Category: family

bath, blue, family, food, green

New towels!

by casadeberry4 Comments on New towels!

I know, I know, so very exciting. But you see, we haven’t bought new towels in about, oh, 6 years? My husband had his, I had mine, we didn’t register for them, and aside from some towels we have received as gifts, we’ve been using the same old, same old.

Then!

World Market had some on clearance – 50% off – that I thought would look smashing in my yellow bathroom, and I had one of their ‘$10 off/purchase of $30 or more’ coupons, i.e. 33% off. I lie. I had TWO of their coupons, one from a flyer I get in the mail, and one because I signed up for their Explorer program. Go sign up, it’s free.

Mine are the Jade Green Quito striped towels and I LOVE how they look with my warm yellow walls and our newly painted chocolate brown fixtures – my hubby did that for me and I love how it looks:
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I got to debut my new towels for a lovely family get together we had on Saturday. My beloved Auntie and Uncle from Peru are in town and I had the pleasure of having them over for the afternoon. We had tamales (sold by a sweet old man who comes by every two weeks), lasagna, and a sinful dessert concoction that was too rich for words.

Then the next day I had an allergy attack like I haven’t had in months. Boo. I sneezed all day long and felt like crap warmed over. Thank goodness it lasted its usual one day and on Sunday I was feeling much better.

Hope you had a great long weekend!

boys, colors, decor, family, living room, photo

Gallery wall

by casadeberry7 Comments on Gallery wall

First, a happy birthday to my mommy today!

Recently my husband had the idea of framing some of the many (believe me when I say many) pictures we have taken. He wanted a large-scale gallery wall, with 18×18 photos surrounding our TV.0520grid

We had recently purchased a new console for all the TV components and really liked the look, but wanted some more color = photos!0520grid1
We had the photos enlarged and printed at FedEx Office and then we trimmed them down to size and matted them on laminated backerboard.

We used large velcro dots to mount them on the wall so we can easily switch them out when needed. I chose some of my favorites – 0520grid2
On the right side there are two pics of our youngest, with me in all his bald-headed glory, and below in what we call his “Blue Steel” pose.

On the left is my oldest – the top photo is his first time at the beach with daddy, and below is a fairly recent shot that I just adore.
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It was really tough to choose just a few shots of my boys, there are so many that I love!

The top center shots were taken during our first (and so far, only) cruise last year.0520grid4The left is the shore in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the right is one of the islands we visited. Lovely memories.

Our plan is to print out new pics for fall/winter and swap them out as we like. I love seeing my favorite faces every day – not just in real life, but also up on my wall 😀


The Girl CreativeTodays Creative Bloghandmade projectsSomewhat SimpleIt's a KeeperWeekend Bloggy ReadingJoin us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap up party!

california, family, travel

La Brea Tar Pits

by casadeberry1 Comment on La Brea Tar Pits

Knowing that we would be making several pit stops on the way home, we got an early start (8am) and packed the van full of clothes, souvenirs, and us.

Given our boys’ love of all things prehistoric, we decided to stop at the La Brea Tar Pits on the way home.This is a recreation of some animals that got trapped in the tar pits tens of thousands of years ago.

There was also an enclosed area where you can see what some of the scientists who work there are doing – they each have a sign saying what they are currently working on.I asked my oldest if that’s what he wanted to do and he said no, he wants to be the guy who finds the animal fossils, not the guy who analyzes them ;D

We made a couple more stops for food and leg-stretching, and got home around dinner time. It was a lovely trip, but like my mother-in-law said, it’s nice to sleep in your own bed!

Have a great weekend!

boys, california, family, travel, zoo

San Diego Zoo

by casadeberry3 Comments on San Diego Zoo

This is truly the best zoo I have ever been to, not just because of the sheer amount variety of animals they have but also for the way it was set up: tons of benches all over, lots of shade, and lots of interactive things for the boys:
My oldest pretending to be a ferocious bear.

Godzilla was a very important part of our trip.Don’t leave home without him!

The elephant statue was a favorite:We had to drag the boys away so other kids could have their pics taken.

I’m lifting my oldest here:so both boys could be in the picture ;D

I loved this little guy:

And this one!

Lots of good memories from the San Diego zoo, that’s for sure!

california, family, travel

Legoland, part 2

by casadeberry1 Comment on Legoland, part 2

There’s a joke about Latinos that says, if you live in California, you’re automatically considered Mexican; if you live in New York, you’re Puerto Rican, and if you live in Miami, you’re Cuban. So yes, people usually assume I’m Mexican – but today, on Cinco de Mayo, aren’t we all? ;D Hope you have a happy and safe one!

Back to our trip – I love this pic of my boys. I have no clue what the thing in the background is supposed to be, so if anyone knows, could ya let me know?
My oldest is (mostly) a protective big brother, and I love how in pics he always embraces his little brother with such affection.

Here are my men during an ice cream break:
It was a welcome respite from the Southern California heat.

My oldest with “the ladies” – that’s what he calls girls.
“Yeah mom, the ladies like to chase us during recess”.

Surprisingly, my youngest did NOT face plant after this:
Although I was worried.

Another busy day, then back to the rooms for a much-needed bath and night’s sleep.

california, family, travel

Legoland, part 1

by casadeberry2 Comments on Legoland, part 1

We arrived in Carlsbad Wednesday evening. My in-laws had rented a minivan and it was super comfy and spacious – we also brought movies for the boys so they were reasonably entertained.

There was a Brewery/restaurant next door with awesome food, so we filled up our bellies and then it was time to wind down for the boys’ night-night. Next morning, it was time . . . for Legoland! But first, some face-painting:
I was surprised to hear how well my youngest did. He’s autistic and not prone to sit down patiently, but he did so well and became a very cute Batman!

The boys loved the level of detail on all the animals and displays – I think that they have gotten a lot of inspiration for their Lego creations.
The elephant was a hit, of course. Both my boys had love for all things elephant for over a year. Now it’s dinosaurs, but elephants still hold a special place in their hearts.

One of my favorite displays was MiniLand. OMG, I loved seeing all these places recreated in Legos. Of course, this was my favorite:
It is part of the Las Vegas area but still, it counts as part of France for me!

After our busy day we had pizza by the pool and then headed back to our rooms. As tired as I was, and knowing that the next day (Friday) would be just as busy, there’s no way I was waking up at 2am to watch the Royal Wedding!!

boys, california, family, travel

Traveling around Southern California

by casadeberry2 Comments on Traveling around Southern California

My in-laws have treated us to a couple of vacations – we’ve gone to Disneyland with them and last week, they took us to Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, and the La Brea tar pits.
They rented a minivan so we could all travel together, comfortably, and chose a hotel right across the street from Legoland for convenience.

It was an awesome time. I’ll be sharing pics from our trip this week, and reliving some great moments we had.

cooking, family, food, organizing

Organizing: Meal Planning

by casadeberry5 Comments on Organizing: Meal Planning

I’ve been slowly getting into the Once a Month cooking idea. Not completely, because with my boys being picky eaters and my husband needing lunch as well as dinner (he works from home) I couldn’t possibly cook an entire month’s worth of meals in one day. But, three times now I have cooked and made more than one “batch” of the same meal, twice to freeze for future meals and once to share with a dear friend.

The two meals I made to freeze were from Fix, Freeze, Feast and they were both delicious, but you can find freezer recipes throughout the web, and of course, at The Martha’s website. Some recipes I will try next week are Chicken and Rice soup, Mini Meatballs, and her Basil Pesto, with one modification: I prefer to make mine half basil and half spinach. The original recipe with all basil can be a bit overpowering to me, and I like the idea of squeezing in some extra veggies wherever I can.

Got any freezer-friendly recipes you’d like to share?

family, health

The Mammaliogram

by casadeberry3 Comments on The Mammaliogram


If you ever watched AbFab, then you remember this conversation:

Patsy: You ever had the tit test?
Edina: The tit test?
Patsy: You know, the hand-tit test?
Edina: No I go to the clinic once a month, they do a mammaliogram.

The moment I realized it was my turn to have a mammogram, I immediately thought of AbFab. The real reason, however, is far from funny. I am going to be forty later this year, but my sister was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and has undergone a mastectomy.

This came as a shock to us as there was no history of cancer, that we know of, in our family. But as of now, there is a history so when I had my annual last week, I asked for a form for a mammogram. I’m making an appointment and buying myself a chocolate shake afterward as a reward. Not looking forward to having my boobs made into dorsal fins but it’s for a very good reason.