Crafts and KitKat

Last year, we spent Easter weekend at the Aranda farm! We love going to Moomie & Granpop's and doing crafts and pigging out on chips & salsa (Texas' Official State Snack btw) Moomie makes the best salsa, for real. And Dawna as the balloon lady, was just thee best.

cousins + pizza + kitties

this past week, i had the most tiresome pleasure of babysitting my nephews for a whole week. that's right. i am the babysitter. they love to play with my boys, even though they're a bit older, but most of all they love our Xbox360! It was kinda crazy having 4 boys all at once...what wore me out the most was basically trying to keep them entertained.

I had lunches planned out and one of those days was "make your own pizza" lunch. the boys loved it.

I got the recipe from HERE and it is super easy, just my style ;) now, since we live in a tiny duplex, i made just enough room for all four boys around the bar area and some counter space. we managed and we were messy! i thank heavens for Gary being there to help with the littlest one because without him, i would not have been able to take these pictures! 

i gave each boy a piece of the dough {i doubled the recipe and it was far more than enough}, put pizza sauce, cheese & pepperoni {our favorite topping} in a bowl and let the boys go at it! 

after each kid finished, i snapped a picture of them with their very own pizza

the picture below doesn't even need an explanation. but just in case, yeah, it is Jonah. 

these guys were stellar pizza makers! {could it be that it runs in the family? after all, me and the husband did meet at a pizza place where he learned to make pizzas...}

I also made a pizza of my own......what, Momma doesn't get to eat? I don't think so....

 turns out, every pizza was too big for our appetite so I just left them to be 'available' on the bar for the kids

and Bryce, man, he loves to torture my cats! as soon as Prim, the sphinx, hears them coming in, she jets to her numerous hiding places and comes out -- maybe -- once to eat. but Rue, the fat one, she loves the attention no matter who it is from. you can always find this little boy trying to play with kitties.

and when Chance would get chilly, he would wrap Jonah around him just so that he could use his Spiderman blanket...it really is cozy, you should get one. 

man i was glad this babysitting 4 boys gig was only one week long...boys love their cousins, and that's alright with me. happy labor day! 

fighting the lazy

ah, you guys. there has been nothing else but pure guilt for me in this house lately. everywhere i turn, there is something to clean. dust bunnies. broken toys. legos. cat hair. seat cushion on the floor. shoes. everything is a bitter reminder of how much i don't wanna do. i feel like i have this blanket on me, and if you're mexican, those 5 blankets you use during the winter because you don't have central heating, and you can't even turn yourself in bed because it's so heavy. every day. every moment. i feel like i'm failing. like i can't get over this physical laziness. and i refuse to use the word tired because that's just cliche. in our world, you are either super busy or tired. but i am not busy nor tired. i am just....lazy? quick! someone come kick me in the pants.

is it because it's summer and you're supposed to be lazy in the summer? is it psychological like that? is it this beautiful humid heat that's wearing me down? maybe it's because we are lacking a serious schedule. but my body is not responding like i want it to and it's driving me nuts.

at service yesterday, they spoke about how summer is for breaks. how every week you are to take the Sabbath. to rest, be still. i feel like every day is my Sabbath. and it is making me sick. too much Sabbath! too much! my body is at rest, but my mind is not. honestly, i don't know how to mind-rest. 

and if you have ever met my mother, she is not a stop-for-a-break type of person. she is a go-go-go-GO! person. Mom! you're putting way too much pressure on me--quit it! ....i half-kid.

i implemented a no-tv rule in the New Witty household and it worked. for about 4 days. then the urge to take a nap was just way too much and the tv turned into my babysitter for 2 hours. award for best mom does not go to me for obvious reasons.

the husband helps though. he has been wonderful with chores since he is on summer break from teaching. but still, it's those baseboards that are covered in crusty old food, the stupid cats that track litter all over the place, and the dust that's collecting everywhere that drives me most bonkers. i recently convinced the boys to clean the baseboards in their room for icecream. again, no awards here.

am i turning into a lazy a-hole or am i just surviving this role in my pathetic life now? i know, i know...i'm not starting any pity parties. although i love those, they don't do anyone any good.

it's weird how one goes through different moods through the seasons...in summer? oh summer. i really have a love/hate relationship with you. i won't get into it here 'cause it gets ugly, but you know....oh you know. 

my garden won't produce. my plants are all dead and wimpy looking....toads have taken residence in them and that does not cheer my heart up one bit in the mornings. there's two toads in my 6" dyanthus in the photo below. before i grabbed my camera, there were three. i threw those suckers over my fence. can you guess how high can a toad can fly?

this pile of papers just keeps growing on my desk and i have no plans to sort it out any time soon. right now, as long as my babies are fed, my husband is satisfied, everybody is smiling, and we do things together as a family, then my heart will be content. because i have so much to be thankful for.

it's just a different story inside my mind. :) i hope your week has been going better than mine, have a great one! 

simple moments: found in the morning

Ahhhh the simple moments. Moments in the morning. 
When I come down the stairs after waking up, I literally stop to smell the {roses} flowers. 
Never mind the mess the kitty cats make, never mind that there are dishes in the sink. Never mind that I feel crumbs on the bottoms of my feet from last nights failure to sweep. What I love most is opening my door to 'check' on my garden and plants outside. I love seeing these new geranium blooms. I feel like most flowers I love have a Mexican tie to them. One memory of geraniums that I can remember, was back in my home country Mexico. Our car garage in the house was lined with huge geraniums. I hazily remember my mother showing me that their petals were edible, bending down and picking off a few, then sticking them in her mouth. Now, I can't help but pick a couple and stick them in my mouth. They're tangy and fiber-y. It was something quirky, that I now treasure. I'm sure most people don't eat geranium petals. But I loved them. I think I bought my first geranium last spring, and then I abandoned it during out move across Texas. And now, I have it back. Oh how it makes my heart happy!

this morning was extra special for me. I made a licuado de mango, a mango smoothie

and added strawberries to it. I wanted a pretty swirl of both of them mixing together, but it didn't work. 

So I settled on a blend of the two beautiful colors.

I loved it, even without adding extra sugar. My kitty cat, Prim, did too. 

 And {squishy bear} Jonah woke up and came stomping down the stairs and took over.

So I made him his own little smoothie. 

And then we took an impromptu photo of us (for this post). With Rue, our other kitty cat, photo-bombing us. This is how we look after we wake up. Messy hair, raw, and wack-job of {sans} clothes.

And guess what I found in my back patio again? Mushrooms! 

Andrew's little grass he got from church keeps getting invaded by mushrooms! 

This time 5 umbrella-like mushrooms and of course, I had to photograph them. 

They grow and go away so fast.

 Simple moments. 

I am an observer of things. I love to watch.

So I've been noticing how these tiny little plants have been making my heart so happy lately. I could stare at them and my garden all day, making sure they grow. Measuring them. Criticizing them. Taking care of them.

It's kinda silly, really. Since the other people in my home (three boys, 2 little, 1 big) could care less about the details in growing plants except 'wow! that has grown!'

But I'm not complaining. 

I think it's a phase of mine. I hope it sticks. I hope to get more space and greens in the near future. 

I'm participating in Brooke's blog series, Simple Moments.

simple moments is about finding the small things that make up our everyday, things we want to remember and be thankful for. it's the little bits of our lives that might not be remembered when we are gray and old. so we document it, on paper, with a photo, in a journal, through a blog.  

Happy Thursday errrbody!

wonderings

Lately, I've been wanting to write my heart out. I usually find the first notebook I can get my hands on and write. I know that if I saw my ramblings on a page, they would look and feel just like the the ramblings I wrote months ago. I hate this cycle of always feeling happy and then sad. Happy then sad. And it seems hypocritical considering my past post. (Please, I'm a woman and I know how cycles work, yes, the menstrual kinds too). I know, they're at work right now. 

Anyway, today, on behalf of my almost 300th post {or maybe 300th post?!}, I kinda wanted to just show you images of what has been making my heart happy. And try to express myself with these words. I can't ever seem to do so properly, and I feel it's because of my vocabulary (I'm pulling out the Mexican card right now, too) and I guess I am a person who likes to visually speak. I am a visual person. And that's as far as I'm ever going to get if I want to stay sane. Here's an attempt at it, anyway.

 Lately, when I know I am getting one of those low feelings, my inner conversations are self-doubting and overwhelming ones, and then the stress piles on. But I remember the one thing I must do if I want to survive the day: change my attitude.

 I am one of those people that thrives in misery. I choose to be angry because it's the easier road for me. 

I have to consciously choose to change my attitude daily and let the bad stuff roll off my shoulders, otherwise I'll be the bitch no one wants to hang around with. 

Also, praying for grace helps a lot. And taking a 10 second breather if kids are involved helps too.

Those things save me, each and every day. 

 I think my biggest feat lately has been trying to figure out which direction I'm heading. I've spoken about this before, but no matter how much I make lists, how much I pray about it, how many times I've thought about it, I still can't figure out which path I need to take. I feel like Alice in Wonderland. 

And when I watched the cartoon the other day, I felt even more confused when Alice encountered the Chesire cat:

Alice: Oh, no, no. I was just wondering if you could help me find my way. 
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to. 
Alice: Oh, it really doesn't matter, as long as... 
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn't matter which way you go. 

So, which way do I go? Does it really matter? I've already finished school. I'm a full-time mom, wife, teacher, chef, cleaning lady, and chauffeur. It feels like I never get an hour to myself. If I ever do, I feel like a chicken with its head cut off. Like Alice. Desperately seeking the right path.

I have been wishing for a mentor. Somebody twice my age who will take me under their wing. Show me, teach me, guide me through this thing I'm living. Somebody who won't baby me. Kinda like Master Shifu from Kung Fu Panda. A mentor who won't hold my hand, but instead show me tough love. 

I had plenty of mentors when I was younger and still in school. Unfortunately, when you're young and reckless, you don't listen to anything they say. Now, it's all I crave, their teachings and friendship. 

I miss that. I need that.

The coach voice, you know, the one that screams at you when you're not bending down far enough or keeping your back straight. I need that encouragement. The slap in the butt. Or a kick in the head. 

Maybe even a kickboxing class. Does it sound like I have anger issues, now? ...maybe...just a bit...

At the moment, I know what makes me happy. I think that should be my focus. Happiness. My path. 

It's what I seek every day. Otherwise I'd be done for. 

Isn't that what everybody should be doing anyway? Be happy? 

Do you like my selfie? Can't decide whether color or bnw looked best, so your get both.

I recenly read this blog post from Design Mom who has a series called Living with Kids. 

She featured Laura Tremaine from Hollywood Housewife. The feature shows the inside of these people's houses, and talks about living with kids. Here's a part of the article that totally grabbed my attention:

Q: Please finish the sentence: I wish someone had told me…
A: …to start writing and creating when I was much younger. I had a grand ole time in my twenties, but I should have been selfish in a different way. I didn't truly start down a creative path until I was already in the thick of motherhood, so my attention is now forever divided. Better late than never, though! My life mantra is Start Where You Are.

Here's the black n white one...

So let's recap. Start where I am at. Seek happiness daily. Be slow to anger. Befriend a mentor.

Have a great day.