Birthdays....

Birthdays in my world are about celebrating the miracle of life. We are blessed to have amazing support from our friends and family and when March rolls around, and it is Savannah's birthday... what better way to celebrate than to spoil our friends and family who love us and help us throughout the year! Very excited for Savannah's Princess/St. Patrick's Day birthday bash... My Irish baby is having her party on St. Patrick's day and I am super excited!

So to help her countdown the days... I am making her this:

Here is the link to "how to make this"... super easy to do!

http://creativehomemakers.blogspot.com/2010/07/birthday-countdown.html

I will take a picture of how mine turns out :)

Trying to keep Savannah's party on a tight budget, I have come up with a bunch of fun ideas... tissue paper pom poms to hang from the ceiling. Stringing balloons upside down from the ceiling... making a Flounder pinata. I am very excited to put it all together and celebrate our miracle with everyone!

Thank You's....

It seems like the more we have going on, the less we say thank you to a friend, to a co-worker, to God, etc... Yesterday was Valentines Day and I have the best Valentines ever, a card, movie, and flowers was more than I ever expected and made me feel special! One of my fellow co-workers at Carrabba's stayed up most of the night on the 13th to make personalized treat bags for EVERY employee at Carrabba's...she filled them with glow in the dark bracelets and a few fun candy treats. So today, I searched online for some cute printable thank you cards! The least I can do... I stumbled upon this website. Even prints and envelope! http://www.do-it-yourself-invitations.com/free-printable-thank-you-cards.html. The least I can do. At night when Savannah and I pray, I always ask her what she is thankful for, one day her teacher, her mom and dad, even a doll once in a while, but it is always good to remember the little things in life that we are thankful for. That all nighter that a co worker pulled to make her fellow co workers feel special, picking up something that someone dropped, holding a door open... always the little things that make people feel special and appreciated! Not the big things! So to sum up! I am greatful and thankful for all that is around me. The best gift yesterday was a kiss from my husband when I got home from a very long work day at both jobs and kissing our sweet princess good night. Those 2 things are the greatest gift of all!

Oh Joy.....

For real...no sarcasim... just sincerity! I am over joyed at the new adventures my family is headed toward, more family QUALITY time, more love, less stress, and in the end one another. 2012 has had a few ups adn downs thus far, but many more ups than downs. In a nut shell, I am the luckiest woman in the world. I get to come home at night and snuggle with my amazing hubby and kiss and cuddle with my sweet daughter before dozing off for the night! What more could one ask for. We are hoping for a few great changes this year, and we will take every piece of that with open arms! Also grateful for the amazing friends and fmaily we have. Without you, we would not be who we are.

Ice Cream

I remember as a child loving the sounds of the ice cream truck as that song rang thru the summer air. Got all excited for a little bit of heaven. Now at the young age of 21 (a few times over) I LOVE ice cream, chocolate, anything sweet and divine, wine is one, anyways I still get that amazing feeling. Today I get to go to Savannah's school and scoop out sherbert and let the kids pick out sprinkles to put on top for their afternoon snack (It is Catholic Schools week). Her face lit up this morning, yes at 5:45 am, as I told her I would see her for snack and she said, "Mrs. Minten said you will be there after I wake up from my nap"... after a crazy week, that was what I needed to get me to work and thru a half day to get to my daughter and see her this afternoon! Being a working mom of 2 jobs, I am learning to cherish the time with my family and see the importance of "The Little Things"... she will not remember me cleaning and ignoring her, she will remmeber us praying and reading books at night, dancing in the kitchen and on the ottoman as dad shakes his head at us, roasting marshmellows in the fire pit after dinner. These are the moments I can not pass up! Love every last one of them!

A new adventure.....

The past few months have been CRAZY stressful.... beyond what I could have thought, but in the end I have learned a great lesson. The value of love with my husband and daughter, how God awards those who work hard with delish wine, and amazing friends for support! Spencer and I talked about 2012 being a year of new beginnings... great beginnings. So far it has had some ups and downs, but like everything, in the end, my heart is full of love and happiness.

facebook

It is a fun social media to view what is going on with friends and family and to see pictures.... letely I have been using it for a whole lot more... I have joined various Design sites such as IIDA and ASID... I have also joined the Krazy Coupon lady, family sites, parenting sites, etc. All of these sites put so much useful information right at your fingertips! I mean who wouldnt want bandaids for free :) .... I also use facebook a lot to post pictures of my family and different events so that our family and friends are able to see what is going on with our amazing daughter as she grows up. I have no idea why I decided to chat about this subject... but it was on my mind, so it just seemed right!

Paradise

Convinced my hubby to take me to Hawaii and the Mrs won :) We just got back from Oahu, Hawaii after being there for a week and it was beyond amazing. Plus it was some nice quality adult time! We hiked, we shopped, we went to Pearl Harbor, we snorkeled and hung out on the beach! and the fireworks in our face on the 4th... INCREDIBLE. I wish there was a way to afford this every year! However, I did miss Savannah like crazy and was happy to get home and cuddle with my chicarita!

Family.........

I often thought that family was your siblings, parents, grandparents, etc when I was growing up... the older I get the more I learn that family is the amazing people that are a part of your life. We are blessed to have amazing parents, siblings, relatives, but we are also blessed to have amazing friends. This weekend we had a few BBQ's and it just showed me that it truly is the little things in life such as hanging out at the poolme (sorry that is what Savannah calls the pool, so it is now part of our vocab), sitting on my back porch with friends while the kids run around the yard, and the hubbies throw around a football. All of the laughs, hugs, support... truly amazing and touches my heart each and every time... To all of our amazing friends out there, thank you for being you and being so special to us!

Ok so now onto some fun.... Here is a picture of Savannah at the Estrella Starpoint opening weekend bash...

How stinking cute is her bathing suit! Always such a trend setter! Love my family and friends and life in general! Very blessed!

We will miss you.....

My uncle has always been one of my biggest role models... I never knew my grandfather as he had passed prior to me being born... so my Uncle Tom played 2 roles in my life as an uncle and as an extremely young grandfather! He was always someone I could rely on and always someone who loved food as much as i did! My uncle allowed me privledges such as flying first class when I came to Arizona a few times with grandma... something I would never had experienced without him. I also would not have learned love, respect, and honor. Even on some of his sickest days, he always put on a smile and said "I am doing good". I love that he loved me and my family like we were his kids! It puts a smile on my face when my daugher prays at night for uncle Tom, and now it is Uncle Tom in the stars or sky (varies per day :) )Uncle Tom left a huge memory and impression that will live on for the rest of my life! Words can not describe how lost we will all be without him. He always kept us on track! Love you Uncle Tom, thank you for being such an amazing role model in my life!

Life Journey's

How do you decide when it is time to leave something you love and move on to something new? It is such a hard decision especially when it may affect a few people around you... how do you leave something that is so familiar and people that are as well. My mind struggles with this thought, but is something new better in the long run? So many decisions and so little time! LOL! On a different note, we went from winter to summer here in Arizona! and I LOVE it! I can not wait to go to the pool all weekend long (when I am not working) and hang out with Savannah and Spencer! and of course all of my lovely friends and their families!

Craziness....

I think that is the most appropriate word that fits our life at the present time. I am working 2 jobs and Spencer is taking on all of my household roles :) ... it is pretty cute! I am missing time with my chica. She is so amazing. She is starting to learn how to ride her bike with Nana. I think that it is so cute! She is always wanting to get into something just to learn more about it. Just like her momma! She is sweet. She is going to be a good momma one day!Which that thought is hard to believe. My 2 year old as a mom... YIKES! Every day is another day that makes me feel more and more blessed and loved! I am so lucky for the family I have.

on another note... It is almost March... my favorite time of the year... spring training games - GO WHITE SOX! and St. Patrick's Day! oh and lets not forget Savannah's birthday. I did get Irish baby after all. It is going to be a busy month, but it will be a fun one!

A new path....

I have made resolutions to make my life and my families better! So I am now a night time bartender again. It is a lot of fun. I am hoping that I will make lots of cashola :) Savannah is changing so much everyday! She makes my world go round. She is so smart. She can identify families.... You say colby and she says trisha, avrie and tade! So cute! She is able to walk the low beam, do summersaults, and most of the stuff at Little Gym! Such a monkey. I am so grateful for my amazing family! I have to talk about them! We also just celebrated Spencer's big 30th! Thanks to all of our friends and family for always supporting us!

New Year, New Reddins!

So this year is all about goals at home, just like at work! Our biggest goals this year are to get rid of the paci's, potty train Savannah, get out of debt, and work on family time! So new years weekend was "cold turkey" weekend at our home. We took the paci's away and put Savannah in panties all weekend. We still have a hard time at bedtime, but she doesn's ask for them. She wears pull ups to bed and other than that, she is doing fabulous with her panties... she says she wears panties, mom wears underwear, and dad wears shorts! Gotta love 2 year olds! The debt part... I got a 2nd job bartending at a local restaurant. It is right next to the Coyote and Cardinals stadiums... so I am hoping it is good money. Now for family time... that is the last one we need to iron out details on.... It will come. Last year my big thing was finding friends out on the west side. I was beyond fortunate to come across an amazing group of ladies who make everyday amazing. It is so nice to have people to relate to... so this year is off to a great start and hopefully in less than a year, we will be on to bigger and better things!

The holidays

We had an amazing time at Legoland with Nate and Dominic Skinner. Check out my facebook page for additional pictures

Savannah and I hiked the White Tanks with our friends Megan, Tanner, and Cameron. Fabulous day for a hike!

The holidays are over... :( but on to a new year! and new adventures.... We had an amazing holiday with friends and family and are so grateful for all that we have... We took the holiday break to break our precious Savannah of her paci and her pull ups (well we still put them on her at night). So far we are off to a good start, however the hour it takes her to go to bed now, I almost want to give in with her paci! My baby girl is growing up so fast. Hard to believe that she will be 3 in 3 months! Yikes.... A new year also means new decisions... I have had some interesting oppurtunities arise and I am pondering different things that may be better for my family... We shall see what happens... Not sure the direction I want to take. It is one of those things that I may be dammed if I do and dammed if I dont... Hope that everyone had an amazing holiday!

The journeys of life....

I am very thankful for my amazing family and friends. I have the best support system ever. If I ever needed anything, they will always back me up and be there for me. I am thankful for the friends I have had since 3rd grade! I have an amazing husband who spent the day working outside yesterday getting our house ready for our guests next weekend, an amazing daughter who looks at me and smiles and makes my whole world light up! I am so thankful for the great life I have!

Pumpkins Oh my........

So we made it to our 3rd annual trip to Chino Valley to go to Freeman Farms Pumpkin Patch with the Skinners (Nate and Dominic). The weather was amazing. we were able to go thru the corn maze, the carousel, and the train before mother nature decided to rain on us... and it rained adn rained. So we went to get a bite to eat thinking it would stop... and nope, so we went back to the pumpkin patch, picked our pumpkins, and made our way home. It was a great trip with our family tho and it will be a memory we cherish. It was so adorable watching Dominic and Savannah hold hands as they lead the way thru the corn maze! Love those 2

Apples of My....

So last night I did the good mom thing of serving my daughter McDonals dinner in the car! I am such the good momma bear! She was eating her nuggets and apples and when she was finished she asked me for a kleenex. So I ask "Why, do you have a booger?" and she goes "no"... so curiosity killed the mom here and I said "what do you need the kleenex for then?" and her response of "my apple" left me dumbfounded. Needless to say, she stuck some of the apple up her nose.

So yes, this picture above is what I pulled with tweezers out of her nose! Quite eventful!

Love is in the air....

Not sure if it has anything to do with the fact that on October 14, Spencer and I will have been married for 4 years or the fact that we are still in LOVE!!! Hard to believe. We have had our ups and downs, but there is not anyone (besides Savannah) that I would want to wake up next to... and then there is Savannah who still amazes me. this weekend we did a Halloween craft. We bedazzled black and white pumpkins. I will have to post those pictures! So cute! We had a great time. And then we put out some interior and exterior Halloween deorations... our house is sooo spooky! Life is great, and I am truly blessed with an incredible husband, amazing daughter, 3 crazy dogs, a beatiful home, a fantastic family/support system, friends, a great career, and a chaotic, yet interesting life!

Curveball

Life happens to throw major curveballs every now and again. Those are the curve balls that make us better people and allow us to grow as individuals. It allows us to see what is good in or lives and what is bad in our lived. I am very greatful for all that I have in my life. I am greatful for all of my family, friends, dogs, job, home, etc. It takes those cruveballs to make us appreciate life and the little things. When you are afraid of loosing something that you love and truly want, you need to step up at the plate and swing a little harder!

The ABC's

It is pretty amusing listening to your 2 year old sign her ABC's in the back seat. lmnop is all 1 word! ha... makes me laugh. Today she also counted to 11! She is sooo smart... by the way, her teacher actually wrote that on her daily sheet at school yesterday! My chicarita is a smarty all right :). She is in swimming lesson, which are more than amusing. She loves being in the water and is kind of coming around to the teacher. My little baby is growing up sooo quickly! I sit here and think what is she going to do when she grow up? Is she going to still have the same crazy personality? I sure hope so...

Well that is what is on my mind at the moment... Happy Thursday!