Our Little Bodyguard

A little over a year ago Christopher started taking Tae Kwon Do lessons. A few days ago he had a belt advancedment test. His grandma, aunt, cousins, and one of his uncles, along with dad, me, and his siblings of course, showed up to cheer him on.

He did all the forms, blocks, kicks, and punches. At the end he had to break a board. Christopher didn't know if he could do it and he was nervous. My very talkative son was very quiet that day. Ok, here it comes:



He did it!!!!



Here he is posing with one of his two instructors. His instructors signed the broken pieces of wood for him. We were all so proud of him.

This was one of several milestones he has passed, he has many more in front of him. This was certainly a special day for him, and me. He is growing up.

Etsy Debut!!

I have been busy! I have been sewing, crafting, and working on the computer along with my regular routine. I wanted to post my stuff on Etsy for long time but I guess I never had the courage to do it. With a few of my friends' encouraging words and Aaron's help, I finally opened my Etsy store!! Well, it is no where near perfect, but I am taking the baby steps. It is not easy to find time for this, but each night after the kids are in bed I am make some progress. Right now I am trying to find someone on Etsy to make a banner and avatar for me.

First I posted some of my stitchery patterns and this Apron. It took me such a long time to decide what to do with the pocket.



I had some left over fabrics, so I made tiny messanger style purse for Rachel.



She loved it! What is in side? Candies! Of course.

The lesson I learned

In my last post I mentioned a little about my shortcomings and mistakes. Well, this is embarrassing to tell this story but it was such a humbling experience and from this mistake I learned great lesson so, I decided to share with you all.

My sons Christopher and Michael go to a charter school two cities away. Michael started kindergarten almost 2 weeks ago. Since their pick up time is different I have to stick around the area or come home and leave again in less than two hours to pick my other son up. During the week they have other activity to go to on top of the homework and reading. As a Mother we have more responsibilities (as most of you know), and my micro business to take care of. I was trying to do it all even though the past 2 weeks have been so crazy, I think I did fairly well starting to adjust to the schedule, but today I spaced it big time.

I went to the school to get Michael at 11:30, I was there 15 minutes early waiting; I was the first in line. Nobody showed up. This is weird, I thought. I waited till 11:45 and decided to go inside the school and parked the car in front of the building. As I was getting the stroller out for Rachel, My sweet husband Aaron and Michael came out from the school and at that moment everything clicked. I made a huge mistake! The pick up time was 10:30, instead of 11:30. I was one hour late!! Friday is a half day, I was supposed to get him earlier, and I knew that. I just spaced it. They were so worried about me because I am a pretty responsible person, something like this never happens. I felt horrible for both Aaron and my little boy who had been waiting for me in the front office by himself until Aaron came from his work. As I was saying "I am sorry" tears came down on my cheeks and I could not stop them. Thank goodness no one was in the parking lot, yes, I was having an emotional break down. I have been too busy.... Michael was walking circles around us at the time but as soon as I started crying he came over and gave me a big hug and said "It’s O.K. mommy. I'm not mad, It's O.K. Just don't do it again".

This little boy, my son, whose head just barely reaches my chest (and I am not a very tall person either), saw that I was very sad and showed great compassion. He never complained that I was late; instead he forgave me, instantly. How amazing is that. Could I act the same way if I were in his shoes? His kindness touched my heart so deeply it made me cry even more.

As much as I love being a mom, some days are harder than others. When they are having a difficult day I often wonder if they are going to be ok and become nice, good people when they grow up, you know usual mom stuff. Today, my 5 year old boy taught me a great lesson: How to be kind and compassionate through his acts and words. I am extremely grateful for that. Thank you Michael and I love you very much. I am proud to be your mom.


Michael on the morning of his first day at Kindergarten. September 2, 2008

Sponsorship

I'm happily married with three beautiful children. I love to design, sew, work with beads, and restore old items. This blog is a slice of my life of things that are close to my heart. I love to hear from you all! Thanks for stopping by!

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Growing up too fast

Here is a picture of Rachel, happily eating her snack in the afrernoon.

I made this dress while I was pregnant with her. After I finished making it, I thought it would be a long time until she could start wearing it. Boy I was wrong. She just turned 3 years old and is about to grow out of this outfit. I am so happy to see her growing and turning into a cute little girl, but at the same time I am sad to see this stage go. I don't know if I have been the best mom for her and I don't know if I ever will be; I just hope that despite my short comings and mistakes that she will always know that I love her very much. Please don't grow up too fast and remember that you will always be mommy's little girl!

Basket style bags

One of my favorite things to do is to go to second hand stores or garage sales and find something that will stimulate my ideas. These are the three basket style handbags I had fun recreating and making.



Originally, this was a deeper basket and had a long handle. At first I couldn't decide if I liked it or not, but since I liked the color, I decided to take it home. Usually it takes a few days for me to make up my mind and decide what to do with my new project, unless a good idea hits me rigth away; I don't want to mess it up. I cut off the old handle and a few inches off the top and added a new handle. I used the same fabric as the new handle to finish the top too. This bag is so soft and one of my favorite bags for this summer.

This one had a dome shaped lid with latch but it was broken. So I brought it home and took the broken part off, added new lining and a new top. For the finishing touch I used a glue gun to put decotive trim around the edges. Since the handle is so delicate I don't use this basket as often as I would like to, but every now and then when I go out by myself I take it with me.

The last one, I actually crocheted it. Call me crazy but the material I used to make this was so tough on my hands that I thought I developed arthritis the next morning. I will never do this again. Althouth, I love the result I got. I used table cloth to finish off the bag. I love this bag because it has the primitive/shabby chic charactor I was after.

I think it is a great feeling to take the ideas in your head and actually create something you can see and feel. It is a sense of accomplishment. I am always looking for new projects I can put my heart and hands on.

Everybody, happy creating!