any given sunday...

taylor made it through church today. she cried when we put her in the toddler room but apparently did well after that. as we were picking her up our friend russ was saying how great she did and how she kept laughing and playing. she never does that. we peeked inside her room and we could see her walking around and playing. praise God! they said she played and laughed and would every so often be walking around calling for mama. i'm so proud of her! here she is after church...in the skirt i made her and the elmo shirt auntie krissa gave her.

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on the sad note...please keep in prayer...our pastor whose kidney's are on the road to failing and his wife...they just announced that she may have cancer. please pray the full body scan show no signs of cancer.

no more baba...

yesterday we had taylor throw out her baba (bottle). she threw it in the trash...not us. we wanted her to be proud and accomplished doing it herself. she's almost 19 months and we decided she needs to be a big girl and stop using her bottle for milk so she can go to sleep. she was sooo sad. times when she wants to sleep have been tough. she keeps asking for her baba and we have to keep reminding her that she threw it out. she doesn't like that we try to replace her baba with a sippy cup. she loves her sippy cup, just not for milk and to go to sleep. so today we bought her the nuby sippy cups with a soft spout like a nipple...it's much wider than a baba nipple but it's like a baba...and yet its like a sippy cup too! so hopefully these work to help her sleep.

yay!!!

...on my way to pick up my hubby!!!!

toughin' it out...

...it's been tough with jino gone. i've been an emotional mess, not to mention physical mess cause i'm not getting enough sleep. every time i think about him i start to cry, so far there hasn't been one night where i haven't cried. i know...i'm such a big baby!!! but really...when he's gone you realize just how much help he was...and i'm not saying he was helpful...cause he was...it just stands out more when he's not around. it's especially tough during those times that were "his" time....like bath time and reading time with papa, and when he went to get the mail or throw out the trash and taylor would always wanna go, or when's its around time for him to come home from work, or when there's songs that are sung that taylor knows papa sings with her...it's toughest at night...not just cause i'm a big chicken and i don't like to be alone...but those nights when taylor has called for papa...and one time she woke up, pointed to his side of the bed and said papa. so it's been hard. we are both sleep deprived. i can't sleep cause jino's not here and taylor can't sleep cause i can't sleep and cause papa's not here. it's tough not having the 2nd set of hands and not getting alone time to myself...cause all the mommies know that we need that time! and so i've been on edge, cranky and very impatient with taylor-and i hate that. what a challenge this week has been...and it's not over...jino doesn't get back til friday. i am so thankful that krissa has sleptover and that i got to sleep at my sis' and that she's staying over! not only do they keep me company at night...but they give me that little bit of a break that i desperately need each day!

anyhow...here's some pics of taylor of this week so far...

she loves to water the plants! ...and she definitely has MY calves!

she definitely misses papa...i caught her taking his shoes out of the closet and putting them on...

slumber party at kt's...she was sooo tired cause she didn't sleep well there...

meanwhile, back to the life of "selley homemaker"...haha, business is coming along slowly but surely...got a good amount of outside sales and MY VERY FIRST SWEET NOVEMBER SALE!!!!

it was a custom order...they picked the fabric, applique, type of top, size, length of skirt, waist size, etc. i forgot to upload a pic of how i wrapped it oh so cute. haha. i still need to go out and get some cute boxes to mail these in...or i haven't decided if i'm gonna stick them in a signature fabric bag that i make. hmmm...i'll decide by tomorrow cause i'm mailing it tomorrow. haha! praise God for my 1st etsy sale! this is fun! and my brother always said i should start an online business since i was a stay-at-home mom and i never thought i'd do it.

here it is...

this one is for you papa...

bye, bye papa!

taylor and i are so sad. we took papa to the airport an hour ago. he's headed up north for some training for work. he'll be gone for a whole week. we won't see him till friday!!!!! that's a loooong time! last time he had to go up north we got to go with him but not this time. so sad. our first whole week without him! pray for a safe flight and for my patience with taylor! we miss him already!

halloween is on it's way...

since it is i've added this to my etsy shop:

sweetnovember.etsy.com

mommy and me class

i really like school. i like the mommy and me class a lot. it's great interacting and learning from other moms. so funny, today i found out i went to college with one of the girls. she kept saying i looked familiar...though she didn't look familiar to me. we kept going over things...was it church, work, school and we came to the conclusion that it must've been at biola. haha. there are sooo many moms that it feels like i meet a new one all the time. it's just that every week i get to talk to a different mom a little bit more than the other. oh the joys of motherhood.

today we made stars out of construction paper and decorated it and glued a picture on. then we painted our hands and cut out a poem to go with it. all the artwork goes into a memory book that we get in june. i can't wait! today we had our first firedrill with the elementary school too! fun! so it seems...taylor and i weren't the only ones sick...most of the kids and moms came to school sick too. i think we all gave it to eachother...spreading out germs each week. eewww!

next week on friday we take our first field trip to the LA county fair. we are supposed to meet up there and try to find each other. i wonder how that'll work out?! anyone wanna go with taylor and i? it's free for us all in my car. hehe. and i love being part of a group with holidays coming around cause we get to enjoy all the holiday stuff together...we have a halloween parade/party, thanksgiving party and christmas party coming up...along with other field trips!

anyway...i highly recommend to all mommies to take some kind of mommy and me class, music, class, dance class, do gymboree or mygym, sports....something!!! its all worth it! and most of all it's a great opportunity to let your fruits shine!!!

library day

the rain didn't stop us. it didn't rain at all since lastnight. so today we ran errands in the morning with katie before she went to work. then i finally decided to take taylor to the library for story hour. that was fun. lots of mommies and babies. the lady read lots of stories and sang lots of songs in between each story with the kids. i've always wanted to take her and i finally did. i'm glad i did. can't wait to go next week! i was able to meet lots of new mommies and run into some old college friends there too who happen to live in chino hills now.

brown shoe, brown shoe

so i changed up the brown shoes i made taylor...

they looked like this:
and now they look like this:

shoes...

i've seen these everywhere on etsy and other online shops and websites...and i finally figured out how to make them. they are by no means perfect yet but it's a start!

my first pair of shoes

it matches this one...


so now upon request i can make them to match my gift sets on sweetnovember.etsy.com !!!

here's the other 2 i made...these are for taylor...

first i made these too big...so i cut them down...and now they are just perfect...but maybe too small now for taylor! haha...
and here are the other ones...i still have to tweak this pair...cause i'm not satisfied with it but i thought i'd post it anyways...

and i made all these today...and i'm sick!!! it's official...i AM sick. congested and all...and as i write this i'm getting drowsy. i took some medicine. hehe.

oh boy!

taylor is still sick.
i am getting sick. i have a sore, scatchy throat. ahh!

i also put up new items on my etsy shop! sweetnovember.etsy.com

here's taylor modeling one of them...

sick...

poor taylor is sick.
pray for her.
she is congested and has a runny nose.
she is whinier than usual.
pray for my patience!

Shop Open...

i decided to officially sell my onesie giftsets...

sweetnovember.etsy.com

i'd like to sell more things on there...but this is just a start to see if these sell...then soon i'm going to give my dresses and skirts i've made taylor a try to see if they sell. and put the ones i've made for myself. hehe. this is fun! let's see what etsy has in store for me. please spread the word!

in school...

we learned about family...
who is in our family?

i helped taylor make this...she insisted on writing on the last apple.

then we got to paint....okay so i helped a little

happy birthday...

happy half birthday my dear taylor!
today she is 1 1/2.
18 months today!!!


happy birthday to my mom!!! she is ** years old today!!!

sewing, sewing, sewing

i love sharing the things i make. i thank God for my new love for sewing, and for the time to be able to sew and for the money that buys me the fabric and for all the people and things that inspire me to make things. thank you Jesus. i mostly like to share it because I made it. it's not store bought...i put all the work into it... so of course i'm very proud of it. hehe.

my new dress...

katie's new dress...

taylor's new skirt (thanks to kt's leftover material)...

my favorite piece...

today i was out thrift store shopping and i came across this beautiful piece of vintage fabric...i wish there was more of it. i'm not sure what i want to do with it yet. ah, it's sooo pretty! i love it! i love great finds.

onesie giftsets

i'm selling them (mostly by word of mouth-for now)...not necessarily the ones i have posted on this blog...cause those were gifts i made for people and so they are gone already. hehe. but i've started making more onesie giftsets with either the same or different appliques and either the same or different fabric. anyhow, if anyone wants to buy one or has a friend who wants to buy a giftset. then email me for info on pricing. they can be made as personal as the person buying it wants...as in their choice of applique and fabric. here's only some of the fabric i have...as i acquire more and more fabric each day...haha...i'm always on the hunt for new and vintage fabrics.

here's what they would look like again...but note applique and fabric can be changed.

here's what the burp rag looks like on the underside...its a light terrycloth material...perfect for spitting up on. haha.

i'm also going to be selling the pillowcase dresses..but those are still in progress.

please spread the word my onesie giftsets! thanks!!!!

busy...

ah! i've been soooo busy grading papers for my brother! i had a huge stack of work that i had been working on alllll weekend that had to be done today. well i finished a couple hours ago and i am relieved. cause i finally had time to sew something. and it wasn't for taylo...i was making myself another dress. completely different from the other one. it's still a work in progress. i can't wait to finish it. then maybe i'll make taylor a dress like it too! grading papers is easy, yet oh sooo boring but it's good extra income. :)

God's working...

i am blessed to have a husband like jino. i feel even more blessed to have Christ in my life and in our family. i love seeing how God works in us and through my family. it's a good feeling. i feel growth coming. i'm excited to see what God has in store for us. just read my hubby's blog: http://www.xanga.com/jmarti80

Chris and Iya's wedding...

yesterday we went to my good friend chris' (or i call him boboy) wedding. i have obviously known about this wedding for a looong time. so being the girl that i am am, my biggest problem with the wedding coming was what to wear. it was the day of the wedding and i still had nothing. the wedding was at 2 in pasadena. so that morning i was out on a mission to find a dress. i actually found one. but i'd also been contemplating making myself a dress. i'd go to joanne's over and over looking at patterns and fabrics...but i couldn't decide on a fabric cause there was too many to choose from or i couldn't decide on a pattern either and plus they cost a lot. so each time i went i'd leave empty handed. i'd try looking online for tutorials too. i just thought it was too hard. but anyways, saturday morning...after i found a dress...i also found material screaming at me to buy. the perfect shade and texture of grey that i had been looking for. and it was only .50 cents a yard. so i bought 2 yards. it was 10am by the time i got home. i had to rush to make this dress. the only dress i knew how to make were the pillowcase dresses that i make taylor. i'd thought about making that before...cause actually i went to the mall and saw many dresses with that similar style...so i attempted to make me one. in less than and hour i was done. i still had to hand wash it and dry it. i am VERY proud of it. it's the 1st thing i've made for myself. it's also the first adult-sized thing i've made.

here it is...

but i wore it with a belt (and black heels)...

and here is why i wanted to wear a grey dress...
to match my hubby of course-haha (cause he sooo loves that-ya right)...

the newlyweds...
a reunion of old friends...
our table...
us...
i love him so!

it was such a fun wedding! we were able to have fun and see old friends again...and this was all withOUT taylor. she stayed with jino's parent's for a total of about 9 1/2 hours. wow, that's a loooong time!!! she went with wowwa and auntie kissa to visit baby aj and go to victoria gardens...and do whatever else they did. she had fun with them. praise God!!

1st day of school...

today taylor (and i) start school. it's a one day a week class where parents and children interact in developmentally appropriate readiness activities that include music, language, arts and crafts, and science (haha, i copied that from booklet). this is through pomona unified's adult and career education program. and i would've never known about this...if a few months back, when i took taylor to the park, if i hadn't met this other mom there with her son. we were making small talk as mom's at the park do and she tells me about this class. how awesome is that?! i shall post pics later.

taylor's 1st day of school outfit...a tank and new brown skirt i made.

she wasn't shy playing with all the toys...

here she is running around, trying to get to the playground...

this is circle time (not much of a circle) where they sing and learn new things...

she was sooo tired from her first day of school.

i had sooo much fun! there were sooo many mommies and babies. i got to meet soo many new women. it was great! i found out some are christian too. but i know my main ministry will be those that don't know the Lord. so pray for me to be an example to them. i really had fun. i think i might just enroll her into another day so that we can meet more new friends. i highly recommend this class to my other mommy friends....it's not too late. and there were even like 3 mommies with their toddlers and newborns in tow (see ruby, you CAN come)!!! i am so thankful!

suzy homemaker-haha!

i am having so much fun making skirts, tank tops and "pillowcase" style dresses for taylor. and i love when i get the chance to make something for friends...so many new babies and babies to come. whoever thought it'd be so easy to create an applique on a onesie and make a matching burp cloth and matching bag?! making presents is so fun andrewarding! i really do praise God for my new sewing machine. it not only saves us money but occupies my time when taylor's napping...so that i'm not wasting away on the internet (myspace inparticualar-hehe) and watching tv. this is sooo much fun! i'll post pics later.

here are the new onesie, burp rag and matching bag gift sets i've been working on...

some tanks that i "refashioned" (thanks for the term kris) from old skirts and tanks of my own for taylor...

her newest "pillowcase" style dress...

Labor Day

today we went to bolsa to watch papa surf...auntie katie came along, rob and christy were supposed to go but decided not to last minute. it was nice and hot. papa caught some good waves while mama and auntie katie and i played with the water and in the sand.

taylor playing in the sand while papa walks out into the line up
here is papa trying to get barreled

taylor wanted auntie katie to get her water for her bucket

then she wanted me to go get her water for anothher bucket

papa got to play with taylor in the water. she loves to play in it even though she is freezing cold

her cute feet prints

then papa, mama and i went to uncle rob and auntie christy's house for bbq...with uncle jp, auntie owen, jackson and laura. she was sooo tired. she fell asleep on the way there.

she looks like a boy here cause the ac is blowing her hair up all over the place

she got to see haoli (is that how u spell it?) the dog...she loves him.


she wanted to bring him his bed cause he had to stay outside cause he just got a flea bath

we had tons of yummy food...kabobs, polish dogs, salmon, tempura veggies and some yummy frozen chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream from trader joes. this is what was left of our yummy lunch.

papa and everyone else played pretend poker while i slept on mama.

....and that was our very fun, very tiring labor day!!!