Category Archives: Holidays!

DIY No Sew Fairy Costume

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Need some costume inspiration? My daughter has been going back and forth on what she wanted to be, a Monster high character, a zombie, I finally got that she wanted to be scary but look cute, too. I asked her if she would like to be a dark/evil fairy. She thought that sounded cool.  I wanted to make her costume because I LOVE to do homemade costumes! Unfortunately my sewing machine is still broken so It was going to have to be no sew!

I am planning on (trying) so do some creepy black and purple eye makeup and cover her with some glittery  lotion.  This was SUPER simple and can be customized with any colors! I’ll take pictures of the wings as well, they were a simple black pair from Target that I painted with some 3D sparkly purple paint.

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Supplies needed:

Plain tank top

Ribbon

Safety pins

Tulle

I used 2 large (21yard?) black rolls and 1 small sparkly purple one of tulle, but my daughter is really tall and I made the skirt so it’s longer in the back (goes to her calf). Also it’s not super thick so she’ll be wearing some black leggings underneath. 

There are about a million tutu tutorials online but what I did was cut a length of tulle twice as long as I wanted it to be, then folded in in half. I used a length of ribbon as a waistband because I didn’t feel like going back to the craft store and it actually works great. It’s much easier for me to build this on my model. To attach just pull the mid point of your tulle under the waist then pull the ends through. This makes a nice clean look. After you are done you can loop extra tulle or ribbon if you want it to look even more finished.

The corset top is just genius. I love it! Lay your tank on a table and put a magazine or book inside (makes it easier to pin). Just pin pairs of pins down the front gradually getting them closer together. When you are done lace the ribbon through like a shoelace. When you are done have your model try it on and adjust the ribbon tighter or looser as needed.

The wand was some extra ribbon and tulle wrapped around a chopstick.

My daughter loves it and loves that she won’t have the same costume as anyone else. Plus it’ll be fun to play in after Halloween. If you try this I would love to see pictures of your finished product!

Happy Birthday Omar!

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I wish your birthday could have turned out a little better. I don’t think having your daddy deploy on your birthday is a wish anyone could have had!

The past year you have grown and changed so much! You are hilarious, charming, adorable, my sweet stubborn baby boy. You are still very shy around new people but your sister was the same way when she was your age. You have a temper just like your daddy did when he was young and go from zero to MAD in about two seconds. It is perfect that your soccer team is the incredible hulks.

You’ve done great moving from Spain to Hawaii, even though it meant leaving behind the only house you’ve ever known and all of your friends. You are doing GREAT in kindergarten and your teachers wish there were twenty more kids like you in the class.

Your favorite past times are playing video games (especially your BRAND NEW 3DS XL!), driving your sister crazy, and wrestling with Bowser.

I hope this next year is wonderful for you! Mommy and Daddy love you SO much!

Happy Father’s Day!

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Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads out there! I couldn’t have picked a better man to have children with. We are lucky to have him home with us so we can celebrate the day.

And seriously could I have ended up with a cuter family? I think not!

Father’s Day brings up a lot of stuff for me personally. I grew up without a father. My dad passed away when I was very young and I never knew him.  Thankfully I had lots of uncles and two wonderful grandfathers who tried to step in and fill the void. It wasn’t the same and every time I opted out of going to a daddy/daughter dance with an uncle I was reminded of what I was missing. My mom did remarry when I was a teenager but by then I was already a pretty independent girl and I think my stepfather had a tough uphill battle with both me and my older sister.

Because of my ‘daddy issues’ (and it’s amazing I’m not more of a mess than I already am) I feel like I am always trying to make sure my kids (especially my daughter because you know how screwed up girls can get over this stuff) know how much their father loves them. And he does. So damn much. He is one of the more playful dads I’ve ever met. He bought a ripstick and learned how to ride it just so he could ripstick with our daughter. Even if he isn’t in the mood at all, if our son asks to play basketball, he’ll drop what he’s doing and go shoot hoops. Always in the back of his mind is: there will be a deployment in the future, these memories need to be made and the kids need to know that daddy loves them and loves spending time with them. It’s a wonderful and horrible thing living with the knowledge that there is an upcoming family separation.

Anyways, with that rambling I was really just trying to say, I really appreciate my husband I am so very happy my kids have such a strong, smart man to grow up with as a father. Happy Father’s Day to the father of my children, I got the best one.

In Memorium

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It seems like everybody and their mama is reminding you that today isn’t just about barbecuing with friends, that there is a purpose to this holiday. I feel when you are a part of the military community that this thought is never really that far from your mind.

I feel blessed that my sailor is home safe with us today, that we aren’t worrying about his well being or safety. That he is able to be here with his family. That I don’t have to raise my children without a father.

I am so very, very thankful for all of the military members far from home who are doing their part in keeping us safe.  I am so very grateful for all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and laid down their lives for our country.

You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Mother’s Day Weekend Recap

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We had a fun weekend, took the dog to the beach, went to feria in Jerez, then out to dinner for Mother’s Day at Blanca Paloma, aka my happy place.

My kidlets were threatened that they better be on their best behavior so I could enjoy my favorite dinner, the beautiful day, and the sunshine. They did great, iPods and Nintendo DS’s helped.

 

Me and crazy pants. He demanded a silly photo.

The salad of my dreams. Fresh mozzarella, fresh pesto, sun-dried tomatoes. So, so good. I also had some bruchetta with tomato, provolone and feta.  No pictures of that because it was inhaled.

Happy Mom’s Day to me! I swear I don’t always have bitch face!

On our way out, the beach was PACKED when we got there and empty by the time we left. It was a beautiful day!

On Saturday a friend of mine and I took our boxers to the beach. This whole area is under water at high tide but at low tide there is a TON of room for them to run.  Swimming isn’t allowed so it stays empty and we can let the dogs run and they don’t bother anyone.

 

Bowser decided to cool off and get into the water. He’s never done this before, but once he realized how much it cooled him off he didn’t want to get out!  I don’t even know if he can swim! We’ll have to see this summer!

All three puppies! Bowser loves his buddies!

In the amount of time that we were there (maybe an hour total walking) I got sunburned! This Spanish sun is NO JOKE!

Snapshots from this week

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Random photos from the week:

Arriving at work right after a rainstorm, sun finally showing up!

Headed to feria!

I think we have one of the prettiest military hospitals around. This is the courtyard in the middle…

I am childish but this made me laugh… SeaBee on a beach cruiser…

Ladybugs are EVERYWHERE! Which is awesome because as you can see, the aphids are also everywhere! I keep catching ladybugs and sticking them on my plants!

Is this just a Spain thing or do they do this in the states? The drive thru at McD’s was long so they had a guy walking from car to car taking orders on a palm pilot dealy.

And we made some cute teacher appreciation gifts for all of our wonderful teachers in our life! M has a teacher at school and at SAC (after school program) O has THREE teachers in his class. Then I wanted to get something for one of his old teachers that isn’t in his class anymore but who he ADORES! Also I wanted to get something for our three lead teachers, so I ended up with NINE (!) teachers to get something for! It ended up being cute, easy and personalized and I hope they love it!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY! Hallelujah!