Happy 6th Birthday G!

Happy 6th Birthday to my George!  I can’t believe you have to use 2 hands to show your age now. You have such a heart of gold! A tender loving heart for your family. 

My sweet boy I don’t ever want you to forget how wanted and loved you are! You and Cash are 2 of the most wanted and hoped for little boys!  I’m so thankful you came into this world! You fulfilled my dreams of being a mommy. 

The past 6 years have flown by, but I’ve also savored each moment!  Watching you grow up is what keeps me fighting. You bring me so much joy! You also make me want to pull my hair out some days because you and me are so much alike. 

My hope for you as you continue to grow is that you keep your heart of gold, use that determination you have to reach all your goals, love God, continue to be so confident, and always remember you are exceptional!  

Daily Essentials at the Dollar Tree

Do you shop at the Dollar Tree?  I go about once every other month to stock up on our daily essential things we need around the house. I realized about 15 years ago that the Dollar Tree carries a lot of stuff that is used on a daily basis at a much cheaper price. 

I buy all the ziplock type baggies at the Dollar Tree. There have been times I have purchased them at Target or Costco. When I compare the prices it is so much cheaper to just go to the Dollar Tree. I normally buy the off brands of baggies, but they were out this last time. Pandemic hoarders shelves must be overflowing lol

On my trip to the Dollar Tree here are some of the items I get:

1. Snack baggies - 1
2. Sandwich baggies - 3
3. Quart baggies - 1 
4. Gallon baggies - 3
5. Rubber gloves - 2
6. Sponges - 3 
7. Flossers - 2 
8. Napkins - 3
9. Paper towels - 2
10. Parchment paper - 2 

I usually have to go to the Dollar Tree because we need more baggies. We haven't been going through as many now that G isn't in school. For the most part I try not to send a lot of baggies in lunches. It is usually cheaper to buy things in bulk and put them in a baggy. I also freeze a lot of food, so I use baggies to freeze stuff. 

The only time we use paper towels is when the cleaning lady comes, so 2 rolls last us 2 months or more. We use cloth towels instead of paper towels. I have probably 20 towels that last me a week. We use them to dry our hands, clean up messes and wipe up any water. I didn't grow up with paper towels, so it feels wasteful to me to use paper towels. 

I wash dishes in rubber gloves otherwise my hands get so dry. I like the pink ones! One pair will last me awhile! I just like to have a second pair in case I get a hole in them. I don't always buy these. If I have a second pair under the sink I don't buy anymore. 

I use sponges to wash dishes, clean the stove, and wipe off counters. I know some people hate sponges. I like them. You might like paper towels and I don't. So let's just agree to disagree on the sponge situation ok. lol

I keep flossers all over the place. I got into the habit of flossing my teeth and now I need to do it a few times a day. I keep them in my car, purse, kitchen drawer and bathroom. I don't want to be running all over the place to take care of my teeth lol
The dentist told me on my last visit they haven't seen teeth this clean. I said well it's because of the preschool pick up line! They were puzzled. I said I floss my teeth every day while I am picking up G from school. 

I also like to buy all our party supplies - plates, napkins, utensils, decorations, gift bags, cards. These things are just as good as buying them from Target, but the price is so much less. There are times I will order specific themed decor for the boys birthdays from Amazon, but for regular colored decor I buy it from the Dollar Tree. 

I try to stock up, so I only go every 2-3 months. It saves me time and money. I tell the kids they can pick out 1 item while we are there. They can pick ANYTHING in the store they want. This of course makes G VERY happy! lol One day Cash was insistent on 2 balls...not 1 he picked 2 favorite balls. At first I was like no, you need to pick just one. Then I thought come on Becky it's $1 LOL

Check out your local Dollar Tree the next time you are near one for your daily essentials! 

3 Decades

When I started dating Art he was 37. At that time in my life that was the magic age for guys I had dated. I remember thinking why am I going to even date this guy because the others didn't want the same things in life that I did. I was in my mid 20's. I took a chance on him. I remember two conversations we had about the future. One was a phone call where he said he was ready to get married, have another child and find someone to spend the rest of his life with. The other conversation was him asking me what I wanted. Was I willing to stay in CA to take a chance on seeing what happened. These conversations were both exciting and terrifying to me all the same time.

I took that chance and stayed in CA. Now we have 2 boys and we have moved across the country. I have spent 3 decades with him - 30's, 40's and now 50's. 

Happy Birthday to Mr. Post!!!! 

Monday Thrive September 25

Happy Monday!!!

1) We had G birthday party a week after his birthday. We wanted to have it at a specific park. The weekend after his birthday was booked immediately. We went in to reserve the park one day after it opened up to book things. Oh well! I actually like that we did it 10 days after his birthday. We were able to really enjoy him on his birthday, prepare for a party and just enjoyed the party so much! 

We did a firetruck/man theme with a jumpy house. I actually called the local fire department to see if they could stop by the party. They asked for a time frame and said they would do their best to show up.  I told them I totally understood if they couldn't show up. I didn't even mention the fire truck to G. All the kids were jumping in the bounce house and here rolls in the fire truck. I had totally forgotten about it. I grabbed G out of the bounce house, threw his shoes on and off we ran to the fire truck. I think the parents like the fire truck almost more than the kids. Other people at the park came over to the fire truck. It was a HUGE hit!!! The best part was that was free. They just do it as a favor. They were so nice! All the kids got to sit in the truck, they handed out hats and stickers. 

After the party when we were driving home G asked can we do this again? I said sure we can have another party sometime. He just loved every minute of it! 

2) I signed G up for soccer. What a ruckus! He has been asking to play soccer, so I thought why not sign him up. It's a class for 30 minutes one night a week with kids his age. It's really cute, but also just chaotic. Trying to get 5-10 three year olds to participate is comical and chaotic. I don't think we will sign up for a second round. When he is older we will try it again if he wants too. 

3) I recently started reading Braving the Wilderness by Brene` Brown. It is such an amazing book! You should add this to your reading list. Anytime I hear Brene` speak or read anything by her she is just so inspiring to just be yourself. To let yourself feel how you feel, express your feelings and it's ok to be vulnerable. One of my favorite things I learned from her is to only share your story with people who have earned the right to hear it. This was kind of life changing for me. I always felt I needed to be honest with people and share things. This has really helped me realize I don't need to share every single detail of my life with everyone. I don't blog about everything anymore. I share bits and pieces now. 

4) September is National Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month and Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. Both of these awareness's are very dear to me. Thyroid Cancer of course because I battle it every single day. Pediatric Cancer because a friend lost her daughter a 6 years old. I honestly thought pediatric cancer was pretty much all cured before my friend lost her daughter. I just didn't know how low the funding was and how often times there is no cure. It's heartbreaking! Now that I am a mother it breaks my heart in a whole new way. 

If you are able to donate any amount of money Unravel Pediatric Cancer was started by my friend. They donate a lot of money each year to help find a cure to beat pediatric cancer. 

Right now there is no cure for Medullary Thyroid Cancer. Once you are diagnosis with it the best they can do is remove as much of MTC by surgery. There are some drugs that you can take, but they are honestly a last resort. Thyca is a great organization that helps all us people with thyroid cancer. 

5) I was out of town this past weekend visiting my cousin in Texas. I will be writing a blog post about that later on. Today G and I are recovering from traveling, getting our laundry done, grocery shopping and getting back into our routine! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! 

Happy 3rd Birthday!

I can hardly believe G is turning 3 years old today! I feel like we were just in the hospital waiting 3 long days for him to make his appearance. Now we have a spunky, talkative, mind of his own 3 year old. 

This little boy was my answer to prayer, my miracle and my rainbow baby. I had years of heartbreak trying to have him. So many miscarriages, cancer and then MS. No matter what I didn't give up hope that I would be a mom one day. I don't ever think back wishing I had soaked up any portion of his life. I feel I have soaked in every moment of his life! I have love being his mommy! 

Just born

6 weeks

ONE! 

TWO!

Almost THREE! 

I love being G mom! There isn't anything else in the world I would rather be doing. I was talking with a friend recently. She said she missed working now that she stays home. I told her the only part I miss about working is wearing cute outfits. The rest of it forget it. I don't miss getting yelled at, fixing other peoples mistakes, dealing with 40-50 year old people who act like a bunch of 3 year olds, planning meetings, open enrollment, traveling, oh goodness the list just goes on and on of the things I don't miss. I would much rather clean up poop off my floor then deal with working again. 

I love watching for garbage trucks, fire engines, dump trucks and other heavy equipment as I drive down the road to point out to G. I love that he can talk to us and understand things we tell him. I just love this boy so much! 

Happy Birthday to the worlds greatest little boy! Thank you for choosing me to be your mommy! Thank you for making my dreams come true! 

Happy Birthday Adriana!

Happy Birthday to my friend who should be celebrating her 30th birthday today! She had so many birthday plans that she wanted to do to celebrate her big 30th!

This picture is from her 29th birthday!

In honor of her birthday I have teamed up with Together We Rise to give 30 birthday boxes to foster children. I would love it if you could help me meet this goal! Adriana would have loved this! 

Donate Here!!!!

Happy Birthday my dear friend! I miss you every day!

Birthday Boxes for Foster Kids!

I have been working with Together We Rise for a couple months on a new program they are offering Birthday Boxes for Foster Kids! 

Recently my cousin became a foster parent. Foster kids have become very dear to my heart as she has gone through the process of becoming a foster parent. Then a friend that lives by me recently started the process of becoming a foster parent. Hearing about all these kids who don't have a safe home honestly breaks my heart. I wish I could fill up my house with kids who need a loving home. 

The past few years we have donated clothes, school supplies and toys to foster kids. I can't take in a bunch of kids, but I can help make sure they have the things they need. I decided I wanted to raise money for birthday boxes for foster kids because birthdays are such a BIG thing for me! 

There are over 1.6 million people that live in my county. There are only 200 foster homes in my county. One hundred of those homes only will take foster to adopt children. Only 20 of the 100 remaining homes will take in teenagers. Those statics are heartbreaking!!! 

I am raising $750, so 30 foster kids can have a birthday box. The boxes come with tissue paper, a crown, noise maker, blow horn, birthday banner, squirt animal, birthday card, stickers, candles, candy, 5 party poppers, 5 balloons and gift card for ice cream.  

How did I come up with doing 30 boxes? Earlier this year my dear friend Adriana was killed. She talked to me often about how one day she would become a foster parent. Foster kids were always very near and dear to heart. On July 14 she would have turned 30 years old. I have been wanting to do something to honor her 30th birthday and this is the perfect way! 

The birthday boxes will stay in my area near where Adriana lived. Together we can help make 30 kids birthdays! Any donation amount will help me reach my goal. If you can only give $5 that is amazing! 

Once I have reached my goal Together We Rise will send me the supplies to make 30 birthday boxes. I will then put the boxes together and Together We Rise will help find the 30 kids for me to take the boxes too. 100% of your donation will go to foster kids! Together we rise is a 501 (c)3 non-profit that helps kids in foster care 2008-2017. 

If are you interested in more information on Together We Rise click HERE. 

Donate HERE

I hope you can join in me in honoring my beloved Adriana by donating to the foster kids birthday boxes. 

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Art!

Today is my husbands birthday! We celebrated it over the weekend with family. We all went to the Oakland Zoo then we came home to bbq! He asked for a vanilla cake with a custard filling. I decided to just order him a cake. G was so excited for cake! He has been to birthday parties for the past 2 weekends getting his fill of cake. 

Finding Pa at the Disney Store

Let me just start off by saying I am not a big Disney fan. I like going to Disney World, but other than that I am not a big fan. I didn't let G have any type of Disney clothing. If someone gave him something that was fine and he could wear it. WELL! My child LOVES Disney and Elmo stuff! 

He received a giftcard to the Disney store for his birthday. I took him to the store a couple weeks ago. He had a BLAST! He ran into the store, right to the back to the BIGGEST Mickey he could find, grabbed it, hugged it and hauled it all over the store. Oh dear lord! I was having issues thinking that big Mickey is going to end up coming home with us. Where in the world is this thing going to go?

All of a sudden he saw a display with Toy Story Woody dolls. He dropped the Mickey, ran towards the display yelling PA PA PA PA. Grabs it and says Pa!  

Crisis averted! We could get a Woody doll instead of a HUGE Mickey! 

George insisted he needed a Mickey AND Woody! I found a smaller Mickey for him. He wasn't too sure about the smaller one. We ended up with the smaller one in the end and a Woody doll. 

When we got home G had to show Sammy his new Mickey! Sammy wasn't too impressed. He is waiting for the Mickey to end up on the floor, so he can chew his ears off. 

Happy 2nd Birthday George!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my amazing little boy! 

I have been able to spend about the past 6 months as a stay at home mom with G. It has been a change for both of us. I was use to going to work and G was use to going to day care. It took us a little bit to get use to staying home, but we have loved it! Our days at home, in pjs, playing and doing things around the house are our favorites. We try to go do some fun things each week. We like to go to the library for story time or fun toddler places. 

I love being there as G learns new things. He is starting to talk so much more. At times I just can't believe how smart he is. He is at the age now where I can tell him he has to do something before he gets what he wants. Pick up your toys if you want to watch that show. He picks them up. I love when he tells me he wants ice - that means he needs a drink of water. 

Instead of giving G a bunch of gifts we decided to take him Fairyland in Oakland and make some memories. We bought him a couple little things. He has everything he could ever need. He LOVED Fairyland. 

He wanted to eat his strawberries and wasn't into taking pictures. 

Fairyland has these boxes where you put a key in to play the fairytale. George LOVED this! He would ask for the key, so he could do it at each box. We listened to each box in English and Spanish. 

George calls all birds ducks. He had to touch this huge duck. 

We had to wait about 20 minutes to ride the train. As soon as he saw the train he kept asking to ride it. He waited very patiently for the 20 minutes until it was our turn. He didn't cry or whine once in line. As the train would come around he would wave and yell hi to all the people. 

He was done at this point. We were getting ready to leave. He was hungry and tired. He wasn't very into pictures. He wanted to have fun instead. I tried not to be a paparazzi taking a million pictures. We had so much fun. As we were walking around I felt so happy and blessed with my little family. I asked him if he had a great time and he shook his head yes.  

I can't wait to experience the next year with this little man. I love being his mommy!

Curious George 1st Birthday Party

I started planning George birthday probably when he was a couple months old. I was pinning things on Pinterest for months. I decided on Curious George right away! It was a perfect theme for our little Curious George!

I made the majority of the decorations, signs and banners. I had a lot of fun planning it until 2 days before then I started stressing. I now understand why people rent jumpy houses and order pizza. lol

Guest Book Table

I had a Curious George Birthday book for everyone to sign as the guest book. We have this large crate I covered with a table cloth on the sides and yellow wrapping paper over the top. I bought the clips and G from the $ section of Target & Michael's.

Birthday Cake Throne

I made the I Am One sign that wrapped around G's high chair. I bought the balloon on Amazon.

Dessert Table

I made the OOH AAH OOH AAH banner. My friend Krystal made the banana hanging in the middle. She also made the monkey face with the mustache.

The table I covered the sides with a table cloth, covered the top with yellow & white polka dot wrapping paper. We served cupcakes and banana splits. I made G's smash cake.

Chalk Board

Our chalk board in the kitchen I drew Go Banana's. I am no artist let me tell you! I probably redid it a couple times before the party.

Drink Area

I collected straws from the dollar section of Target and Michael's for a few months. Picture up some red solo cups from the dollar store. The yellow bucket is from the clearance section of Michael's. My nanny helped me cup all the tissue pom poms. They were pretty easy to make once we cut them all out. I was soooo grateful she helped me with things.

Front Yard

We had some leftover wood from the deck project. My father in law cut out the 1 and painted it a solid color. I painted the polka dots all over it.

Back Yard Photo Prop

I found a picture on Pinterest the above photo prop. I printed it out and asked my father in law to draw it out for me. I told him I would paint it if he could just draw it. Well my father in law not only drew it out, but he painted it. I was soooo happy! He did such an amazing job!

I painted the confetti and party hat.

George LOVES the monkey still. It is still in our backyard. He loves to go put his head through it and laughs away.

I didn't get a picture of the food table! I set up a taco bar. Ground beef, shredded chicken, pinto beans, all the fixing for tacos, tortilla chips and salsa. Oh it was delicious! I take after my great grandma and mom. I cooked for an entire army. We had 5 pounds of ground beef left over and probably 2 pounds of beans. lol Good things those things freeze well.

The party turned out perfect! It was a lot of work, but so worth it. It was such a fun afternoon spending time with our family and friends celebrating our little boy 1st year. He was worn out after the party and took a long nap.