2015's Top Ten for Our Family

Well it's the last night of 2015 and we had our traditional dinner of yummy salmon, grilled vegetables, rice and champagne. We sat down as a family and gave thanks to the Lord for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us. Some good and some not what we would have liked, but God has his reasons! This is the list we came up with for our little family in no particular order.

 1. Disneyland: Our happy place! We our a big Disney family and love to spend as much time there as possible. We are annual pass holders and plan to hold onto them as long as we can. We definitely get our money's worth and try to go at least once a month if not more.  Last year we started our year with a trip to Disneyland and plan to do it again this year!

 2. Family: This is not our favorite moment of 2015, but it is an important one. We lost three incredible members of my family this year! First, my beloved Tio Angel lost his battle with cancer on January 7th. On January 18th we lost my Tia Melinda suddenly and unexpectedly. In July we lost our sweet Tia Cruz who was 97 years old! All three of these passings have left such a big void in our lives. We miss them so much and can't believe that they are gone. We know that each and everyone of them is in a better place and for that we are thankful, but it's just hard knowing that they are not here with us on earth.

 

 3. Drama! This is actually the production kind. We are so proud of our baby girl, Speedy, she works hard at her craft and has been cast in all of her productions in high school so far. She was Penny Wise in Urinetown last spring, where she stole the show with that awesome voice of hers! This past fall she was cast as the lead in A Flea in Her Ear.  We love to watch her act and sing!  This is her passion and we hope she gets to live her dream in all she does.

 

4. Squiggler has had the most things happen this year! She lost 4 teeth this year. The first two were taken out by the dentist and then she finally lost her first official tooth in September followed by another one in November. She was a late bloomer and didn't get first tooth until she was 9 months old. That is why I think she has barely started to lose her teeth.

 5. Church: Speedy made her confirmation in May and I was so happy and proud of her. She's  a bit of a rebel when it comes to religion, but she did it and for that I am grateful and proud! I don't have a picture, but Squiggler started her first year for her First Communion and I am teaching the class. I have 15 of the greatest kids in my class!

 6. Weegie! She finished MUD and started working for Estee Lauder! She loves being a make up artist and is living her dream!!  She works with some amazing people in a truly amazing company. She has learned so much and goes to work everyday happy!! She also free lances on the side and has done make up for some proms and weddings.  I am so proud of how much she has grown and how hard she works.

7. Royalty Dance Academy: This is our home away from home! Squiggler takes Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop and Speedy takes Jazz and Ballet. We love it there and I think they love us too. All my girls have been a part of Royalty and now Weegie helps when she is needed.  I'm so glad that we belong to such an amazing place with amazing people. 

 

 8. Sports! Squiggler learned to swim and made it all the way to level 6 in swimming lessons. She also learned to ride a bike with no training wheels!!! This was my honey's summer project! He wanted to make sure he taught her how to ride a bike this summer. He has now taught all his girls how to ride a bike and made sure they were strong swimmers.

 9. Las Vegas: For the first time in her 40+ plus years the Wifa finally went to Las Vegas!! She got picked to go to an SDE conference and went with her good friend Mrs. C.  They had a blast and her friends made sure she enjoyed herself and experienced the Vegas life! She even won contest and gets to go back to the conference next year for free!  The following week her honey and Squiggler went back to Vegas for a small family vacation! So now she's been twice!

 10. College Life: Speedy won a scholarship to go to CSSSA for the summer at the Cal Arts campus. We were so proud of her, but missed her for the month that she was gone. Luckily she wasn't gone to far and we were able to visit her twice to buy her supplies and just spend some time with her. They had them jam packed with classes and activities. She really enjoyed herself and is hoping to attend next year too.

Honorable Mentions for this year!

School: Squiggler is in 1st grade while Speedy is now a Junior in High School. Both girls are doing great and Squiggler won student of the month in Kindergarten and 1st grade. Speedy still is maintaining her high grade point average and getting ready to take the SATs at the end of the month. She is also up for a Scholarship in Voice and Acting, so we couldn't be more proud of her.

 
 Love: We will be celebrating our 20 year anniversary in January and are thankful that we still love being together. He is my best friend and she is mine! We couldn't do it alone and being together is much better!!

 Family again: My grandparents were featured in a book and I was asked to write a small excerpt about them. I am now published!! LOL! It was exciting and such an honor to have our grandparent's legacy live on!!!

 So that is pretty much it for us in a nutshell. We are Blessed beyond belief and even though sometimes things might not go as planned we know there is always a reason and something better is waiting for us just around the corner. Sometimes it's hard to remember that, but we try. We have the best girls and are so proud of them. They have good hearts and try to lead a good life. We couldn't ask for more! We continue to pray that they always remember to do good in all they do. Thank you for such a great 2015!

Mother's Day 2013

I love this picture! It was a great Mother's Day and I don't think I would have changed anything! We got up this morning and went to church. My mother and I then went to the Moose Lodge to have Mother's Day brunch! Two old friends from high school catered and it was great! I would have never in a million years expected those two guys to become chefs, open their own restaurant and catering business. Afterwards my mom and I went to the movies to see Big Wedding. I loved it! Then we went to the mall, Target and Starbucks. We came home to a beautiful dinner, and gifts. I got exactly what I asked for and my mom seemed very pleased with her gifts too! It was a nice warm day just like I like them. I love these girls and I am so glad that I am a mom. It is is the best job in the world and they are my most glorious blessings!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! (Round 2)

 Happy 17th Birthday to our oldest Princess! On Thursday she had her birthday and celebrated at school with a bunch of goodies from her friends! She received cookies, make up, clothes and lots of cards. She asked her daddy to make her chicken parmesan and she went to dance class! (She didn't want to miss her class because her recital is coming up!) On Friday, I picked her and her besties up and dropped them off at the mall. They went to see Gatsby since they had just finished the book and out to dinner. They also went to Starbucks which we also did the day before, but that turned into a fiasco.  My Starbucks totally let me down, but that is another story! It all turned out to be okay because I did end up with a lot of free drinks! They had a great time!

 On Saturday, we went shopping in the morning and she bought a formal dress for a really great price and now has something to wear to her many dances she has next year! She took her lifelong bestie to the game with her and they had a blast! I'm so glad she had a great birthday and she still has more presents coming, just not yet. (Her sister does too) I love you baby girl! You make me a better person and I'm so glad that I'm your mom!

My Cousin Joe

This picture was taken 10 years ago at my grandmother's funeral. These are my four cousins that are older then me.  (My cousin LaLa is missing.) I love this picture even though it was taken at a sad occasion. The reason I am posting this picture is because my cousin Joe died last night! (He is the one to my right in the picture.) I still can't believe that he is gone. He was young, only 49! He is my first cousin and the first of us to go as adults.He leaves a beautiful wife, 4 daughters, a son and a beautiful granddaughter.  Joe was a great guy with such a soothing voice and giving heart. (He is my first cousin and we haven't lost a cousin in 27 years so this is very hard!)

On my birthday this past year he had emergency surgery on a brain tumor. The doctors said that it was an aggressive tumor and had he not come in because of a headache then they don't know what would have happened.  After the surgery he was talking and walking like as if he just didn't have major surgery.  He lives kind of far away and I was very sick and couldn't go visit him.  My mom saw him two weeks ago and he was doing fine. He had just had a birthday and was going to start treatment for the cancer.

On Monday, the 28th of January he had a stroke and when they did the MRI they found that tumor was back and it was 3x the original size. He did not wake up and he got progressively worse! He died shortly before midnight last night. I wasn't there, but some of my cousins were. I'm sad that I never got to tell him goodbye, but I am so thankful for that month he had to take care of what he needed to. I won't go into detail here, but I think it was a gift from God that he was here on earth for another month.

Joe, I know you are in a much better place and it is us here on Earth that are selfish in wanting you to stay! Say hi to Tata, Grandma, and Your mom for us!You will be missed so much, but know that you live on in the beautiful family you have raised! I love you cousin!

Love! Love! Love!

I am so loving our custom illustrated picture done by Katie Moon! She is so talented and made my family even more beautiful then I could have possibly imagined! I had heard about Katie and oohmoon through Lindsay Teague Moreno and when I saw hers, I knew I had to have one too! I really wanted to just capture time right now and freeze it! My girls are at the perfect ages right now and I know it a couple of years our family will be changing! Weegie is a junior, Speedy is almost in high school and Squiggler will be in Kindergarten!

Katie did a fantastic job capturing our family and our love for each other! The girls love it and so does my honey! I have big plans for this picture in our house! Thanks Katie and to my mom for helping me get this! It's my birthday/Christmas/lots of presents for the next year gift! LOL! I also feel so Blessed and fortunate because Katie will no longer be doing these types of illustrations. So glad I met her before she stopped! God is good all the time!

Family Field Trip!

 Today we decided to go on a Family Field trip before we all have to go back to school next week. My honey decided we should go see the USS IOWA. We got a great deal on a family pass and decided to go today! It was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Southern California! We headed out early this morning and made it to Long Beach in record time!

We were able to tour the entire boat and learn a lot about Navy ships and they way the Sailors live.  Weegie and Speedy really enjoyed it and took a lot of pictures. Squiggler didn't enjoy it as much, so I didn't get as many pictures since I was watching her so much.  It was a great way to spend the day as a family. There were quiet a few people there and the boat has only been there for a few months. They are hoping to pick up on attendance. Afterwards we went to eat lunch at Ports O Call at a restraunt that one of my honey's friends recommended.  We were very hungry at this time and the food was absolutely scrumptious and they gave big portions.  We all shared everyone's meal.  This may sound crazy, but that is one thing I love about my little family, we always share our food and taste everyone's meal. It's a great way to taste a lot of different food.  (I have cousins that do not share food and so I'm glad we do.)

We walked around a bit and Squiggler wanted to ride on the little rides they had.  I love the outfit she is wearing! She is such a fashionista! Hello Kitty, Leopard, boots and shades! What more could a girl ask for?

 I love my life!

Happy New Year!

Well 2013 is here and we had a nice New Year Eve where my honey cooked dinner, we stayed up watching movies and the ball drop! Squiggler fell asleep at 11:40 so she didn't make it to see the New Year! Today we had a nice day at home watching movies again, eating menudo for breakfast and a great ham dinner. It was a great ending, great beginning to 2013! Loved it! This is a little questionnaire I borrowed from Sophia Corbridge that she does every year. I did it 3 years ago, but hadn't done it since then. It was interesting to see what had stayed the same and what had changed!

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before? Took my daughter to see 4 musicals in downtown Los Angeles and took my other daughter to two concerts by myself! I'm kind of a scaredy cat and don't like to go places by myself  (especially in the dark) but I did it and had a lot of fun too!
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I actually don't make resolutions, but I do try to have a good life and be a good person, but that is a given not a resolution.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No one in my family, but my hairdresser had a baby boy in October and she named him Lennon.
4. Did anyone close to you die? No one close to me, but family of some of my friends.
5. What countries did you visit? Canada! First time I have ever been out of the country! In May my daughter, Speedy and I went to Canada with her singing group. It was a great trip!
6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012? Spend time with my best friend or at least plan to spend time with each other.  I feel bad that we live so close to each other and rarely spend time together. I know she is really busy, but I want to make it a point to try to get together monthly. We have been BFF's since we were 8!
7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Two dates come to mind. The first is November 6th, Election night! I my goodness! Never has an election had such a big impact on me! The second is December 14, 2012. The day of the Sandy Hook School shootings. It was a sad day in America and as a teacher it will forever be etched in my brain.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Being a mom to 3 beautiful girls that are completely different. I love my girls so much and I am so happy of the relationships we have developed! I hope we are always close and they can always feel that they can come to me. My second was the letter I received from Mrs. Drew at the end of the school year! I will cherish that letter forever and always strive to be that teacher for my students,
9. What was your biggest failure? Not being organized! I have always have had problems with this, but I need to just get it together already! 
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No! Thank you God!
11. What was the best thing you bought? I bought a purple coat last January and I love it! Best purchase I have made in a long time and great price!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My girls earn this honor again! Weegie is just such a great girl and I am so proud of her work  in our church, the great friend she is to her friends and that she would protect her little sisters from anything.  Speedy for her hard work and dedication in school, in her singing and the great big sister she is to Squiggler and the relationship she has with Weegie. Squiggler is doing so well and is such a great listener at pre-school and in dance class! She loves her little sisters and is so friendly to everyone!
13. Where did most of your money go? To my girls! Between school and lessons they require a good amount of money, but I know it is all worth it!
14. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Getting my donorschoose projects funded and being able to give my students access to technology!
15. What song will always remind you of 2012? Gangham Style! That guy is all over the place and it is a crack up to see my student's dancing to that song.
16. What do you wish you'd done more of? Remembering to keep God first and to say my daily rosary completely.
17. What do you wish you'd done less of? Spending time on the computer. LOL! I get so many great ideas from Pinterest that I don't even have time to use them all!
18. How did you spend Christmas? With my beautiful family! We had a wonderful morning and then went to my brother in laws and had a wonderful rest of the day there.  Christmas this year was just wonderful and no drama! Loved it!
19. Did you fall in love in 2012? Yes with my wonderful hubby, my beautiful daughters and my awesome class of Kindergarteners.
20. What was your favorite TV program? Say Yes to the Dress and Gray’s Anantomy. (This has not changed in 3 years!) I also like Once Upon A Time and Private Practice. (Benjamin Bratt is my eye candy!)
21. What was the best book you read this year? I really like The Next Best Thing. I'm not sure why, but I wanted it to go on and not end.
22. What was your greatest musical discovery? I learned to really love Pitbull.
23. What did you want and get for Christmas? I got the prettiest necklace from my girls! I love it!
24. What was your favorite film of this year? Argo. I loved it and thought Ben Affleck was very good in it. (I don't see many movies actually.)
25. What did you do on your birthday? I was sick with a terrible cold, my cousin Joe was in the hospital having emergency surgery for a brain tumor and so it wasn't quiet what I had hoped for. My wish came true and my cousin came through the surgery and is doing well. His tumor is cancerous and he will have to go through chemo, but he is doing very well! Praise God!
26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Nothing really! I have a great life and it is so full of Blessings! My honey would like it if we won the lotto, but I remind him we are so very rich already!
27. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012? I have no fashion concepts! I wear what it easy and comfortable because I teach Kindergarten. I like to dress up 3 times a week and always wear jeans on Friday with my Kindergarten shirt!
28. What kept you sane? My Faith!
29. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Ellen De Generes. She is still my favorite celebrity and I wish I had time to watch her show. I fancy Benjamin Bratt! (Swoon!)
30. What political issue stirred you the most? Proposition 30 and 32! We won, we won! My honey and I went to sleep not knowing the outcome and when we woke up we were worried to check. I saw the results and wanted to cry! I think I did!
31. Who did you miss? My cousin Chris.  I saw him once in July, but I haven't seen or heard from him since then even though other family members have. 
32. Who was the best new person (people) you met? I love having lunch daily with my friends Jen and Martha. This is the first year we have had lunch together and so we are really getting to know one another. They are awesome ladies!
33. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012: Count your Blessings daily! Always try to see the bright side of things and remember there is nothing that you and God can't handle together!
34. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: Shine bright, tonight, you and I, we're beautiful like diamond in the sky! (That's Squiggler's song!) My personal pick is Oh How He Loves Us. (Weegie sings this everynight during her prayers.)

Top 10 of 2012!

These are in no particular order, but last night the family and I got together and picked our 10 most memorable moments of 2012! We even had a couple of honorable mentions and for the most part we agreed on these 10! I love that we get along so well and hope this continues for always!

 1. Weegie making her Confirmation in May! This was a glorious day for her and really the whole program was a life changing experience for her!

 2. This is a two parter because both girls wanted to be included.  Weegie said seeing two concerts (LMFAO and Pitbull) were in her top 10 and Vanessa said so where seeing 5 musicals this year. This picture was taken at the LMFAO concert in June! It was a great concert and so glad we saw them before they broke up!

 3. Squiggler's first dance recital and dancing her own dance, even though she did not have a solo! Weegie performing too and deciding she loves dance and is taking 2 classes this year! Thank you Royalty Dance Academy for a great year!

 4. Canada! Speedy and I going to Canada so she could compete with the Pacoima Singers and win Gold! It was a great experience for her and I!

5. Speedy becoming an Officer for the Pacoima Singers! This is a great honor and she really deserves it! Not only is she a fabulous singer, but she is a straight A student and works really hard!

 6. Going to Mickey's Halloween Party on Opening Night! We got great tickets for a great price! We had so much fun and it was such a great experience! I would definitely go again!

 2. This is part of number 2 and Speedy seeing 5 Musicals this year. She saw Wicked, Mama Mia, Billy Elliot, Memphis and The Book of Mormon. My favorite was Billy Elliot and her favorite was Memphis.

 7. Squiggler becoming the best in her class and winning a trophy for completing her first full year of dance!

 8. Squiggler going to school! She loves it and has the best teacher and is learning so much! She is such a smart little girl!

 9. Squiggler learned to swim! Our little mermaid loves the water, but hates to take a bath!

10. Being together 18 years and still we like each other! :) He is so cute and we are so opposite, but it works! I always tell him that some day he is going to wake up and say, "What the hell did I do?" I hope not! LOL! I love him so much and I am so Blessed for the life that we have been given by our Lord! Happy 2013  to everyone! May the year be everything you want and more then you hope for!

A Gift from God

This beautiful girl had her Confirmation retreat this weekend! It was everything she could have hoped for! (This has made her mommy and daddy very happy and proud!) A Confirmation retreat is a big deal and can be life changing for some kids. They left on Friday and returned today. We met them at the church and it was WOW! Before the kids arrived they had an opportunity to write us a letter this weekend and she wrote one to me and to her daddy! I started crying before I even read it! The words she wrote I will cherish forever! My husband cried too! (Which made me cry even more!) He had no idea how intense her weekend would be. She is an awesome girl as it is. She is not only beautiful on the outside, she is beautiful on the inside too. She loves to go to church, and serves already in many ways. She can't wait to be a group leader next year and help others experience the same thing. I had to decorate a box for her and she said they went into a room to get their box and she knew it was hers before they had even told her. I filled it with lots of goodies that had meaning to her and with letters from those that love her. She said she had like the most things in her box! LOL! My cousin gave me great ideas and I just followed her footsteps. (She has had 3 kids go through the program.)

A lot of kids spoke and gave their testimonials. A lot of boys got up there and talked. There wasn't a dry eye in the house! Then we had mass. It was so great to see these kids sing and praise God! The Teen Mass rocks the House literally!! After mass they were all hugging each other and singing and dancing. Then it was so WOW because they started to do cheers for Jesus! How aswesome to have 50 teenagers cheering for Jesus and trying to see who could be louder! I love how God works in our lives and I know he will continue to Bless these young people and help them to follow the path He has laid out for them! I am so proud of my baby and I'm so glad that she got to have this amazing experience!