Christmas Party 2012!

This year we had our first Christmas party! Three toddlers were running around the house, jumping on beds and eating sweets it was awesome! We also worked on a art project that was a lot of fun. First we made salt dough ( mix 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of flour and gradually mix 1 cup of water). The kids all picked the teal food coloring for their dough.  Then we played with the dough and shaped it into a circle to make a small plate. The kids made an impression of their hands in the dough and baby Dane made one of his tiny foot. We made little holes at the top of the plate for a ribbon for hanging and baked it for 3 hours at 200 degrees. The plates came out great and will make great Christmas present for the grandparents.

 

What I Want For Christmas!

What do I want for Christmas?

Hummmmm.....I had to think about this for awhile. My husband emailed me while he was at work and told me to hurry up and send him my Christmas list. Haha well this year I don't have any items that I really really want. Last year I wanted and needed a new wallet and purse. I was very impressed with my husband last year, he got me exactly what I wanted. I told him what specific purse I had been eying, but left the wallet up to him. He made an excellent choice. I get complements all the time for my Betsey Johnson wallet. 

But, this year I want a present that will have more meaning and something that will motivate me to continue working with art and fashion. This year I want a craft nook!

Currently all my art and craft supplies are in a Rubbermaid box in our linen closet and the top shelf of my closet. It is super unorganized and annoying to go through. I need something that will keep me organized, looks clean when not in use and out of reach from my daughter. I dont need her sticky fingers getting into my stuff. lol Lu has her own art supplies! Humm.. maybe lu needs a craft nook too... Oh but this is about me. haha

I need my own area to be creative. 

So I've been using Pintrest to get some ideas and these are the top 3:

                   P.S. I also asked for a date night (dinner and a movie), and a gift card :)

     

Dr. Seuss Cookies I found on Pintrest!

 I found these cute Dr. Seuss pinwheel cookies on Pintrest and had to try to attempt to make them.  I am not a very good cook and definitely not an avid baker. But, I figured baking would be a fun activity for my little toddler and a yummy treat! I bought neon food coloring (my new favorite medium) to make the cookies nice and bright. I think I will bake and cook more just so I can use the food coloring. Purple macaroni and cheese anyone...eww lol  

So my cookies don't have the cute spiral like the ones on Pintrest, but they taste good! I was kind of side tracked with the whole baking with a toddler bit. Lu and I will try again for our Christmas party on Wednesday!

Below is the link for the Recipe!

http://www.soudersstudios.com/recipes/rainbow-pinwheel-cookies.php

Follow the Book Road

Lucia's favorite past time is creating a path around the house, with her books.  I'm not sure how she got this idea, but its a very cool process to watch.  She talks to herself while shes creating and she definitely has a strategy.  Lu knows that there are some books that connect and some that do not.  I think shes a genius for creating a road with her books!  I'm so proud of my Lu for being so creative and resourceful when finding a medium.

Cherry Blossom Tree for Lulu

I always wanted to paint a mural in my child's room. Since, we are renting and we are not sure how long we will commit I decided to get a wall decal for Lu's room.  I purchased the cherry blossom at Target. Oh, yes Target my favorite place to shop for everything! I can spend hours in Target. Now, that I live in Santa Barbara ( there are no Targets in SB) shopping at Target is a real treat. I am already planning my next trip to a Ventura Target for Christmas gifts and party supplies for a small holiday party for Lu and her friends.  

Back to the decal it was super easy to stick to the wall and it is reuseable, so when I made a mistake I could peel it off and fix it in a sec.  I attempted to do this after I made dinner and was already feeling tired, but it was no problem and took about 10 minutes. I want to try to find monkey decals to place on the wall by Lucias bed. If I can find three little monkeys jumping on the bed that would be so awesome!

      

Potty Training Pt. 2

We are still in potty training mode! Monday Lu tried wearing underwear, but that wasn't very successful. So we are back to her not wearing bottoms. I think we will continue with her not wearing bottoms until shes consistent and then try underwear. Yay! for my Lu I am very proud of her she is such a big girl!  

Glitter Nail Polish for the Holidays!

This week I was looking for some fun holiday nail polish. I wanted something sparkly that reminded me of tinsel and glitter. I was happy to find this pack of four colors for $12 at Sephora. It was such a steal and I am loving my sparkly nails! 

Potty Training!!!

Lulu is potty training! We are on day three and shes doing really well.  We had a couple accidents, but shes starting to get the hang of it.  Sometimes she tells me when she has to go and we run to the potty. A couple times she sat on her potty all by herself, ( I was sooooo proud). I have started to reward her with an m&m after she does her business, just because she didn't seem that interested in using the potty.  The encouragement wasn't enough for my primadonna lol! Lucia loves candy so far its been working. I will post an update soon! I can't wait for her to be diaper free! But then again my baby is growing up soooo fast its crazy!!!  

Peanuts and Putnee!!!

If your ever on State Street in Santa Barbara stop by Peanuts Maternity & Kids. Peanuts is a great store with consignment clothes for mama and baby. New merchandise from clothing, toys and baby gear are also available in the store.  My daughter and her friends love Peanuts so much! The store also has a toy train and play kitchen out on the floor for the kids to play with. The owner is super sweet and the staff is so welcoming, its a great environment.  Peanuts also has different classes available for moms and kids.  My daughter attends Putnee's music class on Fridays and absolutely loves it. Putnee sings and plays a guitar, sometimes he has puppets for the kids to play with too.  If your visiting SB and want to entertain your toddler stop by peanuts!   
http://www.peanutvine.com/

Dia De Los Muertos Celebration in Glendora, CA

Dia de los Muertos is one of my favorite celebrations. This year we headed to Oakdale Memorial in Glendora, Ca for day of the dead.  It was a very nice celebration and Lu had a lot of fun.  There were beautiful altars dedicated to loved ones and entertainment ballet folklorico dancers and mariachi bands.  My cousin Kiera had her face painted and she enjoyed dancing with Lucia in the cemetery.  I have many family members at Oakdale memorial and it was very nice to spend a fun day remembering them.   

RAIN BOOTS

It's raining it pouring!

Well it might rain all week, so Mommy Feliz had to find some new rain boots!  Lu and I headed to the Paseo Nuevo Mall and found some shiny black boots at ALDO. I really like them they are fitted around the leg and are super comfy. Lu's boots are from Stephen Joseph. She hasn't worn them yet but I'm hoping she will see mommy in her rain boots and will want to wear hers. Maybe, I should go jump in some puddles, that would motivate her. lol     

http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/women/boots/tall-boots/90110771-gulling/98&flagid=f12rain
RAIN BOOTS - LADYBUG

Pretty Party Decor!

My friend Raine shared this online store with me. The party decor is so cute and has everything I want to decorate  my many parties! Its also named Shop Sweet Lulu, what a coincidence! 

https://www.shopsweetlulu.com/index.php

Dia De Los Muertos Sugar Cookies!!

Well better late than never! Here are my Dia de los Muertos sugar cookies! I was sooooo proud of myself I made them from scratch! Below are the recipes I used for the cookie dough and icing. Both recipes were very excellent I can't complain! Lucia had a lot of fun making them with me and grandpa aka PAPA! loved them lol!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/The-Best-Rolled-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/sugar-cookie-icing/detail.aspx

Halloween!!!

Lucia and Santiago had so much fun trick or treating.  They dressed up as their favorite characters. Lucia has an obsession with Elmo and Santiago can't get enough of Thomas the Train.

Santiago's daddy did an awesome job, of creating Thomas the Train around Santiago's wagon.  Many parents and trick or treaters oohed and ahhed as they walked by Santiago. And, tourists vacationing in Santa Barbara, asked to take pictures of Santiago and his train.  

Lucia's tulle skirt of Elmo, was a costume I found on Pintrest. I thought it was so adorable! I knew I had to make one for Lu! It was really easy to make and inexpensive.  I wasn't sure how much tulle I was going to need. I started with five yards and ended up using ten. Lucia loved looking at her Elmo costume, but wasn't too excited to wear it.  Once, I told her she was going to get candy if she wore her costume, she immediately put it on. There is nothing wrong with a little bribery, lol! We had a great Halloween! 

I need a mommy movie night!

Here comes the flower girls!!!

Awe don't these girls look like angels! Lucia was a flower girl in a wedding this month! It wasn't easy but we got through it! The three girls loved spinning around in their dresses and dancing on the dance floor. My only regret, was I should have had a babysitter for the party after. I ended up leaving early and Lucia knocked out in the hotel by 8!!

Painting with Watercolors

Today Lucia and I painted with watercolors! Lucia had a lot of fun she really enjoyed the new medium. I enjoyed listening to her while she painted. Every now and then she would take a short dance break and then get back to her painting.  It was Lucia's idea to work on one painting at a time together :). Working with watercolors was a nice break from crayons and was very easy to clean!

 

Job Searching

Oh the dreadful job search! When Lucia was born I was working on my Thesis, for my Master's in Art Education. After graduation I became a stay at home mom.  I am so blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with my baby.  When Lucia turned one I got a part time job at a clothing store, for extra cash and to be around adults for a couple hours. lol :) Currently I work evenings at a hotel so I can stay home with my Lu.


Now that Lucia is two, walking and talking I think it is a good time for me to go back to work. I want to start looking for a job in the areas of art and fashion. Now more then ever I think I really need to focus on what makes me happy, what challenges me and what will allow me to be creative.

So now its on to the job search! I have to admit I am a little intimidated but I know I can do it! I can find my dream job and if I can't find it I might just have to make it!

Lucia Loves Shoreline Park, Santa Barbara

Shoreline Park in Santa Barbara was so much fun! The playground is perfect for toddlers and the location is breathtaking, the park over looks the ocean!!! Lucia and her friend Gigi had a great time.  We will definitely visit this park again. 

Love it!!! Lil Anchors | Bettie Page Clothing

Lil Anchors | Bettie Page Clothing

I'm looking for outfits for our family portrait! This is too cute!

CHALK!!!

Lucia is obsessed with chalk! She carries around buckets of chalk while she plays around our apartment and even brings them to the park. Buying this bucket of chalk at Micheal's was the best two dollars I've spent.  For the record the other bucket of chalk belongs to her friend Santiago. Poor Santiago he is probably always wondering where has his gone. Its such a shame his friend Lucia is a chalk thief.

Tips For New Moms!!

Here is my first video Blog!

Starch and Water!

Lulu and her friend Santiago had a lot of fun with starch and water. This was a great lesson that kept them stimulated. Lulu liked the way the starch felt on her mouth as you can see from the video above haha! Santiago was not as messy as Lucia but he enjoyed the lesson and watching the starch drip. 

Must Have!

I love this Skip Hop Lunch bag! The bags handle has a clip that allows me to easily hang it from our stroller handle.There is a sleeve inside for a ice pack to keep bottles fresh and enough room for 3 bottles.I wish I would have had this bag when my Lu was an infant. The designs are super cute too!

Toddler Fun! At The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Lulu and her friends had so much fun at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.  The museums exhibits were at their eye level and they could easily roam around the halls without getting into trouble.  The kids went on their own little hike collecting leaves, dirt and rocks in the museum backyard and had a lot of fun in the museum's sand box where the kids searched for a fossil.  Who would have thought one year old's could dig for a dinosaur fossil? Well they did  and had a lot of fun doing it! They are so cute! We will definitely visit the SB Museum of Natural History again!

Children's Creativity Museum - San Francisco, CA

 

http://creativity.org/visit/

While visiting family in San Francisco during the holidays we made a visit to the Children's Creativity Museum. The museum was pretty awesome and it made me wish I was a kid again. Because of the holidays the classes were postponed and the museum had free play all day. That was a bummer, because I really wanted my daughter to try out the early childhood class.  Fortunately they did have a short music class that my Lulu enjoyed.  That is her in the middle of the class with a music instrument and the fuchsia fur vest.  After the music class little Lulu loved going up and down the bright green slide they had near the entrance.  There was a video camera that would film the kids going down the slide and a TV that would play their video.  I was so excited to see Lulu go up the stairs to the slide all on her own.  It was even more exciting to see her go down the slide on her tummy for the first time. Thank God! Grandma had her iphone to film this milestone. 

The museum had different areas that were set up with art projects and toys. There was a puppet area and a dress up area. We checked out the 2nd floor that had all kinds of music, movie and art studios for older kids. If I lived in the bay area I would definitely become a member and have my kid play there.

I hope Lulu will get to try out the early childhood class on our next visit.  Its so much easier to let toddlers play together. They are on the same level (whats yours is mine level). Letting Lulu explore the museum during free play time with kids of all ages did get a little hectic. I think I had to tell two or three kids sorry, when Lu stole their clay. Ha!    

Perfect Playground Purse!

The Perfect Playground Purse

My honey gave me this purse for Christmas, and it was a lovely surprise. I spotted this Brahmin Melbourne Mojito bag at Nordstrom and loved it immediately. I had been searching for a small purse that would be versatile and keep me organized.  After having a baby my purse became my diaper bag and this became a problem. I kept losing my keys in the diaper bag and kept searching for my glasses in all the different pockets. I didn't feel comfortable leaving my diaper bag unattended at the playground, knowing that my credit cards where somewhere in there. My new purse has a built in wallet and two zipper pockets that can fit my keys, lipstick, compact, and baby wipes.  And an outside pocket that is perfect for my cellphone. Babies need so much stuff I had to learn to minimize my purse. As of now I'm enjoying my little purse so much so that my husband commented on how I use it all the time. Maybe he will get me one in Red next HAHA hint hint!