Back in March, we went with some friends to the Houston Rodeo and Livestock show. We started off the night by going to the petting area where they had some very interesting animals like pigs, donkeys, deer, lamas, sheep, and goats.  Definitely the highlight of the night!

Some of the animals decided that my shirt was a very good looking treat

My friend Heidi didn’t seem to mind the big teeth of some of the animals.

This poor kangaroo seemed like he was misplaced

My attempt to get Fernando with the donkey

The food was great as usual. This is a deep fried Snickers. Which didn’t rate as well as deep fried Oreos. Roasted corn and cowboy burritos were also must haves.

We watched a little bull riding, mutton busting, and wagon races, then Tim McGraw performed. He was really good live! But it’s a bummer that the acoustics were so poor in the arena. A patient of mine gave me a tip for next year, saying that the best way to hear the concert in Reliant Stadium is in the bathroom. We shall see next year.

I haven’t been very crafty or fun lately. Mainly because I haven’t had any energy and don’t feel all that great due to this bit of news: We’re going to have twins! So far 11 weeks and counting, but practically everybody (including work) knew I was prego since I can’t hide my belly. We’re hoping that this one will be the one that sticks! Official due date is October 17th.

Before: our garage

After: our new epoxy’d garage

For a two car garage, we bought two epoxy kits at Lowes

It was a great deal. We enlisted the help of our friend’s husband and fed them dinner in return. The guys got to work while the girls watched Cars upstairs with the kiddos.

The specs up close

The other day, we picked up some heart molds from Crate & Barrel. This morning, Diane made me some delicious buttermilk pancakes in these molds…and we ate them on out heart shaped placemats. Expect a repeat tomorrow morning.

Yum!

Fresh fruit would go great with this

A while back, I heard about this place called the Forbidden Gardens. It’s located in Katy, TX and has been around for nearly two decades. Well, the other week, I was reading Swamplot and noticed that the gardens were shutting down to make way to for the Grand Parkway expansion (this will become the 3rd loop around the greater Houston area connecting Katy to The Woodlands on over to Baytown and back). I told Diane that we should go see it before it was gone forever. Overall, it was a semi interesting visit — a little past its prime, though. I’m sure if it was a little bit warmer (it was a cold Saturday morning when we went), we would have enjoyed it more –especially if it were during spring.

Terracotta Warriors

Lots of them

Detailed replicas of those found in China

Lots of horses too

These seemed a little weathered…

Diane strutting her stuff

I like to read pamphlets, signs, etc.

A village near the Forbidden City

Your guess is as good as mine

The “Venice” of China

Forbidden City model

Sneak preview of the real deal

First of all, I gotta show you some of my fabric stash from my trip!

Lots of designer prints, flannel, a few zippers, linens, and even some knits (although I don’t know if I dare)

I bought my first PDF pattern online from the Butterfly Tree shop at Etsy. I’ve been wanting to make little boy ties for a long time, but couldn’t find the right skinny tie style.  This pattern rocked! There are several patterns included from age 0-12 yrs.  The ones I made are adjustable from age 0 to 2 yrs. Velcro and reversible!

I got my hands on Anna Maria Horner’s book, Handmade Beginnings

That quilt in the background…that’s why I wanted this book in the first place.  I started that project this weekend. Lets just say it’s a lot of cutting.

The book has adorable pictures.  I don’t know what’s cuter, that baby’s face or the jacket?

I attempted my own Baby-in-the-Hood Jacket. Size fits 3-6 months.

It’s lined with soft yellow polka dot flannel.

Remember those hexagons my MIL busted out during conference? Guess who got hand stitched potholders for Christmas?

Pardon my use of cell phone pictures.

Here’s a reversible toddler apron I made for my new niece. I also have an adult hostess apron I made a few months ago in the same fabric.

It’s been a while since I’ve made baby kimono shoes.

I almost forgot how.

Perfect for Valentines Day don’t ya think?

While in California, Diane and I were strolling through the Shops at Mission Viejo when I stumbled upon this art exhibit in the middle of the mall. Since having a home, I have been more interested in purchasing artwork. However, I am one who shies away from poster-style prints that are put into frames. Rather, I am interested in purchasing canvas–or something that can be put in a really awesome frame. Well, Copia sells stretched canvas triptych artwork. It didn’t take long for me to find a piece or two that I wanted. The first piece is entitled “Game of Chess.” It so happens that I love chess as well as the rich, dark colors. The only problem was that it was a little too masculine and we don’t have a separate game room for it. So, Diane and I agreed upon something a little more suiting for our family room. It happens to go well with our color scheme.

Well, the hardest part for somebody as unskilled as me was the hanging of the 3 frames. Getting them to be perfectly level and spaced out did not seem like an easy task. In addition, perfectly lining up all the holes was a major pain — I was off by 1/8″ on some, which prevented the pictures from hanging properly. It wasn’t until my friend (who happens to be an interior designer) told me to lay out the pictures on the ground and take a long piece of wax paper to use as a template. I poked holes in the paper and then used a laser level and was finally able to get them installed.

Game of Chess – Maybe for a game room or the office?

Gondolas of Venice

This year we spend two full weeks in California for Christmas and New Years Main Beach Laguna

Fernando’s parents along with our niece and nephew, went to the beach (Mladineo tradition) on Christmas day, even though the weather was pretty chilly.

We took the kids for a stroll around RSM Lake

We met up with my college roommate Melissa at one of my favorite places in California, Balboa!

Our favorite pastime is Skeeball. But I totally scored the jackpot on that game where you have to push the button to catch the light.  Skillz baby skillz.

The banana’s were so heavenly, next time I have to get the x-large one.

I love this picture of my hubby in his aviators

We took a road trip to San Diego to visit some friends and go through the temple. It was so amazing! Definitely one of my favorites.

Carlos wanted to take the kids sledding at Bear Mountain. Unfortunately it took 3.5 hours to get there since one of the freeways was closed.

Beautiful views

I finally got my hair done (since I don’t know of any good places in Houston)

It was so cold, the kids weren’t too happy.

Carolina and I.

I don’t think I could feel my chin in this picture

We took advantage of having someone else take our picture of the two of us together.  That doesn’t happen very often.

One thing I had to do was go fabric shopping at the LA Fashion District

I scored huge at this store. Unfortunately we went on New Years Eve and I only had 20 minutes to shop.

Fresh mango and pineapples to go.  Such great street food!

Some yummy tacos

bacon wrapped hot dog

and taquitos

While in LA, we met baby Matthew, the newest Mladineo at the NICU at the UCLA Hospital who was born two weeks before Christmas

Seriously such a cute baby. He has the most gorgeous hair. We hope he can go home soon!

The waiting room at the hospital…gotta love smart phones

New Years Eve, Ferd’s mom made delicious empanadas

Delicious chocolate cookies

Grandma Gloria was ready to get the show on

We went to this really good donut shop in Mission Viejo called Donut World, unfortunately they didn’t have any Crullers left. But they did have really good buttermilk bars.

Fernando is the greatest husband to go fabric shopping with. I know most men can’t stand these stores.

M&L Fabrics discount store in Orange County.

This store was absolutely amazing though. Piles and piles of clearance fabrics and tons of flannel. The designer prices were very reasonable as well.

We dropped off our luggage at the airport and headed to the beach (Manhattan Beach) for one last time

I thought this dog was sitting so cute

It was a beautiful day to have to leave.

We hosted a Christmas party on the first weekend of December. We were crazy stressed getting ready for it since we had spent the previous weekend in Austin with my brother for Thanksgiving. Thankfully having a party forces you to clean house and decorate early in the month. We had about 12 people over: old friends from church, new friends from our ward, and some of Fernando’s co-workers.

Unfortunately we didn’t take pictures, but one of our friends managed to snap a few!

The gingerbread station

Every body brought yummy food. Fernando bought this Oreo cake pan to make this cake with brownie mix. Unfortunately the peppermint ice cream melted.

That’s our Charlie Brown tree in the back

We ended up listening to Christmas music, eating good food, hanging out, and had a small gingerbread station for those who felt crafty.

All in all it was a fun night!

We didn’t even decorate pumpkins this year.  But when I read about this wreath from Woman’s Day magazine, we decided to go for it. Fernando was very excited about using a hot glue gun…until he burnt his fingers. Our wreath looked fabulous for a total of 2 days…

Sadly we never documented those 2 days.

This is how our porch looks now.  I’m sure our neighbors love us.

Does anybody know how to make a candy wreath last? We sprayed it with Krylon Preserve It, and it obviously didn’t work.

Maybe ModgePodge?