ABC's

Some friends/family want to hear Brynner do his ABC's but haven't been able to because my kid is not a performer-at all! I finally got him to say it all the way through this afternoon to the camera. It helped that I turned the screen so he could see himself while he did it. I think when he first learned them he was around 20-21 months. It was sometime before his second birthday-I at least remember that much. Now if only I could get up the guts to start the potty training thing....we'll see.

It's a......

sideways picture of my sweet little GIRL!! Yeah!!!! We're still celebrating over at the Roska house and will be for a few days. I'm gonna have a girl!? I don't know why I'm so surprised. Probably because Brad came from a 4 boy family I just figured we'd have all boys too. If you see Brad around town give him a high five and/or two thumbs up. He'd done good.

To taste the impossible taste

I have neglected my poor fridge in the recent past. A good two months of neglect will do wonders. After a while I would imagine the Ghostbuster's fridge scene taking place each time I dared peek in. And wouldn't you know? A nasty cold I caught came to the rescue! My inability to taste or smell ANYTHING for the past three days suddenly had a purpose. Lickedy split-all monster making mold had been disposed of and I didn't even blink an eye! You have to understand, I have this super duper hyper active nose which would have forced me to retreat outside at least once during the cleaning out process. But! I got this blessed cold instead. So now that it's purpose has been fulfilled, I ask for it to kindly leave.

Perhaps I'm being ungrateful....it did come in handy today in the diaper changing party Brynner invited me to. A surprise party actually and all I could think of is how in the world had he pulled that one off? Nose temporarily out of service-that's how.

Everyday I wake up with hope that I may taste my delicious Cinnamon Life cereal in all it's fiber cinnamon-y crunchiness. Until then, you're more then welcome to hang out and get your own *fridge-cleaning-out cold.

*The side effect are mild and may cause the inability to breath, taste food, and engage in your daily activities. A small percent of people have reportedly stopped eating. Talk to your doctor if you stop eating, this may lead to a more serious disorder like death.

Need a Valentine idea? Part II

Remember when I said I had more Valentine ideas to share? Well I don't. I thought I could come up with something spectacular and original...but it was not meant to be. So in an effort to not leave you hanging and being completely disappointed by your one and only source for Valentine ideas here are three from the top of my head...

1. You could get a tattoo of their name on your back side or front side...or side-side. If you're into that sort of thing. Of course I wouldn't expect my husband to get one in a trillion years. We've already had this discussion....about how he would NEVER (with this many exclamations!!!!) get a tattoo of my name. He said it would jinx us forever! After a twenty minute conversation on the matter he still wouldn't budge. After sixty minutes I bet he thought about it...but alas, no budging! Mind you, we were only speaking in hypothetical terms here. Do I really want my name tattooed on his butt? No. Do I want to feel like he would because he was so madly in love and sure he couldn't live a millisecond without me? Hells yes! So anyway, I just swore on my blog and I'm not erasing it because that is how darn (I keep the swears to a minimum) strong I feel on the matter. So yeah you could do that....but NOT (with this many exclamations !!!!) in my house.

2. The 'Low on funds' date. (This is a home run as long as you do exactly as I say.) Stay up all night watching infomercials and building a huge blanket fortress. Come out only to see the sun rise and to eat homemade cinnamon rolls. Go immediately back into the blanket fortress and complete an entire book of mad libs via flashlight. Remember to steer clear of the tattoo conversation. That could ruin the whole thing.

3. Build a replica of your significant other using some spare Popsicle sticks, pasta, and pudding. (OK truthfully? I don't want you to do that, I ran out of ideas and I had already promised you three. You're on your own.)

Need a Valentine idea?

Glamour shots would be the ultimate, never to be topped, Valentine present! Big hair, eyeliner, back lighting, popped collar, and sparkly sequins! How have I just thought of this?! Thanks to google images I found some great inspiration to share with you in case you want to do the same thing for your sweetheart. I introduce...the gift that keeps on giving.

I didn't want anyone to feel left out so I included the guy with his cat. I'm not judging....just leaving it out on the table in case there are any takers.

I have less then a week to practice my head tilt of Aqua Net sexiness. The lady in the leather jacket could really teach me a thing or two.

If Glamour shots are not your cup of tea, stay tuned, I have a few more ideas up my sleeve. (But for real, did you even look at those pictures? Because they spells H-O-T! Don't you want a piece of that??)

2nd Birthday Party!

Brynner turned 2 last month! He loves Dr. Seuss books so we decided a Cat in the Hat party would be perfect. We emphasized "Thing One" and "Thing Two" which Brynn totally identified with. His ability to make a fantastic mess is uncanny! In fact, the crazier our house got with toys and kids running around the more authentic the party became!

We decorated the walls and ceiling with the kites that went, "Bump! Thump! Thump! Bump! Down the wall in the hall." We had kite strings going everywhere that ended up eventually being held by a "Thing One" or a "Thing Two." To add to the feel, I turned all of our art work crooked which turned out to be my personal entertainment! Multiple people tried to fix them secretly or would lean in and whisper that my pictures were crooked as if they were telling me I had a huge piece of basil on my tooth. So fun! It's a great way to keep people guessing.....insane or just artistically challenged? Check and check. Of course we couldn't forget the gold fish! It fulfilled the live prop requirement of any good party. We got two in case one kicked the bucket. Sure enough one did, poor thing. I'm just thankful it happened in the morning before anyone got here. The less we can traumatize party guests the better!

We started off by reading the book which turned out not to be the greatest idea. Brynner liked it, but I'm not so sure the other kids did. Maybe it had something to do with Brynner standing right in front of it so no one else could see.....but it was probably the 61 pages! I started to read really fast or it would have taken us all day to get through it! For a quick game I made some beanbags with a 1 and 2 on them and had them throw "Thing One" and "Thing Two" back in the box where they came from. Brynn didn't get the idea of standing back to throw them in. He walked right up and slam dunked it, didn't even break a sweat. Teaching him about working smarter not harder has already paid off! Next we decorated bookmarks so the next time the kids decide to read, "The Cat in the Hat," they'll know where they are the week it will take them to get through it.

Two months prior to his party, Grandma Castillo asked if she could have his cake made by a lady she works with. "Sure," I said. She had a cake, and a Jello, and the biggest pinata I've ever seen in my entire life made! We bought the candy/toys to stuff it with and needed about three times what we had to fill the thing half up. And the Jello! I can't imagine what she used to draw on the Cat in the Hat with. I'm guessing a Sharpie but I could be wrong.

For the food we went with tacos...not really Dr. Seuss-ish but it's hard to think of things meat eaters and non meat eaters can enjoy harmoniously. Nothing spectacular, like a Sharpie Jello, but it did the job. The homemade beans were my favorite and were supplied by one of the many Grandma's, Grandma Irma. Thank you for making those! We had Brynn's favorite candy placed round about. Currently Twizzler's and popcorn top the charts.

We put together a slide show of Brynn the past year (There was a error when I tried to upload it). That was how we told everyone we were expecting a little one. One person caught on and the whole room exploded. It was so hard not telling for three weeks but totally worth the reaction we got. Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate with us! XoxOxo

Panda Express-less

What do cows do on a date?

They go to the Moooooovies!!

Ha! Ha! Ha! I heard that joke in church yesterday and I figured it was a good way to break the ice. Not that anyone still checks to see if I've written anything....other then my Sister. You check this, right Cher?! Now that I feel we've all been reacquainted I can share my deep inner thought.

I'm pregnant! I have been for four months now and I realized I hadn't ever blogged about it. Due July 18th, everything is going splendidly, thanks for asking! Here's a little picture of the baby who doesn't like it when I eat Panda Express. Sacrifice-we've all gotta make them sometimes...