When life gives you lemons....

Suck a toe!!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself this little saying conveys everything I want to say.

Sometimes life does give you lemons. 

I  personally call them trials, and tribulations and oh boy they seem to come when everything is smooth sailing, when you are at your peak of bliss, when the sun is shinning brighter than ever, suddenly out of no-where

BAM

You are hit with a situation....

 So, today I ask God to give us strength to make lemonade and to carry us through the little storms in our lives.

Fibi & Clo

I am so excited to share that I got a part of part time job with 

fibi & clo

And it happened by accident ..

I saw a pop up add on

Facebook 

I went to the page and I really loved their sandals, and wanted them all!!!

The love knot $30.00

So, I read about their company and I sent them an email..

A few days later I get a call from a representative.

and we started to talk ..

I told her I would join the team only under these conditions.

NO PRESSURE TO SELL

and 

NO QUOTAS TO MEET

I just can't handle pushy sales people

And she agreed...

So, for a small investment...$185.00 I joined ... I got my kit of sandals a few weeks later and she set me up with a website

https://fibiandclo.com/marissasanchez

I am hosting my first party at my home mostly family.

here are some of the sandals...

I love them all! I already purchased two...

Coco Black $54.00

Positano $30.00

These are my next purchase... I think they would really look nice with my stretchy capri's

LOVE the ballet flats

and most of them are $30.00

Gold Cascade $49.50

Riviera Orchid just $15.00

Now you know why I want them all?

I am doing this PART- OF PART TIME...

GET ME?

 I don't want this to turn into a full time job. My baby still needs me. I just want to have fun,  enjoying meeting new people, all while making extra cash..

If you are interested in joining my team..send me an email or sign up at the website

My first little lie

Just thought I'd share a funny story...

Sweet little Tealyn who is not even 18 months yet...

and doesn't speak to well ...

Is already.... in her own little way 

TELLING LIES

To keep her quiet and content in church, I usually will take some fruit snacks

It usually does the trick. This time she  wanted more than one in her mouth..

She kept mumbling "more" and signing more with her hands. I quietly told her 

"finish the one in your mouth"

Sneaky little Tealyn takes the fruit snack out of her mouth and hides it behind her

back and opens her mouth

WIDE OPEN

To show me she had already finished. I couldn't help, but laugh right there

IN MASS

In the middle of  Fr. Mario's homily.

Wedding favors

Guess what I've been busy making?

My sister Bey is getting married Saturday the 21st 

THIS SATURDAY

We started off with three of us making these

My sister 

a good friend

and I

Over a glass of wine and a long over due conversation

Everyone left....

And the next morning, I had 100 empty boxes and chocolates staring at me

CHOCOLATES!!!

Do you know how dangerous that is?

That afternoon another good friend came for a visit and helped me finish most of them. We chatted, and ever so often we would pop these chocolate babies into our mouths. I am so glad they're done.  Although now, I may need a JC Penny girdle...

We are so excited and looking forward to her wedding

16 Months

Sweet Tealyn, 

You are growing up way too fast that I wish I could just make it stop. You are learning things at such a fast pace that you surprise, amaze and make us very proud of you.  How I wish I could bottle you up and save your precious smell, drools and your sweet sticky kisses forever. I am wishing so many beautiful things for you and your future and I am praying you will always be healthy and happy just like you are now.

* Your favorites*

The Elmo flip book 

ABC flip book

Wood flip flop alphabet block letters

Cookie monster count and crunch

Ipad apps

my phone

daddy's phone

wooden school bus

* Your dislikes*

Dinosaur pop up book (scared of dinosaur) 

Staying in car seat

Staying still while changing pamper

Putting your arms though sleeves

Staying in the shopping cart.

*You can identify and know the sounds of the letters A, B, C, E, O, P, M, R

*You know the shapes of circle, square, rectangle, and oval

*You have a good grip on the crayons and you are learning to color

*You can bring the spoon to your mouth.

*You can unlock and get to youtube both on the Ipad and on my phone to get to Mother goose club.

*You can get off the bed and couch very easily.

*You can say*

mom

dad

up

more

book

down

dog

no

babe

nack for snack

ookie for cookie

wa for water

You even know some

*Sign language*

more

cookie

good

all gone

And we are so proud to be your parents!

Lady days

Miss Pixie Lou 

is

on her

"lady days"

 As if I needed one more thing on my plate, I get a side of a dog in heat topped off with her spotting all over the house...I am walking around with a mop and bucket all while keeping Tealyn from slipping and sliding and making sure she doesn't go into any of the carpeted rooms 

UGH...

She is attracting so many dogs it's unbelievable. So far I have chased away a Pomeranian, Chihuahua, and a large grown Chow from my backyard. We repaired part of the neighbors fence and I even called the pound on one dog that scratched on my front door for three days without leaving.

I have already called the vet/clinic with a long list of questions regarding her getting

FIXED

I can't wait.

What NOT to ask an adoptive parent

We have always been open to our family, friends and whoever else that is curious to know our adoption story.  It is beautiful and we feel so blessed having Tealyn in our lives so, why not?....But, unfortunately the questions that come with that are sometimes truly hurtful and have left me with a knot in my throat, speechless, and at times in tears...Here are some of those questions.
Brace yourselves!

:Who is the"real mother"? is her "real mother"?
Implying that I am not the "real mother"

I always answer this one sort of sarcastically "I am" and they almost always answer "you know what I mean"? (" No I don't" is what I wish I could say) After that I completely shut down. I don't even hear the conversation anymore, It's all background noise. I am so emotionally hurt.

* By the way I never give out personal and sensitive information about birth mother ever *

:Does her "mother" know her?

I find myself saying " You mean her birth mother" again, and again and again and again and again.... I have repeated this so many times to so many people. I feel a knot at the pit of my stomach, and I tend to just shy away or change the subject..

:Aren't you afraid that she might take her away from you?

I never answer this one. Why do you think it's okay for you to ask this? The look on my face says it all. My eyes show my discontent and I start to feel that knot again. .. How do you answer an absurd question like this?  I go into shutdown mode, and again it's all background noise. Adoption is a real legal change involving the courts, I am not babysitting.

:How much did she cost?

Yes, I have been asked this... I say " lots and lots of prayer and love" in a nice and polite, but with a little bit of a sarcastic undertone (just a little) usually leaves them speechless.

:Are you afraid she will want to meet her "real mom" one day?

(I sometimes get this one after I have already reminded them that she is the birth mom.) I mean really... How do you answer this personal and sensitive question? and why is it okay to ask this type question at a supermarket when I haven't seen you since high school over 25 years ago? (Yes, this really did happen)

Don't get me wrong not everyone we run into at the supermarket or mall asks us questions in this way. Most people are polite, genuinely happy for us, and just wish us all the best. I understand a lot of people are curious and not familiar with how the adoption process works and I get that. I do. but don't forget how you pose a question to an adoptive parent makes all the difference in the way the conversation continues...

The truth of the matter is that we are in a legal semi-open adoption and we are going with the flow. We don't know what the future holds for BM or the future relationship she may have with our Tealyn. We continue praying for her and ask God to guide us. The one thing I do know that's for sure is that God knows our hearts and knows what's best.

There, I've said my peace.

February joy

I just love, love February maybe because it's a short month and everywhere I go I see lots of candy, sweets and everyone just seems more nicer.... I wonder why?...

I made this simple dollar store doily heart garland a couple weeks ago. I thought it would be fun  for Tealyn to start seeing touches of Valentine decorations around our home. Maybe she's too young to understand I don't know, but I feel it sort of brings excitement into her little dazzling eyes.

And besides I love to do SIMPLE crafts

VERY SIMPLE.

Everytime she points to it I say "heart" and she repeats in her own mumbling baby way.

found this pretty little chevron heart wreath for a whopping price of 9.99 at

Big Lots 

I love Big Lots

Because when there is 

LOVE

in my home there is 

JOY

in my

HEART

I rearranged our living room twice since taking off the Christmas decorations and I have to say I love it this way.. It just feels fresh and clutter free. I feel like it's a little more spacious. I LOVE little changes like this makes me feel sane in these sleep deprived days.

Im hoping I get more blooms from this Christmas cactus my sweet neighbor gave me.  Someone told me I need to hide her in a dark cold closet for the the spring and summer then bring her out again in the fall.

Is that true?

Hope

Hope is a parakeet with a color deficiency that has been adoringly nicknamed "Hope" by a local birder on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/RGVbirding/. We have been wanting and hoping to spot her for at least a year now.

The other day, my husband was on his way to work when he spotted Hope on top of a dead palm tree two cities from where she was last reported being seen . He got so excited and started taking these blurry pictures with his cell that he almost forgot about going into work. 

NO JOKE!

That weekend we got up early and drove to the same spot to take better pictures and to our surprise she was still there

sneaking in and out of this hole.

Sneaky little Hope many people were looking for you!

Cold days in the valley.

I am very grateful for South Texas winters where most of time they are mild.

You can honestly get away with wearing shorts and flip-flops all year, but there are some years that it really does get

COLD

And anything lower than 70* is considered 

FREEZING

If you come to my town, and there happens to be a cold front you will

SEE

long lines at Krispy Kreme donuts, longer lines at Delia's tamales, everyone and I mean everyone sporting their boots, scarfs mittens and even

SNOW BOOTS

YES,

SNOW BOOTS

And It doesn't ever snow here

 Well, once in 2004 and that was literally a 

MIRACLE

 A post for the future...

Today it is 43*

I am looking out the window it is gorgeous the sun has finally peaked though it's been really cloudy, cold and wet. Tealyn is napping, I've got the washer and dryer going, and I'm on my second cup of coffee. We have been cooped up in this house for what feels like forever...  I promise I'm not complaining, I know some of you have it way colder than us, and I can't even imagine that, but when you have a baby who wants to explore walking everywhere and is drooling, fussy and irritable from teething and it's drizzling for the 4th day straight well, you can go a little crazy trying to come up with different baby indoor playing activities without having to resort to TV and the Ipad. 

Now it is 1.00 pm 

and 

here we 

go.

 A very slow pace stroller ride around our neighborhood and then afterwards we lay on the hammock, sing songs and feel the nice warmth of the sun on our faces.

Then later...

Caldo 

or 

vegetable soup

 This is what we Texans eat when temperatures drop a few degrees

even if it's only in the 50's now.

What is your cold day like?

Welcome New Year

I know it's been a while since my last post but, I promise I have a good excuse :

I spent a lot of time with my family over the holidays taking it easy, and enjoying the time off my husband had.  I received so many emails asking me if everything was alright in my world and it was..Thank you for your concern and friendship I just needed to take the time off from this computer to reflect on the important things especially during advent.

MEANWHILE

Tealyn learned how to stand..

and eventually walk

Yes, WALK

 Her world just got a WHOLE lot brighter.

It happened literally on her own like most of her milestones. One day she just stood up in bed then a couple of weeks later she started taking a few steps.. Now, shes everywhere, into everything, and I love it.

I am so excited for her and looking forward to what 2015 has in store for our little family.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you all the best in this New Year.

Tealyn turning 1 & Night time battles.

I honestly cant believe it's been a whole month since my last  post. 

WOW!

I have been really busy and well, life just got in the way of this little hobby of mine.

Meanwhile Tealyn turned 

ONE!!

And I just have to say first off that this past year just flew~~

I still remember that sweet moment at the hospital when I first laid my eyes on her.

A moment I will hold in my heart forever.

And, now here we are a year later.

Seems as though, It was just yesterday that I received the greatest, most wonderful 

gift from God.

My sweet Tea

-Fast Forward-

Getting though the night without waking up 3 sometimes 4 times is 

TOUGH!

I know this is only temporary, and one day I'll look back and laugh, but for now I'm  tired and running on pure love.

Our routine:

she gets fed dinner at around 5.30 ish, she plays till she gets whiny, she then has a warm bath around 7ish with the calming lavender baby shampoo ( that by the way has not worked), she plays for another 30 minutes or so in the tub, take her out,

I make her a bottle 5, 6, heck sometimes 8 ounces with sometimes even rice.

by this time it's already 8ish.

She goes to bed fine till about  1 sometimes she makes it till 2 she wakes and wants a bottle, her pamper is wet , so I change it and I make her a 4 ounce bottle and bring her to my bed (because I am too exhausted to walk across the house every 2 hours)  Only to wake up again at about 2.30 or 3.30. She starts squirming and making whiny noises, I ignore it for as long as I can, usually 10 minutes, I give her a pacifier and that works 2 seconds 

I wake up and go get her another 2 ounces I have to warm it up and by this time the dog is tired of me turning on kitchen light and stops following me.

I give it to her, and like magic she goes down till 5.30, and if I am lucky 6

Now, If someone out there has a magical solution please let me know I am open to any ideas. 

Now, I know I really should get her off the bottle and from what I know a year is the cut of time, but my pediatrician recommended the transition formula for a little longer, and I don't think she'd like that from a sippie cup in the middle of the night.

Someone told me It takes 3 days to break a cycle and just to prepare myself for an all nighter and lots of crying.  I am just so exhausted I don't think I could get through it.

HELP

Sleepless in the Valley.

At home with Tealyn

This little chunky monkey is now into everything and I mean everything. She crawls, she explores, she babbles, she claps to her favorite song, she opens up drawers pulls out everything, she swings doors back and forth, she turns pages to her favorite books, she recognizes certain songs, she chases the dog with her walker, she can climb out of her high chair (scary), she knows the word "no", she can stand by herself for about 5 seconds, bath time is still her favorite, she loves busy beavers on YouTube and this past week she started pronouncing the " M " sound she says mom or mum not sure she knows what that means, but that's okay, I am loving hearing her her say it.

Her new thing is walking around this coffee table. Her goal is to try and grab a pumpkin..

She is full of wonder and curiosity and is non-stop from the minute she wakes.

The poor dog runs away and hides somewhere when Tealyn is on the floor.

If only I could stop time.