy making sure everything was moving along smoothly and he just took over as photographer!!

And now to my favorite hobby...scrapbooking!!! I have been a busy bee working for all the creative teams I am on. I'm not going to post all my LOs that I have made since my last post...you can check them out at my Scrapbook Gallery. But here are a few ones that I really like.

Nina Scraps Designs - Live & Love

Sue Cummings - Happy Thoughts

Leiko Beck Designs - Grow

Erica Zane - Backyard Buddies

TaylorMade Designs - Heartstrings

(available exclusively in the April issue of BellaScraps magazine)

WM Squared Designs - Honeydew

Designs by Tater & Mickey B Designs - So Totally Teen

Erica Zane - Woodland Fantasy

Britt-ish Designs - Love Bytes

Erica Zane - Josh of the Jungle

Fei-Fei's Stuff - Explore The Jungle

Juno Designs - Soft N Purty

Jennifer Barrette - Lady Bugga

Anyway, that's all the catching up I have time for right now...I promise...it won't take me 3 1/2 months to get back here!!!

Latest Layouts

Okay, whew...I made it back!! Let's see...I was busy scrapping a bit...catching up on some awesome new kits that my favorite designers have been creating. Here are a few of my latest LOs.

First off, a LO, featuring my little Sweet Pea on New Year's Eve twirling around and around in her party dress which was sent to her by her Pau Pau. I love this picture of her, and this kit was so perfect for it!!

Made with Leiko Beck Designs Date Night kit, found at Two Little Pixels

I just love these pics that I took of Sweet Pea and her cousin from Arizona. I was SO glad that we got to spend a week with them over the holidays...I wish that they lived closer, because our kiddos get along so well...and I really miss having them around!!

I used this beautiful kit by TaylorMade Designs, available at Oscraps. I know that it's a "Christmas-y" kit...but the colours are absolutely beautiful!!

Man...would you look at this face?! So beautiful...it's perfection...and SO my look!!! I know my family is cracking up at this pic!!

I used TaylorMade's newest kit - Tender-Hearted...available at Oscraps...you also need to check out her blog for goodies and some amazing tutorials!!

I am so happy that we were able to catch a pretty good shot of all of the cousins together in Vegas...it was hard to get mostly everyone smiling at the camera...but I love it just the same.

I created it with Simply Sweet Designs Carpe Diem kit available at ScrapMatters.

I think that this is just the sweetest pic of all the little girls sitting there looking out at the lights of Vegas. I love that it's a pic of their backs.

I used this beautiful kit by NinaScraps - SO stoked that I'm a guest CT this month!! And it's also available at Oscraps.

LOVE this pic of Sweet Pea and Pau Pau...there's just SO much love in this pic!

And I used this newest kit by NinaScraps available at Oscraps. Isn't it just beautiful?!

And I've been working on a few others...but I can't post them yet...I'll be back when I can. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a great Martin Luther King day...make sure you stop and reflect on what a great man he was!!

Scrapping News

So I just needed to drop in to tell everyone that I have been asked to be a guest CT in January for the wonderful, amazingly talented Nina Scraps of Oscraps!!
If you haven't had the opportunity to see her work, check out her store here.
Also, feel free to drop by her blog and leave her some love!!
I'm so excited to be able to work with her, if only for a month!!

In other scrapping news in my life...

ScrapMatters is about to start it's new daily download, check out the add below!!

I feel like I'm going through scrapping withdrawals...my laptop is in the shop, and I have to wait until I can sneak on to Mike's laptop in order to scrap. And for some reason, I'm always asleep when he's off it!! LOL!! So, I can't wait to get my laptop back...but there is no ETA yet:(

So keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Catching Up

Okay, I know I said that I'd be back soon...but if you follow this blog, you probably already knew that I was lying, unintentionally, of course;) So here I am...it's already in the 2nd week of January, and I've got SO much to catch up on!! So where did I leave off? Oh yes...Christmas morning...

Well that came and went...and the Mongolian Hot Pot dinner turned out EXCELLENT...I have to admit that I did pretty darn good for my first Hot Pot without Mom!! Here are some pics of the dinner and the kiddos enjoying the food.

We didn't have fondue for dessert that night...we were just WAY too stuffed...but we did have it the next night...mmmmm...SO yummy!!!

And we actually ended up finding a Wii...yes, we found a Wii during the holidays!! We actually were at Best Buy on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas for all you non-Canadians!) asking when they would be getting a new shipment in, and were very sadden by the fact that we would not be able to get one until after New Years...and then the gods smiled upon us!! Someone was oddly enough returning one!! Don't know why, but we weren't asking any questions!! So that was our big ticket item...and I have to admit...it's AWESOME!!! We have had SO much fun with it...whoever invented this is just amazing!! I did end up totally hurting my shoulder the first night I played with it, but it was all worth it!!

So I worked for a couple of days while Daddy and the kiddos rested and played the Wii...and then we were off to Vegas for New Years!! Now don't get all excited that I was in Vegas for New Years...truth be told...I hate Vegas...shhhhh!!! Don't tell anyone...they'll think that I'm completely nuts! But I honestly don't like it at all...not only is it WAY overpriced, but there's too many people, too much smoke, and I hate gambling. Pretty much everything that I would hate in a city is bundled in to Vegas. So why did I go, you ask? Well...this is why...

We haven't gotten to hang out together like this since Logan was just over a year old...man I miss hanging out together!! The kiddos had a BLAST with their cousins!!

If this isn't just the cutest bunch of little kiddos...I don't know what is!!

Yes, we were picture taking goddesses!!

Hanging with the girls...looking so fine!!!

And we are fierce!!

Brought to you by this moment...

On New Year's Day, the cousins left all the kids at home with the grandparents (thank you!!) and went to this amazing Brazillian buffet...oh...my...god...SO good!!! I think I ate the meat equivalent of an entire cow (sorry to all you cow lovers out there). It was AWESOME!!! I'm talking filet mignon, roast beef, top sirloin, turkey, chicken, lamb, sausages, shrimp, scallops, salmon...and a few other meats. All brought to you like this...

It was crazy, noisy, messy, loud and SO much fun!! And I would do it all over again...JUST for this picture!!! Gotta love Ray!!

And even more so for this one!!

Christmas Morning Festivities

Ahhhh...I finally feel like I can rest for at least a couple of hours. The Christmas madness is over. I apologize for being MIA for the last few weeks, but honestly...it's been a madhouse around here. We actually moved in to a new place...much bigger than our tiny 2 bedroom apartment that felt like it was falling in on us. And let me tell you...the holidays is NOT the time that you want to be moving!!! It just adds to the craziness! Although, it was an opportunity that we just couldn't pass up. Now we actually feel like we have room to move...and my parents and sister can attest to how small our little place actually was...I'm sorry you ever had to see us there!! And the very best part about our new place (at least to me) is that we have our own washer and dryer!! You would not believe how grateful I am to have my own laundry room...I will never move to a place that doesn't have a washer and dryer again!!

In the midst of this chaos we call Christmas, we actually were able to get a tree up...thanks to moi...Mike was out of town and I just needed to get one up. Monkey actually called me out and told one of my co-workers that we weren't celebrating Christmas this year...we couldn't be because we didn't have any decorations up...we didn't even have a tree! Now he knew very well that we were celebrating Christmas and had been talking about getting a tree. So, we got a tree, and let me tell you...getting a tree into a stand is not so easy when you're being directed by a 7 year old!! But we prevailed, and got the tree up and decorated. And Christmas would indeed be happening at the Cruz residence...at least in Monkey's eyes it would be!

So here is what the tree looked like before I began paying attention to where the ornaments were being hung by my kiddos...

And yes, that is 10 items hanging in roughly the same place!!

And here is what the tree looked like last night after I had finally finished wrapping all the presents.

I have to admit...it turned out pretty good. I actually was able to find all our ornaments in that storage place we call a garage. (Keep in mind, we actually had a storage unit, and now that we just moved, all of our stuff from the house and the storage unit is in our garage - so finding something in there is a HUGE feat!!)

So every year I say the same thing...I will NOT leave all the wrapping to Christmas Eve...and every year? Up until 2 in the morning, wrapping those presents that will take 15 minutes to unwrap...there has GOT to be a better solution!! So here's to next year...I will NOT leave the wrapping to Christmas Eve!! There, now it's written down, so I have to do it!!

I love Christmas as a mom...I would have to say about as much as I loved it as a kid. I had to chuckle a couple of times last night...I was being very nostalgic, maybe because this is the first year in a while that I would not be with any of my family. Anyway, I was remembering how I would sneak up to the tree when no one else was around and find my presents and try to figure out what they were...it worked for some of them, but others just had me stumped until I opened them. I also was remembering how my younger sister Rachel, and I, would "train" ourselves to stay up all night so we could catch Santa. We would start out staying up until midnight, then 1 am, 2am...and so on...we never did catch Santa. I can only hope that I am helping to create memories that my kids will always remember.

The best part about Christmas as a mom? This look...I would do anything to get this look from each of my kiddos at least once on Christmas morning.

Although, a close second to that look would be the little gifts that the kids come home with every year. This year, their school had a program where I could send them to school with some money (ultimately for the PTA) and fill out a form saying who they could buy for and how much they could spend on them. Then, they were able to go to a little "store" they had set up in the cafeteria and buy presents for everyone. I made out with quite a stash...

A frame, two necklaces - a turtle from Pumpkin and a pearl/heart one from Monkey. And yes...that is a tye-die shirt from none other than my little Monkey. When Daddy asked him how he knew how big Mommy was he said "This big..." and did this...

He is such a little comic!!

So here are some other pictures from this morning's events...

Man, I love my little clan...

I have to brag here...I think that I have the world's fastest outfit changing kid!! This happened in under a minute...

Daddy was not left out of the presents from the kiddos...he was very surprised with his gifts from the kids. He ended up with a Dad Frame (much like mine pictured above) and a "hammer-shaped" tool kit from Monkey. And a stuffed "fire dragon/snake" and this Dad you're my Hero figurine from Pumpkin.

And this has got to be the best pic of the morning. This is Sweet Pea giving her kuya some love after her gift from him.

My little fashion model here, wearing my Emu's from Daddy and striking her little pose!

My other little model here...her Daddy's gonna have a tough time with this one!!

And the two of them together...just too cute!!

So, that was this morning. We are planning on making a Mongolian Hot Pot for dinner...first time doing one on my own (keep your fingers crossed Mom!). I'll post pics of how that went at a later date. We are also going to break out our fondue set, that we got for our wedding...8 years ago!! Yeah...this will be the first time using it...pics to come later too!!

I also need to upload and post how the kiddo's Christmas concerts went this year...too funny, you're gonna want to check back for that!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas morning...I'll check in with you all later!!