HELLO KITTY CRAYONS DIY

over time we filled up a big blue tub with old broken crayons. some were still in tact and some were just unusable. so last night the kids and i started taking the wrappings off the old broken crayons and put them in a pile. this morning we put the broken crayons into a hello kitty cookie mold and heated them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. once the crayons were melted we took them out and let them rest a couple hours. they popped outta the mold perfectly. our next project will be melting various colors making them rainbow. a fun way to recycle and reuse for kids any age!

NIKO'S MINECRAFT PARTY

i started to plan ahead for niko's 6th birthday celebration collecting ninja turtles party supplies and before i knew it, his love for tmnt's had vanished. so here i go now, starting from scratch searching on pinterest for minecraft party and i realized it all had to be made by hand. there aren't even minecraft balloons for sale! niko started carpooling later during his school year and i had no idea where he had learned about minecraft. he was using his buddy's ipad on the way to school and became addicted just like so many kids lately.
although nikos party went great and everyone had a good time, i feel like i slacked off towards the end. i was a total party mom right before his party and failed on picking up the food labels, making way more food like i had planned and finishing the games i had prepared. we were able to download the minecraft font and made our own invitations and food labels, sadly the birthday banner wasn't printed on time. our local food market got down with the cake, i couldn't believe how amazing it came out. and it came from a little mexican food market. papa printed some characters and glued them to cardboard to make cupcake toppers. i left the cupcakes in the oven the day of the party, luckily my cousin saved the day and brought over leftover cupcakes from her sons party the day before. niko's friends from kindergarten came and celebrated with us and he had so much fun, he was the happiest six year old i have ever seen. what i love most now, is getting to read the handmade birthday cards that came from his friends. their writing and spelling is priceless, i love it when they make a mistake, cross it out and start over right next to it. one little girl even drew niko and her holding hands, i'll have to keep it forever. we played the silliest music during the party, only minecraft parody songs like this one and this one. we even made copies to hand out as a thank you for coming to niko's party along with a handmade goody bag. i couldn't find the best way to make minecraft themed goody bags so i cut squares and pasted them on a green paper bag to make a creeper face. all the hard work parents put into birthday parties truly pays off, and maybe you can't see it the day of but looking back at the memories your child will have reassures me that the little details i go crazy about are okay. what made nikos birthday even more special was the people who drove such a long way to give him a hug and celebrate his big day. its not that easy driving four hours to a birthday party for me so i really appreciate it when other people go out of their way for us.

FIRST LESSONS IN GIVING

it amazes me how attached most of us are to our hair. in this case i became attached to lunas hair. sure, i struggled with her knots daily but when it was brushed it was so beautiful!! we had talked about donating her hair to kids who were sick and i think she sort of got the importance but not to the full extent. luna was so ready for a cut though, she would say silly things like "i want my hair short, like a cow" or "i want to cut my hair like hello kitty" which doesn't make sense. i don't think she'd like a shaved head but thats how she made her point. when i told raoul about cutting her hair he got a little sweaty just thinking about it and a funny feeling in his stomach. so i guess he was also attached to his daughters hair. i did some research and i think we're going with the pantene hair donation program. yes, i've held on to the hair for three months and haven't sent it yet, thats what happens when i put it in my drawer. out of sight out of mind i guess.

FOXY

we've recently been trying to clean up our backyard and i think its really coming along. raoul has trimmed the trees and bushes in the front and back yard, hours and tons of sweat spent on it and i have been planting herbs and trying not to kill them. but another awesome thing about our backyard is the visits we get by this lovely kitty that luna named "foxy". i spotted the cat outside and pointed her out to luna, she went outside and three seconds later she was holding her. its funny how cats can just go with their intuition and know that there won't be any harm coming from us. luna actually thought of swapping her out for bobbi. i think our bobbi might have some competition! but they have met, and i think they're also friends.

BECAUSE HE'S HAPPY

i wish i knew this man, no... i wish he was my uncle!
enjoy.

Post by DJ Mag Canada.

GIRLS KNIGHT OUT

i was recently invited to eat at medieval times with a group of friends that i love but rarely get to hang out with xenia, julie and jachel. i had never been there before but had heard so much about and let me tell you, it was wayyy too much fun! first of all to get dressed up out of my everyday jeans, tshirt and sandals was nice, then to relax and have a sweet sangria drink with a couple of ladies that totally get me, even better. we sat down and then then the show began, it was like being in a movie! we were able to scream and cheer on our knight and our allies and boo at the top of our lungs the enemies. i think i let out a bit of built up anxiety there haha. what an exciting show to watch while the knights were fighting i enjoyed every single minute of this night and cannot wait to go with my little family one day, i know niko will love it as much as i did!

thank you to xenia from raised by culture for putting this night together and medieval times for hosting! i wish we could do this more often! 

last three photos taken from xenias instagram :) 

also check out this deal medieval times is having right now. if you want to go, now is the time! & remember it is free on your birthday!!

I CAN'T FEEL THE SYRUP

when you think of weekends, what's the first thing that pops into your head? i think of sleeping in. and for the past few weekends i have been woken up by chairs being slammed into our wooden floor by my five year old. this boy of mine screams at the top of his lungs, "i want waffles!" and its not even 8am yet. any other morning i wake him up for school, he completely fights opening his eyes and getting out of bed. on this particular morning, i woke up and made him his waffles, asked him to use his manners and say please and thank you. i turned on the tv and let him watch cartoons while he ate his waffles. i started making myself coffee because well, i ain't going back to bed! then suddenly while i thought he was going to thank me for the delicious frozen waffles i popped in the toaster for him, he throws the plate at me and says "i can't feel the syrup!" with only one piece of waffle left. i was so stunned by his rudeness, i was at a loss for words. 

how can my kid turn into such a little punk overnight? some people say its a stage but how can i just sit back and wait till he magically becomes the sweet well mannered boy i want him to be? don't get me wrong, he's a sweet boy, and funny and considerate when he feels like it. at times i just think to myself, how did we get here? and why does he go there with me... motherhood is full of challenges for me, but i am not giving up even when i feel i am beaten down. 

                                       niko being a grump when he was about a year old.