Currently...

A little family update on what we are all currently up to. 

So, you probably realized this before I did, but there is less than 2 weeks to prepare for Halloween! Eep!!! The kids did an AWESOME job decorating the house for us. It is super spooky in here. They must have been trying to drop a subtle hint that I need to get cracking on their costumes.
< segway >

ME: Currently, I'm obsessing over finalizing the kids' costumes... Well, in Zoie's case, starting her costume. Roxy chose to be Aayla Secura for Halloween. You probably have no idea who she is, which is why hers is proving to be the most difficult costume. Aayla is a Jedi from Star Wars, who of course is so awesomely fantastic that you will not find an easy ready-made costume for her anywhere. Especially for a 6 year old girl. Luckily, I have an amazing friend who will crochet just about anything for me I put in a request for. She did the hard part for me and created the headpiece. You can sneak a peek at that here. (So "adorkable" - tee hee. I stole that word from @bonniegrrl ). Riley will be a Jawa. His costume is pretty much complete, as you can see above. Yep, that's the Bear in there. He makes the cutest Jawa ever! Zoie will be an R2D2 ballerina princess. Hmmm, gotta get started on that one.

ME again: I'm also currently totally over the whole school schedule. I'm ready for summer. I've been designing and doing a little web marketing late nights and squeezing in daytime hours, too. That stuff, + school = one exhausted Mama. Plus side: my skills are no longer rusty. Down side: lack of sleep is starting to catch up to me.
(Shameless Plug: if you know anyone who needs any kind of graphic design work done, hit me up!)

Roxy: She is rocking the first grade!! This week she scored 100% on her math test, and her teacher tells us she is pretty much the perfect student. This really doesn't come as a surprise to me. ;)
She lost her first TOP tooth last night and talks a little funny now. The tooth fairy visited, left her fairy dust EVERYWHERE & left Roxy FIVE DOLLARS!
Besides being the exemplary student and talking funny, she's also keeping active with gymnastics and going to Family Body Flow with me every week. AND, she's recently been a huge help in the kitchen. This one is growing up so fast... sigh...

Riley the Bear: This guy has a huge Portal obsession. It's all he draws about, all he writes about and finishes up his chores and homework so fast so he can get his Portal time in. He's really good at it, too. ... Oh yea, he's WRITING!! This kid = one smart cookie!
Did you see that cute owl he decorated? That was all him. I was worried about his creativity at one point, pssh: nothing to worry about there! He also stays active with gymnastics, he's getting so good at his tumbles. And what a sweetheart my boy is, he definitely takes after his father with his gentle nature. I may or may not foresee myself being judgmental of his future girlfriends.
Ms. Zoie Rainbow: ... has recently discovered Dora and Diego. She's a total Doraholic. I kind of wish she still had the zero interest in TV she once had. Sometimes it's hard to get her to come to the table to eat. Sometimes, she wakes up and asks for the iPad before I can even get a chance to say Good Morning, Sunshine!  She's a persistent one, this girl. I'm sure it's the 2 year old in her.
Besides being a Doraholic, she is potty trained!! Like, all the way!! And off her binky. She is a full fledged toddler. ... no more babies in this house. :(
She still loves playing with her babies and is getting more and more independent every day. She is my little mini-me neat-freak/helper. She helps with dishes, laundry, wiping off counters and cleaning up spills on the floor. She even yells at the older to kids to clean up their messes. This makes me a proud Mama. <3

Daddy of the house: Would currently like me to wrap this post up and fix dinner. Sheesh! He's all, "Get in the kitchen, woman!" (j/k... sort of)

... so I guess I'll go ahead and do that. And hopefully have time to work on costumes tonight, too. Later peeps.

<3, Tabi :D

Currently.

I have to admit, every time I see a Sometimes Sweet Currently post, I feel a strong urge to do one myself. I'm so happy that she openly invites other bloggers to copy her inspiration, or else I'm sure I'd feel just dirty being an uninvited copycat.

So. Curently...

Roxy has lost her second tooth, widening her gappy smile and she gets cuter and cuter every day. The tooth fairy came and left her fairy dust all over the 2 $1 bills she left in place of her tooth. I sure hope Target doesn't mind.

On weekends, we let the two older kids have their 'sleepover'. This weekend, it took place in Riley's bed and Christopher is a genius and fashioned the iPad into an awesome built in TV. He is so craft, that husband of mine.

In an attempt to ramp up our social life, I invited some good friends over on Saturday to come and hang out with us. For us, since having children, our own social life has completely gone down the drain, and these particular friends had never actually been to our house, even though we've known them forever. It was such a wonderful visit, I'm so happy they came over and I really hope we get to visit a lot more often. However, I also volunteered to watch another good friend's two boys that night (which I'm happy to do, anytime*) and think I might have overbooked our Saturday, because at the end of the day, Christopher and I were extremely exhausted.

*We have 3 (sometimes 4) kids ourselves, and I've found adding a few more to the mix, usually doesn't involve much more energy on a parent's part. Am I right? or am I alone in this POV? Plus, it gives me warm fuzzies to be able to help out a friend whenever I can.

I'm feeling guilty. I had this June Word challenge I concocted and went through with every day... except for yesterday - THE LAST DAY! I'm a naughty blogger and I apologize to anyone who missed it. I would like to thank everyone who participated. For me, it was a good exercise in creativity, and I sort of liked that it made me accountable to blog every day. I also enjoyed reading the ways other people worked the words into their own posts. Especially Kizzie Cat, who was my very loyal player during this challenge. :)

I am anxious about making this summer memorable. I want to do some sort of grand gesture, so my kids can think back to this summer and remember this one awesome thing we did. I've had a few ideas: a trip up to MD for visits with my friends and family in my old stomping grounds, some kind of learning adventure involving something we've never delved into before: religion, daily bicycle trips to different places, crafts/sewing projects. Yet, I haven't committed to any of these things yet. I need to get on this and decide what it will be. Because, before I know it, summer will be over and the school grind will be in full effect again.

Listening to Johnny Cash Radio on Pandora an awful lot lately. Usually Mr. Cash is a 1-2 day craving for me every month or so, but he's been played every day for about 2 weeks now. I can't get enough of it. It's a feel good thing. And I'm not a country fan, either. ... things that make you go hmmm.

Gathering up the courage to take a trip to Walmart today. If you know me, then you know that Walmart is definitely out of my comfort zone. But I have this idea in my head that we have to have cute family red/white and blue clothes for the upcoming Independence Day. Target wasn't much help and Old Navy is far far away and kind of dangerous for me to go when my budget is so tight. Wish me luck on this, I need it.

Also, currently... my kids are wanting smoothies made, so I'd better get off here and do that, huh?
Until later, blogosphere. hugs and kisses.

<3, Tabi :D

p.s. DUDE! I totally missed my one year anniversary of this blog!! June 14th, Tabi Happy turned 1!!! Happy Birthday, Tabi Happy. <3

Currently

What's the Word June?
Today's word is: (fusion)

Today, I was inspired (again) by Sometimes Sweet to do a Currently post.

Currently, I'm...

... In a picture funk. And it's driving me bananas. I don't know why I'm feeling so uninspired to take pictures lately. My best picture for this post is a picture I took trying to decide if I love or hate the new color I painted my toes. I always paint my toes and never my fingernails because painting my fingernails is a total waste of time, it starts chipping away minutes after drying (NOT exaggerating).

... listening to my Lily Allen channel on Pandora. I have been digging chick music for a little while now, which is different for me. And I love me some Brits. I'm also anxiously awaiting No Doubt's new album due to arrive September 25th. 

.... pondering a summer makeover for my hair. Maybe some highlights? Maybe back to blonde? Right now I'm a red head (Feria Ruby Fusion) and still loving it, but itching for a little change. I definitely need a little trim up at least.

... feeling like things are screeching to a S-L-O-W crawl. With school being almost over, dance over, Riley's school is over. Nothing to do but normal chores and, oh yea: whatever we want!

... trying to solve a mystery. My poor little Zoie woke up this morning with legs full of bug bites. :( We didn't play outside much yesterday and I inspected her bedroom (we've had ant problems in the past) with no luck. I've got to find the source, her little itchy legs made her so flippy floppy last night, no one slept well.

... still reeling over the Game of Thrones finale. Wow! Those dragons are going to take over the world. That's my prediction. And zombie monsters (what the...). When does the next season start?? Also, we laughed our butts off at the latest Girls episode last night. I used to think Adam was the creepiest weirdo ever, but I might be warming up to him. Since all my network shows have ended already, I've been watching The X Files on Netflix. It's feeding the believer in me and creeping me out at the same time. Christopher says he doesn't remember them being so dorky, but I don't think they are dorky.  (I <3 Mulder 4-ever.) 

... procrastinating making a dentist appointment. I knocked a crown loose flossing on Friday and need to get it fixed. But it doesn't wiggle unless I chew gum (it came completely out on Sunday, but I snapped it back in). So, I will not chew gum (on that side) until it drives me crazy, then I will make the appointment. That's my plan.

What are you currently up to?

<3, Tabi :D

Currently.

Developing. A well rounded mostly vegan menu to please the whole family. Vegan cooking is, well... different. It's a much bigger challenge than I had anticipated. The cooking times for most of the meals I've tried out range from 45 minutes to well past 2 hours. It's involved! I'm not going to give in to the easy, higher priced, less nutrition, pre-packaged frozen foods, either. I'm getting there, and it does seem to be getting easier every day.

For you curious folks, our Vegan Adventure menu this week looks like this:

• Couscous with Chickpeas and Tomatoes (DEELISH!)
• Vegan Enchiladas (OMG, I wanted to eat the whole casserole dish full, they were so yummy)
• Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Aioli with Baked Potatoes (tonight's dish)
• Falafel Balls with Lo Mein type noodles (NOTE: Falafel balls were a falafel FAIL!)
• Vegan Lasagna cupcakes (these I have not attempted yet, excited to try them out tomorrow!)

Watching. We honestly don't watch much TV around here. However, after the children's are slumbering, we have been known to watch Game of Thrones (so addictive). The first episode of this new season seriously made me ponder quitting GOT... with all the infanticide and all...
Also, I just finished up watching the last episode of The United States of Tara. We don't have cable, so pretty much everything is watched via Hulu or streamed to us via Netflix. If there is something I'm missing and should be watching let me know as Tara has left a void that needs to be filled in my nighttime routine. Oh, and New Girl!! I love me some Schmidt. <3

Working On. Bikini season is upon us here in Florida, and I'm determined to be a hot mama at the YMCA splash pool this year. I've been seriously busting my butt at the gym 3 to 4 times a week these past few months. And I do have to say I'm proud of what my booty is doing these days. It's so well rounded.  ;)

The Puzzle I can't Crack. Riley's face rash is seriously my biggest enigma. He's been to the pediatrician and the dermatologist. He's been allergy tested... I don't know what else the doctors can do. It seems to me they are just throwing whatever popular and pricey creams, etc at us to see what sticks. His allergy test came back he was allergic to dust and milk. Well, we've cut out all his milk in his diet and dust regularly. Use the 4 creams as directed and in the almost half a year since this started, the silly rash has yet to clear up 100%. Let me project to you how frustrated I am... >.<

Listening To. Pandora, mostly... to be less vague: my Three Little Birds channel, my No Doubt channel and my Caspar Babypants channel. In that order of amount of playtime. I'm loving my ska, Lily Allen and of course Reggae.

Procrastinating. Cameron's 10th birthday is coming up in 3 weeks. Guess what kind of party he wants... Star Wars... If you recall, it's been done for the Bear and then again for my Roxy. What can I do to switch it up this time? This is why I'm procrastinating it...
(but if you know me, I love all things Star Wars, so I am definitely up for the challenge, just not ready to jump in... yet!)

Wishing. That I could at least see the light at the end of our financial woes tunnel. The light is there, it has to be. I'm just afraid that we haven't hit rock bottom yet. And that really scares me the crap. But the upside is, that we are NOT (thank the universe) one of those couples who fight about money! My family is totally unaffected, at this point, by our financial state. I just hope we never get to that point.

Anticipating. Summertime!! Beach time. Pool time. No school. And my little kiddies to myself all day, every day. <3

This post was inspired by Sometimes Sweet. Thanks for the inspiration!

<3, Tabi :D