long trip fun stay

My mom, sis and brothers live about 5 hours away from us...while it's hard, it makes our visits much sweeter and meaningful. But you know what? Moomie doesn't care, she puts you to work! After all, there's a lot of work to be done on the farm. 

Mom's got a freezer packed full of vegetables either grown from her garden or donated from other kind people...

and you know what vegetable we got to eat at dinner that night {and the night after, and the night after that}?? you got it! corn. But we eat it the Mexican way. Corn with butter, cream or mayo, some salt, and chili powder which is the best part! elote con chile, crema y mantequilla! freakin' delicious, especially in a vasito. 

The boys beg to be let outside just like the dogs do--every. day. Their love for the trampoline is unreal. 

and that afternoon, the sun just happened to be in the perfect spot to take some sweet pictures of my nephew, Leo. I will post those separately but here are a couple of teasers ;)

the pool was also fun, we layed out and soaked some sun {it was bloody hot} and then cooled down with water and the shade of the massive oak tree in the front yard.

there is never a shortage of animals on Moomie's farm: cats and rats and horses and cows and ducks and chickens and snakes....oh, and dogs. oh and fishes too {inside the fish tank of course!}

this baby got passed around like a ragdoll, many volunteers with open arms and soft touches. he consumed a million ounces while we were there and slept about 400 hours too. the sweetest grunter in the whole world you ever did hear...no crying. just grunt. grunt. GRUNT! 

and one afternoon, everyone just. crashed. hardcore. except for me and Andrew {it's weird that I wasn't involved, this pregnancy is completely ignoring my no-nap rule}. the house was so quiet for 2 hours.

some little kid wanted so badly to roast marshmallows. Moomie totally caved and made his wish come true...well, sorta. She got the marshmallows but Tio Carlos and Tio James totally helped with the fire. The most awesome part, duh.

I forced the kids to take a photo with their cousin Leo before we left. Jonah is still confused about why baby Leo is out in the world after he had just gotten used to the idea that he was inside my sister's belly. Andrew was never keen on Jonah as a baby, he hardly ever came near him. So it only made sense that no way in hell was he gonna touch Leo--hence the pillow he rests on and Andrew's lovely face. Jonah was just curious and sweet. I love the way he says baby Leo. We still love you Leo and can't wait for you to play with your cousins! 

sorry that i've been taking a small hiatus from blogging because i've been busy DIY'ing outside in this decent weather. some sprinkles, lots of clouds, some sun, and cooler nights! bring on the low 70's now!!!
can't wait to post those projects here soon!

toothpick flag freebie

we just wrapped up a baby shower with an Alice in Wonderland theme and I wanted to share these cute, easy printable toothpick flags that are all the rage lately. 

had to make my own since I couldn't find any printables on the internet and i would love for you to have them too! i wish i would have taken a photo of when we were making these but seriously, we finished so quickly, i'm only thinking about it now that i'm blogging about them....duh.

To Download a blank flag template {like the one below} and customize it on your own, click HERE:

i'm pretty sure this file can be edited in photoshop or in the adobe reader program, if not, let me know!

For the colored "Eat Me" flags like the one below, just click HERE:

just print on cardstock, cut, and glue onto toothpick. so simple! 

they're such easy DIY-ers and you don't have to use them for Alice in Wonderland themes either! what ever your event, customize your own little flags and use them as cute food decorations! 

remember if you use these on your blog, make sure to credit back here!

thanks for stopping by! 

just a good ol' birthday lunch

just wanted to share some pics and a great spot to eat at if you're ever in Atascosita, Texas. 

the husband chose this place and the whole clan headed out. they have lime-marinated fajitas, which they're sorta famous for and all of their tortillas are made in-house. all the family was together, the day was beautiful, the food was good so we took advantage of that to break news about new baby after our meal :) 

after a semi-long wait and snapping some pics of the place {which i love, btw, because i'm mexican} we finally were seated and we went to town on the chips, salsa + guac. 

wish i would have taken some snapshots of my in-laws opening up our 'announcement' but i just wasn't thinking. the conversation quickly turned into hopefully finally having a girl {four grandsons for them and no girls} we will just have to wait and see. 

happy birthday, my love. may you have many more. 

ps. that kid cannot keep his eyes opened 

simple moments :: giving

linking up to simple moments from myreal.everyday.life

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.

alright guys...i've been holding off on posting these because i didn't want my sister to see them, soooo, after finally giving them to her this past weekend, i can finally do it! 

now, these aren't tutorials. but, i did follow basic sewing techniques and online tutorials {thank you internet}.

the post today is a simple moments because really, these simple {sometimes not} were all made out of love and in the spirit of giving. i couldn't be happier to finally be an aunt and hope that my sister loves motherhood as much as i do. 

with my second kid, jonah, i found it really easy to just stuff this in my purse. just stick a wipes package and a couple of diapers and you're set! not to mention that green is lovely! i am in love.

next thing i made were these onesies. inspired by forest animals and Leo's name, i know for sure he'll rock these to the fullest! 

white onesies, simple acrylic paints, clothing pens and a sponge was all it took to make these bad boys! 

next up, is this monster of a blanket that was similar to climbing mt. everest! and Leo better use this til he's 25 because it is huge! i didn't have much trouble building the blanket--just framing it. is that correct terminology? ahh, i'm over it. this blanket was a challenge. all i know is that i was so happy i was done with it. and it looked beautiful when done, so i was extremely pleased with it.

currently, Leo measures smaller than one rectangle on the blanket. it'll be fun to watch his progress as he bulks up and gains inches! 

caren, my sis, made sure to pick out 5 complementing fabrics, as she loves texture and patterns and wanted to keep it neutral. this being my first blanket, i think i did a decent job. i know i won't be doing another one unless someone really wants one as i am a big softie {but i won't be happy about it}. so just keep in mind my well-being.

and of course, as a surprise i decided to make her THIS ruffle crib skirt because duh, Leo's gotta crib in style! since i don't have a crib set up at my place, and sis is hundreds of miles away, i just hoped it fit by the given dimension and looked good. still haven't seen it, but i can't wait to see some pictures of it soon.

and guys, don't attempt this as a simple project. holy peanut butter balls!!! i got so hunched over, i started going crosseyed! it was definitely easy, just very time consuming...but check out the end result--GORGEOUS--and again keeping with the neutral tones. ruffles til death! 

annnnnnd last but not least, the baby shower! if this wouldn't have happened soon, i seriously would have gotten heart broken. originally this was supposed to be a baby shower for only my sister, and not sister + baby. but God had different plans and decided that Leo should be part of this Showerland.
and of course i designed the invites! the theme was secretly kept for months from my sister. she still won't stop thanking me for the amazing event.

if you know me or read this blog, you know i'm a diy-er. big-time. everything at the shower was either made or assembled by me + my younger sister + mother. we make a sweet team! 

months of pinning ideas, collecting tea cups, little glass "Drink Me" bottles, scouring thrift shops for something that would turn into an Alice-in-Wonderland thing was definitely exciting. i sure am thankful for iPhone/iPad, it definitely made it so easy to communicate between mom about what all we had acquired and put together. 

Leo was such a great sport the entire evening, we had a crowd of lovely ladies join us, much more than we expected actually, so it turned out way better than what i had envisioned. and i love it when that happens!!! these are just a few photos, will post more in coming days ;) 

the 'Alice' of the Showerland was decked out in her card diadem...so lovely.

i did all this for you sister. because i love you. i know we have our differences but that part will never change. 

now, to rest and get ready for my baby in February! 

also linking up to Shaken Together link party: