Theme Thursday: Water

By bobbi
June 20, 2013
5 Comments

I knew I was going to be out of town on vacation for this week’s Theme Thursday: Water so I took photos before I left. However, I could not resist also adding two photos I took yesterday at Lake Tahoe.

We got a rare rainfall last week and I loved the way the water droplets were hanging from a spider web in our front yard.

I also spied this flower covered in water droplets hiding behind numerous leaves.

My add-on photos…

I love Lake Tahoe. The combination of the water, the trees and the mountains makes it breathtaking. I snapped this photo from our spot on the beach.

This may not be as “majestic” but I love the water running over rocks.

Thanks to Cari for hosting!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol 68 & Theme Thursday: Dad

By bobbi
June 13, 2013
6 Comments

It’s a photo celebration mash-up today as I link up with Like Mother, Like Daughter with {pretty, happy, funny, real} and with Cari for Theme Thursday: Dad. (Scroll down to {real} for that. :-))

{pretty}

I took this shot yesterday at the Mission in the courtyard.

{happy}

At the end of the school year, Bella and Andrew’s school has its annual mini-Olympics.

Andrew was happy that this was his first year to participate.

Despite his befuddled look here, Matthew was the happy unofficial 5th grade mascot, especially loved by the girls.

This week Andrew also celebrated his Pre-K graduation. 🙂

John-Paul and Andrew look happy but Matthew is trying to figure out why there is a tassel hanging from Andrew’s hat.

{funny}

The other day I took off the boys’ mattress to clean under the bed and they were ecstatic to re-create the scene in Empire Strikes Back when Luke hangs on for dear life after fighting Darth Vader.

Of the three boys, Matthew has the frame closest to his mama – short and thick, poor kid. He went for his 2 year check-up and he only weighed one pound less than John-Paul (or the average weight of a 4 year old.) We have to make sure he get s a lot of exercise and little junk food so his height can catch up with his weight. (Personally, I am still waiting to reach 7 feet tall.)

Here he is working off the weight as he runs and pushed John-Paul on a ride-along toy.

{real}

(These are the photos I am linking up with Cari’s Theme Thursday: Dad.)

When we first got married, Brian was worried about being a father. He grew up as an only child and didn’t have any experience taking care of babies or little ones. While watching her son play with the kids, Brian’s mom once commented to me how surprised she was that he seemed to take to fatherhood so naturally. I couldn’t help but smile. I knew that his loving and sacrificial heart would help him become an amazing father.

I love how the kids just love to be near him. When I see him teaching them their prayers or running around with them with a light sabers, I fall in love with him all over again.

Happy Father’s Day to my sweet man! Thank you for taking such tender care of all of us.

And Happy Father’s Day to my own daddy, to my father-in-law Bill, my brother Rob whose son was just born yesterday, my brother-in-law Vinnie and to all the amazing dads who set an example of strength, courage and sacrificial love every day. 🙂

Pinterest Party & Link-up, Vol 5: Easy 5-Minute Salsa

By bobbi
June 10, 2013
2 Comments

Welcome to the RoL Pinterest Party. Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, did, or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards.

Not on Pinterest? No problem. Link-up your own creation to inspire us so we can pin in to our own boards. It can be a recipe, sewing project, Catholic craft, homeschool project, organizing/ homemaking tip, themed birthday party, whatever you’d like.

Don’t have a post ready? The link-up will be open for a week so there’s still time. Plus, feel free to link up a new post or an older post that hasn’t had much traffic lately.

Don’t have a blog? No problem. Post your photo and a description on the RoL Facebook page. 🙂

* * * * *

Here is what I made this week…

I have often made chunky salsa but I have never tried making one in the blender. I was excited when I saw the recipe for Chili’s Copycat Salsa from the Six Sister’s because it looked so easy. I know there are other recipes that use only fresh ingredients but when you need to make a quick salsa in five minutes, this is perfect. I changed the recipe a little to suit our taste – less heat, more lime and added fresh cilantro – and the family loooves it. Here’s what I used.

Ingredients:

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained (The original recipe called for whole tomatoes but I found that diced tomatoes makes a much better consistency.)
1 small can of jalapenos (I had a can of diced jalapenos and used only about a teaspoon of it to keep the salsa mild.)
1 onion, quartered
1 lime
1/2 a bunch of cilantro, stems removed (I like a lot of cilantro and used about 1/2 of what you see in the photo.)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Mix the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. See? Super easy.

Yum! Pass the chips. 😉

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. 🙂 (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along. Here is the html code:

4. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

You have a week to post your link, so if you can’t get things done by Tuesday, no worries, put it up when you can. We’ll be here. Have fun!

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. 🙂

Theme Thursday: Girls (& Remembering Bella’s Birth)

By bobbi
June 6, 2013
5 Comments

It’s Thursday again (the days are going too fast, right??) and time for another photography post with Theme Thursday: Girls. It seems like I am always posting pics of the boys and Bella is due for some blog time.

I remember when I was pregnant with Bella I secretly hoped that my firstborn would be a girl but when we went to my ultrasound, the doctor couldn’t tell. He said if he had to guess, it looked like boy. I was just happy to see my little peanut dancing around on the screen and I filled the baby’s closet with blue outfits and cover-alls and various other boy things.

Well, her birth was a surprise on many levels. I had just finished my eight month and had one month left in my pregnancy. My dad, my mom and one of my brothers drove up from So Cal to attend the baby shower my mother-in-law was giving. The night before the baby shower I was feeling really tired and the braxton hicks that I kept having didn’t seem to let up.

After a restless night I told Brian we better call the doctor because although the pain was sporadic, it felt like something out of the ordinary was going on. Before I could reach the phone my water broke and contractions came at full force. Eventually Brian and my brother (who was sleeping on the couch at our apartment) got me to the car, drove me to the hospital and got me checked in. When the nurse walked into the room and looked to see how I was doing, her face looked up in alarm and she called out that I was ready to have the baby NOW. The doctor and nurses rushed around gathering equipment and before I could fully comprehend what was really going on (I think I was still in shock and denial) I was told to push. Shortly after, I heard the unexpected words, “It’s A Girl!” And there she was, 3 lbs and 12 oz of sweetness screaming her lungs out. We still laugh today that Bella’s baby shower became a birthday party. (You can read the longer version of Bella’s birth story here. Just scroll down to September 2001.)

After 11 days in the NICU, we were finally able to take our sweet girl home. It feels like such a short, short time ago.

My baby girl at 3 months.

Last night I grabbed my camera and told Bella I wanted to take a photo of her for today’s theme. She asked me to take one with both of us. I told her I had been cleaning all day, my hair was a mess, I had no make-up, let me at least fix myself up a little…blah, blah, blah. She grabbed my hand and said, “You look great, mom. Let’s do it together.” So for the second week in a row, my heart melted at such child-like love. So as Brian and the boys were running around the house re-enacting Jedi light saber duals, we ran out on the deck and snapped this photo. Mother and daughter bonding as female allies in a house of boys.

My baby girl at 11.

Then we grabbed some extra light sabers and joined the battle. 🙂

Thanks to Cari for hosting!

Five Favorites: Hair Edition

By bobbi
June 4, 2013
5 Comments

~ 1 ~

My daughter Bella has long wavey hair that tends to get dry and a little frizzy. My hairdresser used It’s A 10 Miracle Leave In Product after giving her a haircut and her hair looked so pretty and healthy. When she wants to wear her hair wavey (which, actually, isn’t often) I spray some on her damp hair, comb it through with my fingers and twist random sections of her hair and then let it air dry. Afterwards I gently run my hands through her hair to loosen the twists and he has lovely long waves. (The kind of hair I always wished I had!)

~ 2 ~

Ironically, she does not like her hair wavey. She likes it smooth and straight. I bought a basic flat iron for about $35 and although it worked well enough, her straight hair never lasted beyond a day or two, regardless of the hair product we used with it.

Then while visiting my family I borrowed my sister’s expensive $150 Ultra Chi Flat Iron for Bella. It was like magic. Her hair was silky straight with the right product (see below) and it lasted for days. We both loved it but I didn’t want to spend the money. After waiting a few months Ulta finally had their Ultra Chi flat irons on sale (I got the cute chevron design with a free tote bag) and I was able to use my store points to get the price closer to $80. It was still a chunk of money (for us) but I don’t regret it at all. It does a great job and saves me time not having to straighten so often. And saved time is priceless. 😉

~ 3 ~

We tried various hair straightening products and our favorite is hands down Matrix Sleek Look Iron Smoother. It works wonders. (If I have time later I’ll add some before and after photos. :-))

~ 4 ~

This favorite is posted for Rebekah. 99% of the time, I am wearing my hair up, usually with a scarf or head band. In last week’s Theme Thursday photo challenge we had to do a self-portrait and my hair was up, as normal. She said she loved the hair band I wore and asked about it. So here you go, Rebekah! It is a crocheted hair band that I purchased last year at the mall. (I think Claire’s?) I haven’t seen them again since then, which is a sham because I love it. I especially like that it is made wide on the top (with the flower on the side) and very narrow at the bottom.

I did, however, find a similar one on Etsy at the RoseJasmine store.

~ 5 ~

Lastly, I was going to share the magic that a good professional cut can do and the hair products that work for my crazy, ~~frizz ball~~ curly hair but I already posted about that last year. So instead of repeating myself, go visit the original post. Let’s just say, here is the before and after!

Thanks to Hallie for hosting!

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Category Archives: weekly quizzes/questionnaires

Theme Thursday: Water

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol 68 & Theme Thursday: Dad

Pinterest Party & Link-up, Vol 5: Easy 5-Minute Salsa

Theme Thursday: Girls (& Remembering Bella’s Birth)

Five Favorites: Hair Edition