Happy 12th Birthday!

Today Speedy Cheetah turned 12 years old at 7:07 PM. Where does the time fly? It seems like just yesterday that I remember being in labor with her! We went to church and then out to eat breakfast and I remember feeling funny. (Almost like I was going to have my monthly company) I remembered the feeling from when I delivered my first daughter. At church I told people that I thought I was in labor. She was actually due on the 1st, but didn't want to come out of her cozy spot. This is true today too, she hates to be waked up every morning. Of my 3 girls she was the quickest and easiest labor and delivery. We got to the hospital at 6:30 and she was born 37 minutes later!! Good thing we left to the hospital when we did!

My hubby and I had decided we wanted to give Speedy an extra special gift this year! She has been such an awesome girl, does well in school, has to put up with her sister's quince and helps us tremendously with her little sister. (She has a way with little kids!) We normally don't spend a lot of money on their birthday presents, but felt she called for an exception this year. She really wanted to be surprised with her gift, but I didn't want to buy the wrong thing! She kept telling us that she was getting a chinchilla. (Ha!) I decided to take her down to the Grove just her and I because I wanted her to utimately pick her gift.I picked the grove because I knew they had an Apple store and they had a B & N store. I didn't know whether to get her a Nook or IPod Touch and wanted her to decide after looking at them both. We went down there and walked around for a while. I forgot to take the blindfold, but had her close her eyes while I led her in to B&N and took her to the Nook station. When she opened her eyes she was very excited and I told her my plan. We asked questions and played with the Nook, then we went to the Apple store and did the same thing with the IPod. She decided on the Nook and I kind of knew she would, but wanted to be 100% sure! She loves it and has already bought some stuff to read on it and play with.I also bought her a treat to eat and drink. We walked around some more and then headed home. We ended up taking our girls to Menchies later that night and today on her real birthday she opted to go to Millie's for dinner. She is having a slumber party with her friends this weekend and we will sing to her then and eat cake and ice cream. Here she is already reading away on her Nook. This year has been a big year for her because she has started middle school and has gained so much confidence!! We are so proud of her and love her so much!! She is our baby girl and always will be! She has a heart of gold and is the sweetest girl. She has a funny/wierd sense of humor, loves Glee and considers herself a tomboy! We wouldn't change a thing about this little girl! We love you so much Speedy!!!

40 Years of Wedded Bliss!

Yesterday my family celebrated the 40 year anniversary of my favorite aunt and uncle! It was a great party and my whole family came together to honor them for all they have done for us. My aunt and uncle met when they were 12 years old and my aunt says that she was afraid of my uncle because he was a little crazy! LOL! My uncle is my mom's youngest brother and they are the ones that have always welcomed me into their home. They stated yesterday that they have had their ups and downs and they are not perfect, but they also stated that they are each other's best friends and make each other laugh. I think that is so important. I can honestly say that my honey is my best friend too.

Here is a pix of my honey and I. We had a great time at the party and it was wonderful to see so many people from my childhood. My cousins and I danced until the last song was played! My aunt and uncle are avid dancers and NEVER get off the dance floor. It is a family thing! My grandparents would dance the night away at any party and we carry it on!My oldest daughter wasn't able to go with us even though my aunt and uncle are her godparents. This weekend was her confirmation retreat and I could have gotten her excused, but knew it was important for her to go to and bond with her group. I think she did and connected more with her faith. I love that she loves going to church and pray that she knows who fills her cup.

My Speedy Cheetah was such a big help at the party and was an assistant photographer. She took her camera and kept taking my camera too and taking all kinds of photos. Tomorrow my post is dedicated to my Speedy because it's her birthday! We had a great day together!

Little Miss Squiggler had a great time at the party too! She danced and ran around with her cousins. She saw her "boyfriend" and gave dirty looks to his date all night. It was hilarious! My honey took her home at 10 and she didn't go to sleep until almost midnight! She is such a party animal! Many Blessing to my tio and tia and may they be blessed with many more years of happiness!

Busy! Busy! Busy!

Well we have been so busy here in our casita! This is my first post in a long time! I love the above picture of Squiggler because this what she jumps into on our trips to the market. I have been so busy that I can't even tell y0u the last time that I went to the market. My honey and I had a ritual of going together every Sunday, but now my Sundays are filled with lots of teens at my house.

In the past month we took the family to see a baseball game at my honey's alma mater. They aren't doing so well, but it's a great place to take everyone. Especially the Squiggler! She liked running around like a crazy baby. Just recently she has turned into a wild child! I even bought her a shirt that says that. She is just amazing and so smart, but that has also caused those T E R R I B L E twos to come into our house. I can not believe some of the things she says and does. It's actually kind of funny, but of course we can't let her know that. She definately has her own mind and her own body!

My oldest is having a big milestone in her life and we are very excited! So every Sunday we have about 20 teens at our house practicing a waltz. Too cute! There is of course drama that is going along with this and kids that don't show up. I really hope everything goes well and they do a great job!

Movie Time!

Today we took Squiggler to the movies for the 2nd time in her life! We went to go see Tangled at the $3 theater and she loved it! She really paid attention to most of the movie, but did get a little tired at the end and wanted to snuggle on my lap. She enjoyed her popcorn and was quiet during the movie. I'm so glad we were able to take her and spend the day with her "Grandma". (A dear friend of ours that doens't have any grandchildren of her own.)
At the end of the movie "Grandma" surprised her with the lithographs to the movie and said she reserved her a copy when it comes out in March. At the end of the movie Squiggler said, "Again?" I told her she would have to wait until next month, but then she can see it again and again and again. So glad we got to share this day with "Grandma". She really loves Squiggler and Squiggler gets all excited when she sees her.
PS: This is my first actual post since the start of the New Year. I have had so much to blog, but just not time to do it! So I might post some older stuff just to feel in the gaps.

Playing in the Rain!

This little girl just brings such a smile to my face. Today, Weegie, Squiggler and I went to the nail place. Weegie and I had pedicures and I made them for back to back times so that we could take turns watching the Squiggler. Well they took both of us at the same time and Squiggler took turns sitting on our laps and going back and forth between us. (We were sitted right next to each other.) It was raining and so when we left Squiggler insisted on holding the umbrella. She looked so cute! Thank goodness I had my camera and got this shot of her. I love it! She also picked out her clothes for the day. She is really into "Princess" dresses or her cowgirl boots.

Top 10 of 2010!

I saw this idea on a Christmas card and thought it would be cool to put on my blog. I asked my honey to compile the list with me and these were the top 10 things we came up with for our family in 2010. There is really a lot of things we could have listed, but we picked only 10. I hope this becomes a tradition with us! These are in no particular order.

1. The Grand Canyon! This was one of the top things we did this year! We are a little saddend that this might be the last of our family trips for a while. Weegie is in high school now and has mentioned that she would like to take summer school next year because she wants to. We were able to spend almost a week in Sedona, Arizona. We took one day to travel to the Grand Canyon and it was absolutely gorgeous!!!! Pictures do not do it justice and I am so glad that my eyes got to see the beauty that God has created in this wonderful country we live in!

2. Speedy Cheetah going to Middle school is among our top ten this year. We picked the most perfect school for our daughter and she is loving it! She has great friends, great teachers, and has found a love for the performing arts. She has a great singing voice and she is just thriving at this school. This is my alma mater too, but I wasn't in the same program that she is in. Her self-confidence has sky rocketed through the roof and for that I am eternally grateful.

3. Speedy Cheetah has gotten braces this summer. I think at first she was a little unsure about them, but already in a short amount of time her smile has become more beautiful! She is doing a great job with them and we are so proud of her! It will be interesting to see if they come off faster then they anticipated.

4. Weegie got her braces off! She has a gorgeous smile to match her gorgeous face! She loves not having her braces and wears her retainer just like she is suppose to. She does not wear it to school because I do not want her to lose it.

5. Weegie is in high school! We can't believe that our little baby in now a freshman in high school. We are so blessed and thankful that she got into the best Charter High School around! She is loving it too and has many friends theres. She has some good teachers and some that leave a lot to be desired! I think this is par for the course in Education in general. Not all teachers are equal and some should not be teaching at all, but I tell her it is a good lesson in life because you don't always like who you work with and you have to learn to accept all kinds.

6. We debated to put this as one of our top ten, but it is a signifigant milestone in our life. We got a new car! It's a 2008 Dodge Durango and we bought it from CarMax. We got a great deal on it and hope it does as well as our old car. We had are other car for 10 1/2 years and it did a great job for our family. As a family we really like our new car. It's not fancy, but perfect for us!

7. Weegie graduated from Middle School. Here she is with her favorite teacher in the whole world, Maestro. He was her music teacher for all three years and he taught her soooo much! Weegie graduated with Honors and received numerous awards, trophies and certificates. We are so thankful that both graduations of our girls were on separate days so we could enjoy both of them!

8. Speedy Cheetah graduated from Elementary school. The above picture is of her and her principal. She really enjoyed the school that she attended for the last 3 years. She does an outstanding job in school and excelled in all areas. She will miss the great friends that she use to see on a daily basis, but hopefully they will still keep in touch!

9. Speedy Cheetah became a Cadette Girl Scout! She has been involved with the organization for the past 4 1/2 years and has a great troop with awesome troop leaders! She has also been the top cookie seller for the past 3 years! Her troop is much smaller now, but she still has some of her best buddies in it!10. Squiggler learned to walk! I could have posted all the big milestones that she has done this year, but the list would have been too long. This we were all so proud of! She learned to walk on her own on February 14th! She had been cruising by holding onto to furniture, but on this day she let go and took off! There is no stopping her now! She not only walks, but runs and jumps and skips too! She also talks a mile a minute and is so much fun!

Well there you have it! Our top 10 for 2010! Happy New Year all and may 2011 be the all that you hope for and more!

Happy Birthday to Me Part 2!

This birthday proved to be a really GREAT one! My actual birthday was on Tuesday, but on Monday my honey made me a special dinner since I wasn't going to be home on my actual birthday. Then on my birthday I got to go to the Happiest and most Crowdest Place on Earth!! I had so much fun with my mom and two of my girls. I also kind of got in for free, but that is another story for another time.

On Wednesday, my besties took me out to breakfast to a French restaurant called Chez Nous. It was sooo yummy and we had such a good time. I have known the bottom picture besties for about 14 1/2 years. The day I started at my new school they came up and introduced themselves to me and we all taught Kinder. We were the 3 Muskateers. Sadly, they have both left me, but we are all still friends. The bestie on top was my old boss and we became such good friends and join the other two once a month for dinner. We have been doing this for the last 4 years now and we have a date every month! These are old pictures because I forgot to take out my camera and have the waiter take our picture. We had the best waiter and the yummiest croissants!!

The picture on the bottom is also from a couple of years ago. (Pre-Squiggler) It is of me and my oldest and dearest bff! We have known each other since we were 8 and have been through so much together!!!! She is like the sister that I never had. She was the maid of honor at my wedding and I am the godmother to her only son. She and I went out to breakfast this morning to celebrate my birthday. Unfortunately, she was sad because the guy she had been seeing broke up with her on my birthday!! How dare him! He is a good guy, but they both want different things. I know it's very hard for her right now, but I hope that her heart heals fast and she finds the right guy she is looking for. She is a great person (and so was he) and deserves the type of guy that can give her all that she desires.

Also on Wednesday my mommy made me my favorite meal, meatloaf. I don't like just any meatloaf, but I love my mommy's! I have never ever ever celebrated my birthday 3 days in a row. It was very nice! Usually people just forget!! This year I received lots of texts, phone calls and time with good people! Thank you God for all my blessings!!!!!