Playing with Mommy's 'School Stuffs'

So Module 3 we're learning how to take vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse rates, respiratory rates & so on. I was getting ready to practice on my sister's Bobo & take her blood pressure. Of course as I do so, all the kids come running in & are in AWE in what I'm doing.

They LOVED the stethoscope & each of the kids had a turn to listen to their own heartbeat. It was the sweetest thing to see their cute faces light up when they heard their beating heart!

Next up was taking their blood pressure. The cuff that I use is made for adults. So I couldn't practice on kids. So we played with it with each kid, again. They LOVED when the cuff would squeeze their arm & then I would slowly release it.

My Micah couldn't help him self. He literally was trying to keep these to himself! It was so cute!

Here he is enjoying himself saying, "just two more times ok? And that's it!"

5 turns later....

Blood pressure time...

He's SOO into it... Lol

I wish I had a pic for each kid, but my phone was no where to be going until it was Micah's turn! Lol

Cheers to vital signs!!!!!

Woohoo!

I scored my 1st 100% on module 2 Quiz! Yes I'm ecstatic bc it's been YEARS since I've been in the school game & it's good to know that I can do it even if it HAS BEEN 8 yrs since high school :)
Module 1 quiz I got an 88%.
Were on module 3 & I hope that Quiz will be an 80%-100% too!
Woohoo!
Love it when everything falls into place & I'm getting what is being taught :)
This has definitely given me FAITH to proceed & I can't wait to tackle
the other quizzes!

So GRATEFUL!!!!!

Lately...

This might be a short post! I promise! LOL (emphasis on MIGHT) Just wanted to kinda give you the recent happs goin on here on my side of town!

• The Kiddies are enjoying their new school Hillview Crest. Their last day will be June 12th. And I am MOST excited how LONG of a summer break they're gonna have since it's the 1st time they've ever been on traditional school year vs year around. So I am pretty juiced to do some traveling w the kids (BIG hopefully & fingers & toes crossed) & doing tons of fun summer things together as a family!
• It's been 6 months since being on our own here in Union City. It's still quite lonely, honestly, bc I don't have immediate family at my every beckon call, like I did back in San Mateo, but it's a great thing to branch out & expand my box more! Thankfully I attend an awesome sweet ward & I am able to make friends easily ;) The people here are sweet, generous, welcoming & always willing to help! I love it!  I still feel overwhelmed with pure joy that we still have our own spot! I am DEF LOVIN' every second of it!!!
• My Hubby is back to scaffolding again! I swear, HF def works in mysterious ways & will answer our prayers ALWAYS on his time & not ours! Even though we wish & wish it was on our time ;) His body is def takin' its toll since it's been a 2year break from the hard grueling labor work. But I am ever so grateful for my  hard working man that will do anything & everything to provide for his family ;) I am truly blessed!
• My Micah has been back & forth to San Mateo or here every week. My inlaws baby & spoil that kid, so to him, has 2 homes not 1 he said to me recently. I thought that was absolutely cute! I feel so lucky when it comes to my kids. They get LOVE from everywhere. I feel blessed to have an amazing relationship w my inlaws, that I am able to have my kids spend weekends there just so they can see their Grandparents & my angel sis in law & her hubby. And then they're able to go to my Dad's & see aunts & uncles & cousins. Just truly blessed I tell ya! Since we're in the east bay now, we have to do San Mateo trips only on the weekends :) But it if were up to my kids, it be everyday! But I told them if they can pay for gas, then we can go :0) LOL
• I started a clinical medical assisting program! I know, I am still in disbelief myself! LOL It's called Boston Reed College. I go to the Adult School here which is down the street from me. There's about 11 students & our instructor is super cool. We meet twice a week, Mon & Wed from 6pm-9pm. Then we do some online work, workbook, watch videos, learn the medical terminology for every module & quizzes every module. It's pretty challenging. Life is A BALANCING ACT for sure since I started. I have to find time to clean, laundry, study, do homework, cook, spend time w hubby,  grocery shopping, clean again, spend time w the kiddies besides being home. School is def not as easy. I mean it's been almost 8 years since high school! LOL It's about a 20 week program that is crammed w all kinds of things! So I really need to STAY FOCUSED! I'm pretty excited about everything & the timing of it all. Just grateful for the opportunity to go back to school & fulfill one of my all time dreams & work in the medical field. I just know that if I try & do my best, everything will work out in the end :)
• Father's Day is coming up. I have some ideas what to get hubby. But he can CARE LESS of course! He HATES gifts for him! I wish I was more like him! LOL He just thinks they're  a waste of $! But not in my book. I think everyone deserves something nice once in a while. Especially for my Hubby, I always go out of my way for his Bday & Father's Day THAT MUCH MORE bc he doesn't care.  He ends up loving it anyway :)        

          

         Ok, I think we're pretty caught up on my end! I can't wait for summer & all the functions, the family times, the memories, the hot hot hot weather......YAY! 

Love you & thanks for reading! Enjoy your day xo

Vinyl at it's EASIEST!

Wow 3 entries in one day? What a record! Now I remember why I love blogging so much! Lol

So again in my previous post I got my stickers in the mail for my walls :)

I knew where I was gonna put them before I ordered them. So this went up first.

It was very meticulous peeling off the paper & making sure the letters stuck to the wall! And it Did! This was a very quick easy craft & I loved it!

It's kind of crooked, but it was my first time dealing w this transfer thingy stuff. So next time I do it, I'll be prepared :)

CRAFT NIGHT!!

Yay! I AM ALIVE I swear! I've just been lagging mixed with Mommy duties. But I hope to be more better in the upcoming weeks!

So, I have been lagging on my empty walls in my home. It's still ALL pretty white. But I have some things up to help my poor walls out! Lol

On the opposite side of the Love Quote picture wall has been an empty space. I planned to do this cute idea I saw on pinterest.

One Friday night I was kid free! So that was my chance to get this project out of my hair!

So here are my supplies:
-3 9x12 canvases (I wish I got them smaller to fulfill the pinterest idea!)
-paint of your choice
-foam brush
-photo adhesive
-3 photos
-ribbon of your choice

Because my photos were 8x12, I had an inch around the pictures that'll show the white canvas. So I painted the edges brown along w an inch (or more! Lol) of paint on the canvas.

When paint dries fully, spray the back of your picture w the spray adhesive. Wait a couple minutes then center picture on canvas.

Before I hung them up. I hung some ribbon first! Then placed the canvases over the ribbon.

If I had more room (hence is why I should've picked a smaller canvas size but I was too excited to care at the time!) I was supposed add a cute small bow right above Isaiah's picture. But I guess this will do :)

So now my left wall looks compete :)

That was fun!

Helping Son

I was very lucky to have my Micah help me fold laundry since I had a ton to fold 

He was so helpful & excited!

Love their innocent sweet spirit & his willing to help 

Love my babies

Farewell Elder Mausa

Greetings my Love :)

     Tonight was a bitter sweet night in our household. While living the short time here in Union City, we gained 2 new friends, Elder Noorlander & Elder Mausa. They've come to our place at least once a week to check on us, teach us FHE on a Monday night, Teach Leka & I more about the Book of Mormon or just come to hang out to talk or have dinner with us! Obviously their goal is to baptize my Hubby, but they soon learned that wasn't gonna happen anytime soon, so we became great friends. And we were all fine with that, but they still added a scripture reference or ask me or Leka if there was anything they can do for us. Of course my answer was always the same, just a prayer for our family would be awesome ;)

So we just had a simple dinner here with dessert & we would always pack them food to take home whenever they came.Even if they refused. We just laughed, told stories, joked around w my Hubby about becoming LDS as always! LOL. Short & sweet. My kids even grew to like them. They even made letters & pictures for Elder Mausa to take with him.

  So Elder Mausa is from Tonga & has completed about a year of his mission already. He's a very quiet Elder but loves to tell jokes. Very soft spoken, but spoken from the heart. He's actually a convert from the Methodist church & is the only member in his family. He is going to move zones & serve in the the Pen 1st ward in Foster City ;) So he wanted to come by & have a last dinner with us & just talk & enjoy each other's company. That was nice of him to come out & spend some time with us! We know he'll be great serving the people in the Pen 1st ward ;) Elder Noorlander gains a new companion when Elder Mausa leaves. He would still like to continue to come over our house when our schedule permits :)

You already know I NEVER mind :) Work your magic Elders!!! LOL I'm kidding! I really should take lessons from them from dang self! LOL

I am truly grateful for these Elders & other missionaries out there. It takes great courage & strength & conviction to go out there & do what they do. I know we met them for a reason whether we know now or later. I believe HF puts people in our lives that we NEED verses what we WANT. I believe they are here for a reason. I hope to help them in any way, shape or form to fulfill that calling. Whether they convert my Hubby or not, teach myself to GAIN a better understanding of the church & my OWN testimony, whatever it is, I'm ready for it. I have to be. I owe it to myself & kids :)

THANK YOU ELDER MAUSA for all that you've done for us!

Emotional Wreck.....

So today I JUST finalized all my kids papers with the transfers with their new school. After I left the district office, I was told to take the packets to their "temp" school since their neighborhood school was currently full since it was in the middle of the school year. So I was on a quest to find this school.

I finally found it very easily thanks to the map I was given. The school got out at 2:05pm & here I was cluelessly  driving into the school at 1:55pm  during the craziest times, which is pick up time! lol So I waited patiently trying to find a nearby parking. Of course that didn't work, so out the parking lot I went & just parked on the street.

I found my way to the office. I asked if I can meet with their new teachers. Score! They were still there! The lovely school secretary  handed me a post it w their names & the teacher names & room numbers.
First destination: Jonah Room 3 Teacher: Mrs. Kemp. I was greeted by a much older lady than I. Very friendly. I told her a little about my son. We talked for a brief couple minutes & I offered help if she ever needed anything. Next stop was Isaiah's teacher: Mrs. Pederson, room 25. I was greeted by a super smiley outgoing mid-aged woman. I immediately clicked with her. She actually used to live in San Mateo! Her Dad was into racing at the old Bay Meadows! Small world! She was giving me the run down on the schedule for different days, about the classroom & so forth. I immediately offered to volunteer on Thursdays to help fill the envelopes to go home w the kids.

As I'm talking to her about Isaiah, I can just FEEL the TEARS coming.... what the heck is wrong with me??? I think it was THEN that it finally HIT ME that they're gonna start ALL OVER again with making new friends, trying to get the hang of things. In my head I'm thinking, "what have I done? I have taken them away from everything!' I couldn't help but feel so GUILTY & excited, nervous  & all the above...
I'm trying to look away pretending to observe the classroom so I don't let the tears fall...

After we talk & exchanged emails, I made my way back to the car. It was then I felt it stronger... I was literally crying driving home. Trying to put myself in their shoes just thinking of the worst case scenarios that can happen. I make my way home, call my Hubby & again I'm CRYING A RIVER... of course he reassures me that everything is going to be ok. He tells me he's off very soon so he can hold me upon his return. I tell him I will do some laundry to get my mind off it. But no, I'm here typing... lol

I hope & pray that my kids won't be scarred from this transition. I was just thinking since we live on this side of the bay, we might as well transfer schools bc of the 20-30 min commute to & from school. I know everything will turn out just fine. I just need to get out of my San Mateo Bubble & just be open minded. I guess I'm just used to my kids having family at their school. But not this time. It's literally a fresh start!

I'm obviously completely dramatic about everything that has to do w my kids! LOL On the bright side, we do have our OWN place to call HOME.... I just need to buckle down & wear my "big girl" panties & just be excited for them! I can't wait for them to hurry up & adjust to this school already! LOL

OK....I will go & do some laundry now :) Thanks for listening! xo

Baby Blues.... or School....

Everyone around me is having babies :) It's such a sweet sight to see, the newest member of the family getting all the love & attention from their darling older siblings & of course their   Mommy & Daddy. 

It makes me kinda sorta wanna jump on this hype! But of course, I am definitely looking at this "idea" from  EVERY family member's perspective. Do I really wanna start back from square 1 back to sleepless nights, diapers & bottles? But I DO want MORE kids! My kids are WELL OLD enough & I will greatly have PLENTY of help due to their mature ages: 7, 5 & 4. I know. The gap is what is KILLING me!

If this baby comes soon, Micah & him/her will have a whopping 5 year gap! Holy smokes! It went from a 2 year gap to a 1 year gap then to greater than a  4....

I do however miss just having a baby around. All my babies will be in school full time this upcoming school year. So I think I am having withdrawals  from having no kids at home with me. But then again, I can remember myself saying back when my kids were young, 'I can't wait for my kids to be ALL in school so I can have some ME TIME!' But what exactly is ME TIME? Now that I type this up? I mean, schools aren't going anywhere. They just want your money. Jobs are always gonna be there. Volunteer maybe?

Eventually ALL my kids will grow up & leave me one day. By then, I guess THAT can be MY ME TIME... Time for myself to do some fun, educational learning, creating new hobbies ME time.

But why wait? I guess I can do some things part time now & still ENJOY my kids :) I just have a million ideas/thoughts that I still have to consider before I make the next big step. Whether I decide to hold off for another year on having kids, or dive in full head on to school part time to get the ball rolling.

We shall see. I just need to pray, fast & ponder on it I guess. But one thing I know for sure is, I am NOT getting any younger. So TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.....

I just wish my Mom was here so she can help me in all   my weird/deep decisions as this. Who knows, maybe she would've offered to watch my newborn so I can still go to school so it's still a win/win situation LOL Oh geez I Miss her....It's always great to do wishful thinking when it comes to her, wishing she were here for many reasons..... But that of course is NEVER good enough... That just makes it harder.

I hope I don't sound selfish. Even though I feel like I kinda do. I just want to make sure everything will be ALL GOOD in the end of whatever decision I make.

Seeing Results...

About almost a month ago, I started to get back to jogging every week. Wether it be the full 5 week day or 3 days, 2 days or 1. The point I wanted to make to myself was just to STAY ACTIVE!


I stopped soda completely for the 1st 2 weeks bc everyone knows my LOVE for this poisonous drink was at an all time high  I cut out sweets as well. I wasn't dieting or doing anything dramatic. But I MADE sure I ate breakfast, lunch & dinner! I also take a diet supplementary pill twice a day w food to help w my cravings so I don't constantly snack on foods when I had just ate already! Lol I stepped up my water intake HUGELY & I'm proud to say that H2O is a natural thing at my house I now have self control when it comes to soda or sweets, my weaknesses  I refrain from buying 12 packs of soda so I don't tempt myself. That goes w sweets too :)

Anyways, before I slept I was just playing around & snapped pictures of my biggest insecurity which is my HUGE midsection!! Lol then I compared the pictures I took almost a month ago & WOW what a huge difference :) well at least I think so 
I have NO IDEA how much I weigh but I try not to make that scale number define who I am. It's just a number. Its more about the feeling good & looking good! And making sure to stay active 
The hard part is to STAY CONSISTENT!!!! For myself that is.....

This is a first time in FOREVER have I ever seen results & I'm so ANXIOUS to jog ALL week this week to see even better results :)

Thank You to those who have been inspiring to me! You know who you are 

Here are my before & after photos :)

It's JUST hair.....

I have been dying to add layers to my plain Jane long hair. It's been forever since I had a haircut too. But then again, it was never on my priority list I guess :)

So last Friday my Hubby & Jonah were getting their over due haircuts & I decided to tag along. Marinello was the place since that month the haircuts were free for boys.

That's it. I thought to myself. I'm gonna do it. $11 was the price for layers & blow dry. Luckily I washed my hair the day before, so my fro was bundled up in loose bun ready to be saved from it's boringness! Lol

All done. OMG! what happened to ALL MY HAIR????

I wanted to cry. This is the shortest my hair has been & the shortest layers yet. It's been 4 days since the cut & it's been very interesting. Super quick to wash/dry my hair. I'm still trying to get used to style it... I'm being really drama. But I really MISS MY HAIR :(

Luckily my hair grows super fast! So I'm waiting in a couple of months, it'll be the PERFECT length :)

Thank you for listening :)

Love this poem...

Wet Oatmeal Kisses

One of these days you’ll explode and shout to all the kids, “Why don’t you just grow up and act your age!” And they will…

Or, “You guys get outside and find something to do — without hurting each other And don’t slam the door!” And they don’t.

You’ll straighten their bedrooms until it’s all neat and tidy, toys displayed on the shelf, hangers in the closet, animals caged. You’ll yell, “Now I want it to stay this way!” And it will…

You will prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn’t had all the olives picked out and a cake with no finger traces in the icing and you’ll say, “Now this is a meal for company.” And you will eat it alone…

You’ll yell, “I want complete privacy on the phone. No screaming, Do you hear me?” And no one will answer.

No more plastic tablecloths stained. No more dandelion bouquets. No more iron-on patches. No more wet, knotted shoelaces, muddy boots or rubber bands for ponytails.

Imagine…. a lipstick with a point, no babysitters for New Years Eve, washing clothes only once a week, no PTA meetings or silly school plays where your child is a tree, no car pools, blaring stereos or forgotten lunch money.

No more Christmas presents made of library paste and toothpicks, no wet oatmeal kisses, no more tooth fairy, no more giggles in the dark, scraped knees to kiss or sticky fingers to clean.

Only a voice asking, “Why don’t you grow up?” And the silence echoes: “I did”.

Author unknown

Mommy's Time Out :)

We all know our lives can get the best of us whether we admit or not :) I know for myself I can get caught up in the hustle & bustle of our crazy lives.

However, I am SO GRATEFUL to have a BFF where we both can take a time (about once or twice a month)out from our kids, jobs, hectic days & just enjoy US & being in the moment & CATCHING UP :)

I swear, whenever we're together, it's like time stands still, & we can just talk NON STOP ;)

It was Sandra's idea to get pedicures this time since she wanted to try something different other than just eating :) although I never mind when it comes to food :)

I'm glad we share a special bond that no one can take away. I love & respect her as my own sister. I can't wait til our next get together :)

This was when the lady says: Hold hands!!!! Lol we were confused & we were just cracking up!!!

He writes his own name now???

The other day I was helping my older 2 do homework in the dining room while Micah was back & forth from the living room & office/playroom. Then he all of a sudden closes the door to the office/playroom. Every Mom knows that when their kid is quiet + behind a closed door, disaster is about to strike or it already happened! Lol

I send Isaiah to open the door & see what his brother is up to. He yells, ooh Mom Micah wrote on the window!

I immediately get up from my seat & stomp right over there. I grab a Lysol hand sanitizer wipe so I can wipe it clean since the damage is still fresh. Before I wipe it clean, somewhere among his scribbles was his name a couple times.

I had no idea he knew how to write it!!!! My madness literally melted off my body as I smiled soo hard taking pictures w my phone!! Lol It's funny bc in school he goes by his first name, Penisimani. So for me to see him spell Micah on his own is a HUGE accomplishment!!! So I asked him to join his brothers who were doing homework & he can continue to practice his name :)

Time is definitely going by sooo FAST! it seems like yesterday Isaiah was in Pre school trying to write his own name ;(

I'm definitely one blessed Mommy!!! I LOVE being their Mommy! I pray that HF may continue to help me raise these boys righteously & with loads of patience ;)

My Dream Room

I finally got my accent stenciled bedroom wall done & I couldn't be anymore HAPPIER with the outcome! It took a lot longer than I thought, but it was my first time & I think I did pretty good ;) I ran into all kinds of road blocks to NOT complete it, but I REALLY REALLY wanted it & I knew I would be happy & relieved once I finished it! Thank goodness I have the amount of patience that I do... This 1 day project probably took about 4 spread out days :-/ lol I know... Please don't judge... Lol

Anyhow, I'm super excited it's done & I can't wait to completely decorate our own bedroom!!! It's been 4 long years since we had our OWN Mommy & Daddy room, so I'm excited!!! ;)