Wordless Wednesday 16: Bath time!

Lil man loves his Build-a-Bear friends! This time he figured if he had to take a bath, his friends should too. So he took his bear brush and went to work. Fun!

[caption id="attachment_898" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Bath time for the bear"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_897" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="A sticker for a good job!"][/caption]

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!



Find other Wordless Wednesday bloggers at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Tackle it Tuesday 7: Gettin' busy at the bakery

I wasn't going to post any Tackle it Tuesdays this week because I thought "well, I really haven't tackled anything worth posting. *sadface*

But then I realized, heck, I've been PLENTY busy at the bakery! THAT's why I haven't been able to do stuff around the house. So I might as well post what the EFF I've been doing all week!

So here goes. The week started with a cake for a friend's birthday. She wanted black with fuschia dots. The drinks were my idea, because, obviously. What do you think? Nice, huh?

I also received a call from an old classmate from high school. She writes for a local parenting magazine - which is pretty awesome, actually - and told me they were planning a birthday edition to celebrate their own first birthday. They were doing a "faux-bithday" bash at a local playground and needed cupcakes. The theme was jungle animals, which gave me room to work with plenty of colors. Here are the cupcake toppers I made for them:

And here are all the cupcakes on display at the table:

Oh, and she also mentioned they needed kids, so she asked if Lil man was available to participate. Umm... OF COURSE!! He had a blast. Here is him playing soccer with a balloon:

And here is him having fun before the cake pictures:

OK, so my house is a mess, but I still kept plenty busy! Happy tackling!

Thanks to the ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom for creating Tackle it Tuesday!

Wordless Wednesday 15: More Self-Portraits

Why is it that every time I pick up my camera, I find tons of pics in them? Every. Single. Time.

This time, even his stuffed bear got in on the action!

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Find other Wordless Wednesday bloggers at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday 14: New Year's Eve

I was going through my photos to select for Wordless Wednesday when I remembered my New Year's Eve pics. I hadn't even noticed that they turned out so great! We had a great time. Enjoy!

[caption id="attachment_860" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The family getting ready to end the year"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_858" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lil man rockin' the Cars hat that Santa left him at Grandma's"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_859" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Watching the fireworks. He loves them!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_861" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="He loved the sparklers"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_857" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="He put on my beads and left us deaf with the horn!"][/caption]

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Tackle it Tuesday 6: Zelma's Bakery Photos

For those of you who don't know, I have a home-based bakery business. I work full time in Corporate America and have a 4-year-old son, so I only do this on my spare time, which is not much, but it does keep me happy. I have a Facebook page, but I wanted to start my own blog (in Spanish), so that my local clients can get to know me and my products better.

I like to take photos of everything I make, and have TONS of photos! The only problem is, they were all scattered everywhere. Not all of the photos were uploaded into my Facebook page, and since my laptop crashed about 2 months ago, I had photos in my old hard disk, as well as my new one.

Well, I decided to upload everything into my new Flickr account. I categorized everything, and made sure everything had its watermark (for copyright purposes). It took me a LONG time, but I'm happy to have everything organized and in one place. Take a look!

www.flickr.com Go to zelmarl's photostream

If you have a Tackle it Tuesday post, link it here for others to see!
Thanks to the ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom for creating Tackle it Tuesday!

Wordless Wednesday 13: Cookies for Santa

I know it's been 3 weeks since Christmas, but I completely forgot to post these, and they're just adorable!

[caption id="attachment_782" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Helping Mama make the cookies"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_783" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Choosing his cookie cutter designs"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_781" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Table is set. Waving "hi" to Santa Claus before bedtime."][/caption]

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Tackle it Tuesday 5: The Laundry Surprise

Last night I decided to do lil man's laundry, because it had been a couple of weeks since I had done it. Yes, you can judge all you want, but lil man has tons of clothes, so I can afford to do his laundry every couple of weeks.

Anyway, as I was emptying out his hamper in the washer, the last of the clothes dropped unexpectedly with a loud "thump". I thought, clothes don't make a loud sound, do they? So I decided to investigate, and dug into the washer to see what had dropped in there.

"Hubs?"

"Yeah?"

"You remember lil man's pair of blue sneakers that we can't find anywhere?"

"Yeah?"

"Guess what I just found in the bottom of the laundry basket?"

"What?!?"

"Yep."

"No way!"

"Well, I guess we solved THAT mystery!"

There's never a dull moment when you're a parent.

If you have a Tackle it Tuesday post, link it here for others to see!



Thanks to the ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom for creating Tackle it Tuesday!

My first New Year's Resolutions... EVER!

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. I think if you're waiting until January 1st to change something about yourself, or start doing something, you're doomed from the start. I believe in planning your life and changes as they come, and no matter what day the calendar says it is, TODAY is a good day for a change.

On the other hand, I have started so many things, and then not followed through, that I thought maybe I should take a different approach. So, alas, this year, I'm giving in and actually making New Year's resolutions. I don't want to make any huge plans that I might break next week, but these are still mighty big for me.

This is my "to do" list for this year:

1. Eat better. No, I'm not using the "d" word, because it's a foul word in my language. I'm talking about the little changes that last, like eat more protein and veggies and less sugar, and drink more water and less diet coke. I think if I do at least these changes, I'm sure my health will improve significantly in the long run, and with that - hopefully - my weight.


2. Exercise. Again, I'm not talking about joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer. But I do want to exercise at least 5 days a week. I have Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred DVD, and my first goal will be to finish it off. For those days that I'm not working out, I would like to at least do yoga, whether from another DVD that I have, or my Wii Fit.


3. Cook more. This is closely related to number 1 above, but it goes beyond my eating habits. I'm talking about getting more organized when it comes to cooking, creating a weekly meal plan for hubs, lil man and I, and actually cooking more meals for us. Also? I want to eat as a family more often. I don't mean TV trays in front of the TV, or the kitchen table, but actually using the dining room table. I don't think lil man knows that the dining room table is supposed to be for eating, since all he sees there is my laptop.


4. Get more facials. I hate the fact that I have extremely sensitive skin, and I don't take care of it correctly. I can't do creams, because at 37, I STILL get breakouts, but my skin is also extremely dehydrated, and tends to get rashes frequently. What I CAN do is get regular facials. I would like to get monthly facials, but to be realistic (and budget-conscious), I could settle for at least every two months.


5. Improve IRL friend relationships. As I have stated before, I don't have many IRL (in-real-life) friends. The ones I do still have, I often neglect because I'm too involved in my own stuff and with hubs and lil man. But I would like to see them more often, or at least talk to them on the phone regularly. I need to work on this.


6. Launch Mom2Mom group. I have been trying to form a Mom-to-Mom group since last year but have had little success. Some moms have shown interest, but no one wants to take the initiative, so I guess it's up to me. I really want to have a group where we can meet regularly and talk about mom stuff, or simply to escape our kids for a while.


7. Publish more Tackle-it-Tuesdays. I love this series, which I think was started by 5 Minutes for Mom. Every Tuesday you post something that you did around the house, whether it's big or small. What I'm really saying here is, I would like to do more stuff around the house, and having to publish a weekly post will force me to do it.


8. Get pregnant. Yes, this is a big one. Yes, I'm talking about an actual pregnancy with an actual child. You see, my original plan was to have at least 2 kids, and have them close together, so they could play together, and have more stuff in common. Well, lil man was born in 2006, in 2008 I had a miscarriage, and nothing since then. Sure, I had some health problems after my miscarriage, but I think they're under control now, and if I stick to my resolutions 1 and 2 above, I MIGHT have a better chance. Also? I'm already 37 years old, and if I don't get pregnant soon, my biological clock will start to lose its tick. In other words, it better happen this year, damn it!

Well, there you have it. I'm beyond scared that I won't keep them, and come February 1st, I will look like an ass for breaking at least half of them. But you will keep me grounded and check up on me, right? You will call me out and make sure I stick to them, right? RIGHT?

Here's to a great 2011!!

Do you have a New Year's Resolutions post? Link up here for others to see!

Wordless Wednesday 12: Fake Snow

This is what Puertorricans have to settle for: watching fake snow falling at the mall.

The trick? It was soap suds! What a scam!

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday 11: Mailed

Apparently, the box is more fun than the package itself.

 

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday 10: My lil race car driver

I'm not really a fan of Trick or Treating in the neighborhood, so we decided to go to the mall. They were handing out candy at every store. We had a great time!

[caption id="attachment_513" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="Showing off his furry friends"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_511" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="Happy with the loot he got at the store"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_512" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="Final ride in the carrousel before heading home"][/caption]

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Resourceful Mommy and 5 Minutes for Mom for introducing me to Wordless Wednesday.
Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday 9: Birthday Bear

Lil man's grandma, or "Abu", surprised him with a brand-new bear for his 4th birthday. Since it was a Star Wars bear, he appropriately named him "Han Solo". But the store was out of the Han Solo outfit, so we dressed him in a birthday party outfit, just in time for his birthday party. The Han Solo outfit will arrive in the mail soon, we hope!

[caption id="attachment_501" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="Lil man and Han Solo"][/caption]

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Resourceful Mommy and 5 Minutes for Mom for introducing me to Wordless Wednesday.
Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Tackle it Tuesday 4: Mega Birthday Weekend!

Last week was lil man's 4th birthday, and we had not one but TWO parties for him. First one was last Thursday at school, where we sang Happy Birthday with his classmates, and the second one was on Sunday at home with the entire family.

I had several tackles related to this mega birthday weekend:

1. Create TWO birthday cakes (or in this case, cupcake displays) using lil man's selected theme: Hot Wheels.


2. Assemble the goodie bags for his 23 classmates and 8 cousins.


3. Make some of the appetizers. Thankfully, my Mom helped by also making some.


4. Get the house ready for the birthday. This included getting all the crap out of the way, and putting up all the decorations. Thankfully, hubs helped me with this.

It was all worth it, though. Lil man had a great time, and that's all that matters.

[caption id="attachment_484" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Cupcake display for lil man's classroom"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_483" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Singing Happy Bday with his classmates"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_486" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Cupcake display for the family party"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_485" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Singing Happy Bday with his cousins"][/caption]

Now I'm going to have to tackle the toy situation in the living room/play area!

[caption id="attachment_487" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Living room / play area disaster!"][/caption]

If you have a Tackle it Tuesday post, link it here for others to see!



Thanks to the ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom for creating Tackle it Tuesday!

Wordless Wednesday 8: Birthday Memories

My lil man turns 4 tomorrow, so I decided to relive his past birthdays. Boy, they grow fast, don't they?

[caption id="attachment_473" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lil man's 1st Birthday Party"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_474" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lil man's 2nd Birthday party"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_475" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lil man's 3rd Birthday party"][/caption]

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Resourceful Mommy and 5 Minutes for Mom for introducing me to Wordless Wednesday.
Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Tackle it Tuesday 3: Homework

Lil man is in Pre-K and already gets daily homework assignments. Most of them are simple enough, color this, trace that, but sometimes he gets more "advanced" tasks, like the one he had last week.

He was supposed to look up in newspapers or magazines the letters that make up his name, then cut them and paste them into the homework sheet.

When doing homework, I always try to help him as little as possible, only sitting beside him to give him instructions and make sure he's grabbing the crayons or scissors correctly. In this case, I decided to have a little fun and dropped several newspapers on the floor for him to dig through. At first, he was a bit hesitant to touch "daddy's paper", but I assured him that daddy had said it was OK - actually he had no idea, but I tried to salvage as much of the current day's paper as possible! :)

We had so much fun going through pages and pages of newspaper, noticing all the pictures, letters, and colors, and he selected the letters he liked the most. He cut them all up himself and used the glue stick to paste them to the sheet. Take a look at the madness fun time, and the final product. Pretty good, huh? Well, I'm biased. :)

[caption id="attachment_456" align="aligncenter" width="314" caption="He even brought 2 of his stuffed animals to help!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_457" align="aligncenter" width="419" caption="He was having so much fun!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_455" align="aligncenter" width="314" caption="It's the little things that we celebrate the most"][/caption]

If you have a Tackle it Tuesday post, link it here for others to see!



Thanks to the ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom for creating Tackle it Tuesday!

Wordless Wednesday 7: Self-Portrait

So this is what happens when I can't find my camera!

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Resourceful Mommy and 5 Minutes for Mom for introducing me to Wordless Wednesday.
Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday 6: Blue tongue

These are the consequences of helping his mom when she's preparing dark buttercream icing. For the record, I don't think he minded, ha! :)

[caption id="attachment_384" align="aligncenter" width="472" caption="Blue tongue!"][/caption]

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Resourceful Mommy and 5 Minutes for Mom for introducing me to Wordless Wednesday.
Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday 5: Bowling - RECYCLED

This is another "recycled" post, because my blog went nuts a few weeks back and decided to delete some of my posts. I really wanted to share these pics again of lil man's first trip to the bowling alley.

These "slides" are awesome! Wish I didn't look so ridiculous using them!

This is my favorite pic: big feet, lil feet!

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, link it here for others to see!

Here's the fun thumbnail linky:



Thanks to Resourceful Mommy and 5 Minutes for Mom for introducing me to Wordless Wednesday.
Thanks to Uisce for creating Wordless Wednesday.

Tackle it Tuesday 2: Laundry Overload - RECYCLED

OK, so the title of this post is a bit misleading. I didn't actually recycle my laundry, I recycled my post! You see, several weeks back, my blog went all kinds of crazy and decided to delete some of my posts. I'm still trying to figure out what happened, but in the meantime I didn't want to miss the chance to share these pics with you.

Fine, so it's laundry. No big deal, right? I'll tell you what makes this laundry different. These pics were taken mid-August, and I found lil man's school uniform there! Yes, turns out I had been taking clothes from the basket instead of the drawers for three months. So I decided it was time to address the situation, fold those clothes, empty those baskets, fill up some drawers, and maybe, just maybe, I could get my chair back.

Check out the "before" pics:

Now check out the "after" pics:

Something is clearly wrong with lil man's clothes hamper... it refuses to stay empty!

Hey, take a look at that, I STILL didn't get my chair back! :)

If you have a Tackle it Tuesday post, link it here for others to see!



Thanks to the ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom for creating Tackle it Tuesday!