More Christmas Photos

Sophia with her new baby doll on the right and her old baby doll on the left. I told ya there was a lot of princess dolls.

Julianne with the learning market and her bowling pin penguins.

Merry Christmas to All!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve with Miguel's family. We had a wonderful dinner that was followed by a presentation of the nativity. Little Julianne was the star. She did great flying through the air, thanks to her dad, and held on tight to it.
Gabriela about had a meltdown when she realized she wasn't picked to be Mary, but overcame her disappointment once she was decked out as an angel. Sophia was a lowely shepard abiding in the field. We opened gifts and had a great time. The family talent show was a hit again. Miguel and I graced everyone with a jitterbug routine we stole from "Dancing with the Stars." It had a few glitches, but the audience was still generous with their applause. Miguel, Gabriela, and Sophia stole the show with their techno dancing version of Amazing Grace. (I'll post video soon, since I got the techno to do so for Christmas). The girls looked cute as ever in the dresses my Mom made. These are by far my favorites. They looked like little wrapped gifts. They even let me put their hair in curlers the night before.

Santa was good to the girls again this year. Gabriela wanted a princess maker (?), so Santa brought her a lot of princess dolls. She also got an art easel with supplies since she is a budding artist. Sophia got a new baby doll, highchair, and playpen which she likes as well as a cleaning set. Julianne got a piggy bank toy and a cash register/market toy. Our house is a mess, I'm sure like everyone elses, but it's worth it. It's been great and the kiddos make the holidays so much more fun.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

My word. Have we been burried in snow or what. I think we at least got a foot of snow yesterday alone. This is the view out my kitchen window into the backyard. Do you like the monsterous icecycles that hang from the house?We actually got the girls bundled up and let them play a little bit in it.

It was Sophia's first time ever being in the snow. I think she has a love affair with it. It didn't matter if her hands were freezing or not, she wanted to be out there. She even wore her snow bib to dinner last night, because she liked it so much. Here you can see how much snow had fallen.


Poor Julianne was left inside with Mom. Even though the picture isn't the clearest, I just loved the smile I got.
This is the newest addition to the Ruiz home. The Ruiz family piano. It just makes the home more homey. Too bad none of us really know how to play. Miguel can plunk out a few tunes, but hopefully that will all change shortly. Sophia will go sit up there, hit the keys, turn the pages of the music, and sing us a few notes.

This is the few of the frontyard.

I know most of the country is freezing right now, but at least us Utahns have something to show for it!

You're HIRED!

Ladies, I found myself a job this week. Yep, all by myself. Don't gasp just yet. No, I'm not leaving my children to some stranger, but I think I need a little balance in my life. I'm employed by the Provo School District as a "Para Professional." I think that's a fancy name for an aid. I'm actually going to be helping one or two students that may have some sort of physical disability with their classwork in the classroom. It's for 3 hours in the morning. Miguel is such a good sport and understanding. He'll get some good one on one time with the girls. I'll come back a happy woman and be excited to see my kids plus be happy knowing I'm bringing in some extra money. I'm exited about it because I've been thinking that when my kids get in school, I might enjoy teaching school. Of course I would need a teaching certificate, but I think this will give me an opportunity to observe and really decide if that would be something I would like later on. The principal seemed really impressed with my letter of intent and resume, which made me feel good, since I constructed it on my own. I haven't had a job in over six years and the one I used to have, my dear mother helped me get it, so I'm excited and proud of myself. I hope this is going to be a great experience!

On another note, I found it interesting thinking back on the last several months that my path has taken some unexpected turns. It all started with wanting to do that Mrs. Utah pageant. Once I realized I needed a platform, I went out searching for volunteer opportunities. I believe those volunteer opportunities prompted me to look at this job and also gave me the experience to get it. I don't know where my path will lead from here, but I believe all of these experiences will somehow help me in my future.

The wonder medicine

This is for all you Mom's who are exhausted from listening to your child cough all night long. If you are like me, you have little faith in cough medicines. I have found a solution...and I'm serioius. I recieved an email from my Mom a while back that said you can put Vick's VaporRub on the bottom of the Feet and cover them with socks and it should help them sleep soundly all night long. All of my kids are sick and the first night was horrible. Gabriela was crouping and Julianne had been continuously coughing and crying all night long. The second night I was determined to do something. I tried the Vick's and lo and behold it worked. Julianne didn't make a peep all night long. I didn't hear her cough once. I actually wondered if she was still breathing. So there is my little piece of motherly advice. I endorse it 100%. Give it a try and tell me if it works for your kids too.

Santa Baby

Ward Christmas Party 2008

Holy Ghost?

It's funny to see how things connect in the minds of children. Especially my little Gabriela. Here's how the conversation went down the other night.

Gabriela: "Eww, Mami it's dark outside. That means there are scary bats and ghosts outside. Right?"

Me: "Well there could be bats, but I've never seen them. It's a good thing we are inside."

Gabriela: "Well Mom, it's o.k. (the lightbulb comes on, because you can see it in her eyes) Hey Mom, you remember the Holy Ghost! The Holy Ghost can protect us and he's nice."

Me: (so impressed with my child) "You're right. The Holy Ghost can protect us. I'm glad you remembered that."

Gabriela: "Hey Mom, maybe there could be Holy Bats and Holy Witches too like the Holy Ghost. They could be nice."

Looks like we need to review that lesson again for Family Home Evening. I'm thinking she's a little confused. It gave me a good laugh inside though.

A week in review.

Miss. Julianne is such a sweet kid. She's about a month behind on her developmental milestones, but we are happy to report that she is sitting marvelously on her own now. She's got such a cute little smile. You'll have to see past the sweet potatoes and cereal on her face. No need to worry mates, we wiped her down before bed.
I watched my nieces on Wed. After a couple of hours with five little girls it was time for some good ole' popcorn and a movie.

This was another attempt at arts and crafts. Painting snowflakes to hang in the window. It seems as though nakedness is a reacurring theme at our house. The colder it gets outside the more naked they want to be. Sophia's sportin' her swimsuit under her apron. Gabriela just prefers underwear.

I think Sophia is going to work at the MAC counter one day. They like the dramatic look right?Sophia did this with a hot pink highlighter. It was pretty humorous because she color coordinated with her hot pink jammies and it stayed all day.

The faith of a child!

This conversation happened while we were at DisneyWorld. My Mom was watching Gabriela, while we were on some ride I think. My Mom was so afraid Gabriela was going to wander off, that she repeatedly was telling her to hold on to the stroller, that she would be so sad if she lost her ,and so on and so forth. Gabriela then turns to her and says, "Gigi, it's o.k. I'm not afraid. If I get lost, I'll just kneel down and say a prayer to Heavenly Father and he will come and get me." Well that shut my Mom up for a while. I think a little while later my Mom told her she was going to get lost again and Gabriela quickly responds, "Gigi, I already told you. I'm not scared. I'll just get on my knees and say a prayer to Heavenly Father and he'll come and get me."

Oh, the faith of a child!

Such Naughtiness!

My word. Yesterday was such a whirlwind. I think my kids saved all their naughtiness for when we came home from vacation. From the time they woke up until they went to bed, they were up to no good. In the morning, Sophia comes walking in wearing only her diaper and I notice some blue marker on her foot. As I began to examine her closer I soon found that her little nipples were neatly colored blue. I was snickering inside at the sight of it and then I noticed that the inside of her belly-button was colored in too. I know she's not that coordinated to do such a thing, so I call Gabriela into the room. Well what do ya know, she's colored in the exact same way. I guess all that practicing coloring in the lines has worked.
A little while later I hear Miguel scolding them and I guess they had gotten into the baby lotion and his tie drawer. Not a good combo. They had baby lotion all in their hair. So I throw them into the tub and decided that they couldn't get into too much trouble in their. WRONG. I go back and realized Sophia had pooped in the bath. I was so grossed out and they had a million toys in their with them. I had to rewash them, all million toys, and the tub.
Next I find that they had gotten into my packages of rhinestones. These are expensive Swarovski ones and their were hundreds of them all in my shag carpet. I spent at least half and hour scratching the carpet trying to get them out. Needless to say, I'm still not done. Sometimes I really do wish I had a tranquilizer dart.
Oh, and what made it really great, is that the kids were still on Florida time and were up at 4:30 in the morning ready to go. AAAAHHHHH!

A Vacation fit for a Princess!

We just got back from our first trip to DisneyWorld with our family. It was truly a Dream Come True for all of us. Gabriela was beside herself with all of the Princesses. We treated her to a dinner with the princesses and she and Sophia got new princess outfits for the special occasion. Sophia kept pointing and yelling at each one of them. I was amazed at how much she enjoyed herself.

Here are my little princesses with JasmineMy Mom is so great and made these adorable outfits for our trip to the Magic Kingdom. We got som many comments on them. What was really great is that their names were enbroidered on them and the princesses would call them by name.
Gabriela's idol!


Who's the cutest mouse on the block? My vote goes to Julianne. This is at our breakfast at Chef Mickey's where we dined with Mickey and all his friends.

Who doesn't love Minnie Mouse!

Julianne's big smooch from Snow White. They even kiss perfectly!

All of the waitresses kept making rounds to see our little Julianne dressed up as Snow White. One even asked Snow White to come back for some more photos with the baby.

Gabriela and I made a mad dash to the back of the Magic Kingdom from the entrance for the chance to meet Ariel. We only had about 30 minutes before she left and we were stuck behind the croud that followed the nightly parade. Luckily we made it and it was worth the rush to see Gabriela's face light up.

I'm back from my blogging vacation.

If only it was a vacation. I've been so insanely buisy that it's not even funny. Between my kids, pageant prep, finishing a major project, and everything else a Mom does. Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it. Here's a little taste of what we've been up too.

Here we have Picasso and Monet. This is my attempt at giving my children an opportunity to express their creative side. I think Sophia's into modern art, because she had more paint on her than she did on the paper.

Here are some of my sweet students at the Daily Dose program. They are from Spain, Brazil, and Mexico. I love these ladies.

Oh, and somebody had a birthday. Thanks to all who sent out such nice birthday wishes to me. Gabriela through me a party once we got home from dinner. I usually just get one really yummy piece of cake from a restraunt to share with everyone. I of course get the biggest piece and all the leftovers.

Happy Halloween!

The 1st annual Ruiz family Halloween Party was held at our house. Everyone came over and some of us took the kids out trick o treating. I couldn't have asked for better weather. It was so nice and warm. If we would have let them, I think they would have went on for hours, but after an hour or so, we decided their bags were full enough. Earlier in the day, I took the girls to Macy's our local grocery store and they had trick o treating in the store. Sophia was impossible. I thought that she would just put the candy in her bag since she couldn't open them, but oh no, paper or not, she was going for it. She would bite staight through the wrappers until she got what she wanted. Same went with trick o treating. She wanted to eat it as soon as she got her hands on it. All the cousins together. They all did a great job with their costumes.
Miss Raquel (Dorothy) and Miss Gabriela (Tinkerbell)

Because of the weather, Julianne was able to go with us and was a perfect angel in the stroller. She was our little cavewoman.

I dressed up as a Rodeo Queen and Miguel...Michael Phelps.

I love this guy for his bravery and willingness to just let go and have some fun. I've been anticipating this costume for a month and it was well worth the wait. Everyone couldn't stop laughing at him and his bare chest. He even shaved his chest for the event. Way to go Amor!

Julianne and her cousin Julieta. Julianne is crying because I sat her down. Typical


Happy Halloween 2008!

Our leopard wearing gals. Julianne and Annabelle

Tinkerbell goes to Preschool!

So here it is folks...my tinkerbell creation. This is the costume I sewed all on my own. Not bad huh, for a first try anyway. It was fun getting her ready for school this morning. I even put makeup on the little munchkin. I think I was just as excited as she was. I felt like a real mom last night at 9:00 trying to finish her treats to give away and finishing the last finishing touches on the costume. This is her with her long time buddy Blake. She gave him a big hug when she saw him. She then proceeded to give everyone else in the class a hug. What a loving child I have. This is her friend Lilly she keeps talking about. I'm glad I finally have a face to put with the name.

These are our wonderful treats. We made monster hands with popcorn and candy corn. We're trying folks. I think this kid is so darn cute!