V and Co: sneak peek into my week.

hi guys just a quick note to say hey and i did it. it went well and i only had a few here and theres that could have gone a little smoother but for the most part. I FREAKING DID IT. thank you for your vote of confidence. i'm starting to get a little better at it. :) pretty sure the lead ups to things are still going to be nerve wracking for me, but i think i'm starting to get the hang of this sewing somewhere other than my kitchen table. ;) so here is a sneak peek. more info on it later, but just wanted to say it went great and i did it and now i'm on my way home back to mi familia. who i am missing dearly, and i just got a text from the husband saying that our daughter just sassed back dora and told her "no YOU say it DORA." nice. can't wait to see how the house is holding up. :) looks like its doing just fine. ;)
we'll talk soon.

V and Co: leaving on a jet plane

i'm heading off this lovely place. at least that's what i hear... that it's nice.
any ideas on the skyline?
oh i know so secretive its kind of annoying right? i'm really sorry. i don't like to lead you on or leave you hanging so i normally just keep my mouth pretty tight lipped till i know things are an actual go, but so far it seems like it is and i'll be able to tell you more in about a couple of weeks.
so yes, this picture is a little hint as to some of the reason why i've been sewing but haven't been able to show you anything for a little bit. and part of the reason why last week i got all in a ball and started rocking back and forth in the corner calling out  for my mommy... yeah. has to do with this. i'm not kidding when i say i fight the battle of nervousness when i have to leave my house and do what i like to do outside of my comfort zone.(aka husband and kids saying "ooh i like it! is it mine?)
 i really do get THAT nervous, thankfully when i finally get going things seem to start rolling but the whole lead up usually throws me in for a loop. (and yes, btw thanks for the kind words)

so here's to having only about 24ish more hours of complete panic, and then to move forward and onward...to the next thing that will make me want to toss my cookies.
ready for an adventure?
i keep telling myself i am.
my family keeps saying they back me up and are happy to push me out the door to do it.
but i'm not really convincing myself too well that i'm ready...well i guess until i can look at it from behind and say hindsight is 20/20 and it really wasn't that bad.
have a great week, i'll pop in hopefully with some behind the scenes.

eight

this little noisemaker turned 8 today.
heres a few things about you right now:
-you may be small, but you still hold the trophy for the LOUDEST of our noisemakers.
-it still holds true that cereal is still your favorite thing to eat.
-when you are not eating cereal you want to eat burritos or quesadillas.
-you are pretty smart when it comes to math.
-green is your favorite color.
-you want to be just like your older brothers.
-you play with your sister even if she annoys you. :)
-you love to cuddle and will "burrow" into our arms and laps whenever you can.
-you are awesome at doing flips on the trampoline...and sometimes even off the trampoline.
-you have made a couple of great new friends since we moved to iowa.
-you love to be constantly moving: biking, running, jumping, whatever it is you will be doing it unless you are sleeping. or playing Little Big Planet
-you are a super loving kid.
-you can't deliver a "knock knock" joke to save your life. but we love you for trying anyways.
-you live in your own creative little world inside your head most of the time, sometimes you come back to the real world. you have a lot of ideas.
-when asked what do you want to be when you grow up you first answer is  " have fun." your other answer is "be a teacher."
- generally you are pretty happy. well except for when you are about to get the flu. then you are not. :)

we love you and are so proud to be your parents. you are a great kid. happy birthday little dude.

V and Co: why

'

new favorite line at the moment domestic bliss by liz scott and a little pez as well

truth be told there's a lot going on. ha! there you have it. i'm sewing and sewing...and the blog...quiet. eh.
had a couple of wonderful chats with friends about balance between blogging, family and "other"...or rather lack there of. eh.
truth be told my family will always win.
as they should.
if everything ended tomorrow, my husband and children are what matters the most. period.
and speaking about family. i know some have mentioned that i've changed a few things here on the blog about what i write about, mainly about my kids and spouse.

let me explain why i've quit writing about my kids as much.

about a year-ish ago one of my sons came up to me and said "mom, can i ask you something. please."
i took one look at him and saw what he wanted to say was pretty important...i answered  "what is it? of course."
"can i ask you not to write about me on your site anymore."
i got that feeling, you know that one in that starts in your throat and goes down the deepest part of your stomach that accompanies where you've done something wrong or someone thinks you've done something wrong to them.

 i hate that feeling.

 i'm very much white personality  YUP, married to a therapist can you tell! disclaimer i am just highlighting the descriptions of the personality colors on that site. we're not affiliated with that site nor do i know anything about that site and i don't recommend buying or filling out any personal info. you can find more info about the color code  from this book.   
 i am most happiest when others are happy, i hate tension, but i especially hate making someone feel bad. don't worry i defend myself and my family if ever put in a corner, (that's the Colombian fiery side in me that comes out when it needs to ) but right at that moment i saw my child sad, about something i had said on the blog.

i guess even though it was hysterical what had happened and when i wrote it he was laughing too, and he was laughing when it happened, somewhere down the line, it wasn't funny anymore and he was hurt.

so from that moment on, i made it a personal mission never to have one of my children come up to me hurt about something i've written about them on the blog. since that moment i have to get an actual "okay" from each of my kids to write what i write if it includes their name or picture.

that also includes my husband. (and he's kind of upset he doesn't get more blog time, because he "is so hilarious and would like all of you to know of his hilarity". oh dear heavens). and he does do a lot of funny things, but it takes time to write it all out and blah de be blah...and when he gives me so much material it all gets jumbled if i don't write it down right there and then. i'll try to be better about that. he really is funny.
so last time i wrote about the kids and the husband that i got an okay on was here and  here.
and no not all of my kids are as shy about being written on the blog. one of them actually constantly says "hey you should write about this on the blog!" and no its not one of the young ones...and no i wont put you through the pain of what an adolescent boy thinks is hilarious on a daily basis. o_0

truth be told, most of my time is spent with the littlest one. that one there, with her back to me in the picture. she and i have the most time together, even though she goes to school every day, she's still home more than the three boys, they go to school and the minute they walk in from school it goes a little like "HI MOM!!! NO HOMEWORK! I'M PLAYING WITH_____"
i get about a nano second to say "did you have a good day, are you SURE you don't have homework?!"
bam gone. okay check backpacks...

so with all that said here's a little personal update.
son #1 is doing well. if you've been around you've read of his and my struggles.  he's been doing great and we've seen SO MUCH GROWTH in the last 6 months it brings tears to my eyes just to write it. he's doing well, trying new things, (heaven help me that trumpet is going to get annoying if he sticks with it.) he's made friends that come to our house to ask for him :D <---that's a huge grin. and he's growing up some. oh we still struggle, but with all our more stability in life in general i think he's feeling that peace too.

son#2 well that kid is nicknamed "big brain" he's in some talented class that's too smart for me. i can't seem to get enough books downloaded for him to keep up with his reading. and yeah. he's doing just fine. friends and all the other stuff 10 year old boys do.

son#3 is well...my happy little child that probably sees everyone as muppets and the colors of the world are fluffy and happy colors. constantly need to pull that kid down from the clouds, and the only time things are "wrong" in his world are when he's hungry or about to get the flu. must be a happy place to live sometimes i wish i lived in that place.

the girl she's uh...blossoming into a big girl. her dog is still her best friend, and she's made some human friends here as well and missing her other human friends from our last place. and well she's taken on the role of taking care of the boys as i should or would if i saw what they were up to. she's pretty funny sassy too, but if she doesn't want you to think it's funny, she gets pretty feisty. should be an interesting teenage years.

the spouse: is missing his friends/co-workers that are all spread out everywhere now and some left behind making the new program awesome. :) BUT he's also loving doing what he's doing, and the experimental "i don't know if this is really going to work" side private practice has at times, taken a mind of its own where he feels like he has too much side practice going on. which is a good problem to have, but stressful as well no less. sigh of relief he loves what he's doing.

my home is still very bare. painted? yes. do i like the color. hmmm, i don't know. but it's staying up for at least a year.  and i promise to show some of the progress soon.

and me...well hmmm...how am i doing. okay? some weeks i find myself one step away from a panic attack. yup, two days ago i cried my eyes out because i felt i had too much on my plate and i couldnt figure out a time to take a shower/take a minute to breathe...but thankfully that just comes in spurts. for the most part. i'm doing well. at least that's what i keep chanting out loud when i feel like i've bitten too much for me to chew.
i kind of miss just having down time to organize something because well...i've been meaning to do it and i don't have too much to do today...
*so looking back throughout the years, i've noticed something. i always freak out in february, oh and june. those are my freak out months. so there you have it. mystery unlocked...i don't like February i guess :)
yup those are my whys right now. why the blog is so quiet, why i am who i am, why i haven't written more about my family lately and why i get up in the mornings.
so i guess we're doing "normal" and that my friends is awesome sauce to me. aside from the crying fit the other day.
hope you handle your normal well, and that all is well in your house.
have a great weekend.
i'll be over here. doing a lot of whatever "normal" means.

V and Co: how to: make a leather cuff from a belt

so about 2 and half years ago, i bought a leather cuff. i LOVE it. and i wear it to dress up with my jeans, or (when spring and summer rolls around) shorts.
not frilly like most bracelets, wearing these cuffs will make you feel like a rock star.
and you'll be recycling any old leather belts you can get your hands on!

what you'll need:

-some recycled worn belts. i went through my closet, asked my neighbors to go through their closets and then i went to goodwill.
all in all there are some pretty cool belts out there that can potentially become cool cuffs.
look for cool designs or painted belts
-leather snaps brass plates
-maxi punch set

 (these are the ones i used, and they seem to be priced the best. i physically bought my snaps at micheals, and my maxi punch set at hobby lobby. but these from amazon are the same that i got at the stores.)
-piece of wood big enough to protect your surface from any damage (mine is an old piece of scrap wood)
-leather scissors
(i didn't use them, i just used an older pair of scissors i didn't mind dulling with the use of cutting through leather)

 lets get started:

-measure around your wrist with a belt while paying attention to the design of what will show on top of your cuff.
-cut your belt making sure there is some overlap (at least 11/2") in the back of your cuff.
-mark with a pen or just eyeball where you want the outer snap to be placed. i placed mine 1/2" from the outer edge and in the middle of my cuff.
- separate your 4 pieces of the snaps. there are two for the outer snap and two pieces for the inside snap. look at the diagram that comes with your snaps if you get confused.

-next i chose the smallest hole punch for this project. punch a hole using a hammer while your belt is on the piece of scrap wood.

-if you need to re measure where to place the inside snap, re-measure it by placing it around your wrist one more time and place a marking as to where to create the second hole.

-now that both holes have been made, grab your snaps and place the outer snap facing out. and place the second part of the snap on the inside.
-using a hammer and the little tool that comes with the snaps, hammer your snap in place.

-next to do your inside snap, place the flat side on the wrong side of your cuff (the inside of your cuff)
-and the snap part will be facing up towards you on the outer part of the cuff like the picture above.
-using the tool included with your snaps, hammer your snap into place.

you are done.

repeat on as many belts you can get your hands on.
oh and ahem...notice the new jeans?
yeah they make me feel like a million bucks. cost me a pretty penny, but when they make your butt look like it can bounce a quarter off of it (when in reality it SO wouldn't) i'm willing to pay the almost $90 on sale for them.
i found them at buckle. and yes i felt old walking in there but who cares.

now go hogwild and get as many belts you can. there are some really cool ones out there. you just have to find them. ;)
we'll talk soon.