Bea's 15th Birthday Party

This was Bea's birthday party when she turned 15 years old (she's turning 17 years old this year). For some reason, my kids tend to gravitate towards all things anime. Is it because we're asian? Hmmm... That's a possible reason, right? Well, anyways, Bea wanted to watch this anime series called Durarara!! with her friends, so we ordered the DVD on Amazon. I don't know if it's popular with the kids but it's about an internet-based anonymous gang called The Dollars in Tokyo, Japan. I searched the internet for party supplies with this theme but there were none, so I had to make most of the decorations.

This was the invitation I made on the computer using Adobe Photoshop Elements. I also made the envelopes. I printed out their names on shipping labels to make it personalized.

This was the welcome sign on our door. Since the story centers on an internet-based gang, I made this look like the log in page for their site.

This was the backdrop. It's made up of pictures of all her favorite anime characters, and also some of her favorite Korean Pop idols.

Her birthday cake was made to look like the invitations.

These were on our walls.

Since they were having a Durarara!! marathon, we served them food that you would usually find at the concession stand in the theater -  hotdogs, nachos, popcorn, candies - you know, the good stuff. (^_^)

Everybody had their own personalized concession boxes.

These were the party favors. If they look like Starbucks Frappuccino bottles, it's because that's exactly what they are. I've been saving them for months.

They played several games before they watched the dvd. First was the chopstick game (whoever gets the most jelly beans by using the chopsticks wins), popping the ballons game (the person who pops the most number of balloons by sitting on them wins), guess the character on the forehead game (this is similar to the Hedbanz game, but the images taped on their forehead are anime characters), hunt for Celty's head game (Celty is a dullahan looking for her stolen head, so we hid different pictures in the backyard, the person that finds the picture of her head wins).

It was a hot summer afternoon and our living room was overcrowded, but the kids did not seem to mind. Judging from all the squealing and fangirling, I think it's safe to say that they all had a blast. And hopefully it would be a nice memory for Bea to look back to when she gets older.

   

I linked this post to these wonderful parties: 

A to Zebra Celebrations : Link Party Tuesdays

Teacher's Appreciation Day Gift Tag FREE Printable

Teacher's Appreciation Day is on May 7. It's not too late to get something that will show them how much we appreciate everything they do for our kids. Here are some free printable thank you gift tags you can use to make your gift extra special. I made this printable for teachers, but it's not exclusively for them, all of us has somebody in our life that we're thankful for - a doctor/nurse who helped us get better, police officers, firefighters, the mailman, a server at our favorite restaurant, the school bus driver, your child's babysitter, a hardworking employee, a friend - let them know that they are appreciated.

If you're feeling a bit crafty, you can embellish it like I did with this one. I think the tiny banner makes it even more cuter.

Or use it as is, just like this.

You can even use it for gift card holders, just like this...

...and this.

There are four colors to choose from - blue, red, purple and black. These are all 8x10 printables and there are 6 gift tags of the same color per sheet.

Click here to download the blue gift tags.

Click here to download the red gift tags.

Click here to download the purple gift tags.

Click here to dowload the black gift tags.


I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

A Peek Into My Paradise : T.G.I.F. Link Party
A to Zebra Celebrations : Link Party Tuesdays
Ducks 'n a Row : Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop
I Should Be Mopping The Floor : Mop It Up Monday
Piggy In Polka Dots : Party In Polka Dots
The NY Melrose Family : Whimsy Wednesdays
With A Blast : All My Bloggy Friends



Nath-isms

When Nath was still a baby I read about how some women make a list of the funny things their kids say or do. I thought, "How come I didn't think of that?" and I swore that I would make one for him. But... I never did. If I had started doing it as soon as he learned to talk, my list would probably be in the hundreds by now. Well, no use fretting about it now, right? So I'm going to begin doing it now, before I miss out on more of his Nath-isms. So here it goes....

1."Mom, look at my scarf! I dressed up nice today!" April 17, 2013
One morning, while he was getting ready for school, I heard him call out to me while I was in the kitchen. So I went into the living room and this is what I saw.

His scarf is actually a throw blanket. I guess wrapping any piece of fabric around your neck makes it a scarf? Hmm...

2. Nath: "I am your vampire baby!"
    Me: " Ok then, you're my vampire baby."
    Nath: "Help! The sunlight is hurting me!"
    Me: "No, it's not! Were a special kind of vampire."
    Nath: "Ugh! Please tell me were NOT gonna sparkle!"  April 19, 2013
Whenever we walk to school in the morning, Nath likes to pretend were characters from his shows, or his video games, or just any kind of monster. So we have been zombies, werewolves, firebenders, and on this particular morning, we were vampires. But apparently,  not like the ones from Twilight. LOL

3. "Why do they keep making that sound? Sounds like a cawing bird! Cacaw! Cacaw!  June 6, 2013
Wanna guess what he's talking about? It's Maria Sharapova's grunt sound whenever she hits the tennis ball.

The Simplest Things

Yesterday, after my husband and I picked up our little kindergartener from school, he took off the training wheels from his bike and then we went to a long alley so Nath can practice riding his bike. Nath was a little scared but his Tatay (that means dad in Filipino) assured him that he'd be there to catch him if he falls. And so they went up and down that alley, Nath struggling to gain his balance, while his tatay was jogging right beside him trying to keep him from falling. And there I was with my camera taking pictures of them.

My husband jokingly calls me the paparazzi because I'm always taking pictures of him and the kids, so they didn't think it was weird that I brought the camera with me. But you know what, I like taking pictures of things or events that make me smile. Even the most mundane things. Well, maybe they are mundane to other people, but not to me. One thing I've learned in my life, a lot of times it's the simplest things that matter the most. Things that other people take for granted. My childhood was, well, complicated. I didn't get to have the normal childhood that a lot of my friends had. Maybe that's why it doesn't take much to make me happy. And my adulthood... hmmm... it was more like a series of one bad decision after another. But things happen for a reason. Maybe I had to have the kind of life I had so that I could be the parent I am today. I am not perfect, that's for sure, but I would like to believe that I can at least try to be a good one.

But maybe, just maybe, all those things happened in my life, so that I could be where I am exactly right now. Standing on the side of the road with my camera, watching my wonderful husband and my sweet little boy, with my heart beaming with happiness. Well, if that were true, I would say that it was definitely worth it. 

Eleanor Roosevelt Quote

Have you ever felt like no matter what you do, people are going to disapprove, no matter what? Well, this is what Eleanor Roosevelt has to say about that...

 

Pretty good advice, don't you think?

 

 

 

Best Things in Life

I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in our material things. It's nice to have stuff that make our lives easier and comfortable. But it's really important to remember that...

 

 

Can you name some of the best things in your life?

Claire's Birthday Cake

For my daughter Claire's 15th birthday, I wanted her cake to look really pretty but we had to do it on a small budget. It would be nice to throw my kids big, swanky parties, but the thing is, not everybody can afford to do that. So I had to be a little bit creative to make my teenage daughter's birthday cake look kinda expensive.

The Silhouette blog gives freebies every Tuesday, and one of the free shapes is the 3d peony shape. Click here to see their tutorial.

I remember seeing a post on the Hostess with the Mostess  about decorating cakes with paper flowers. You can click here to check it out.

So we bought a plain white cake from our favorite bakery.

And I decided to combine the idea from the Silhouette blog, with the cake decorating idea from the Hostess with the Mostess blog, and this is what I came up with.

 I also made the paper peony for the gift bag, just like they did in the Silhouette blog video tutorial.

I already had the materials I needed to make the flowers so I didn't have to buy anything, well, except for the cake. I was really happy with how it turned out. Thank goodness we have these wonderful blogs that give us really useful ideas. (^_^) 

This post was featured here:

  

 Living Locurto {Living Creative Thursday}.

I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight

A Night Owl Blog : Create & Inspire Friday Linky Party

A Peek Into My Paradise : T.G.I.F. Link Party

A to Zebra Celebrations : Link Party Tuesdays

Family Home and Life : Wow Us Wednesday

Love Bakes Good Cakes : All My Bloggy Friends

I Should Be Mopping The Floor : Mop It Up Mondays

Piggy In Polka Dots : Party In Polka Dots

Rain on a Tin Roof : Give Me The Goods Monday

The NY Melrose Family : Whimsy Wednesdays

The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party

The Wondering Brain : My Favorite Posts SHOW OFF Weekend Blog Party

Thirty Handmade Days : Pity Party

This Gal Cooks : Marvelous Mondays

Ilse's Thank You Tag

This is a thank you tag I made for my daughter's friend. She is into anime and the character in the tag is one of her favorites, Shikieki Yamaxanadu - the name is a mouthful, I know. Ilse drew a poster of Momo, a character in "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and we used that poster for our "pin the ear on Momo game."

This is the poster that Ilse made. I think she did a great job on it. Thank you Ilse! (^_^)

Claire's 15th Birthday

 

My little girl --- I guess she's not so little anymore (sigh) --- just turned 15 yesterday. We celebrated it at home with my parents, nothing fancy, just a little family get together. Having a lot of people over for parties is fun, but little family gatherings are always nice, it's just more intimate. That's what I think anyways. You want to know a little secret? You see those flowers on Claire's birthday cake? They are not edible. I made them out of paper. Pretty tricky, right? (^_^)

 

 

Be Thankful

Don't you agree? (^_^)




Hello Spring!

About a week ago, we went to The Flower Fields in Carlsbad. The pictures I took doesn't

give them justice, but looking at them still makes me smile.

 

 

 

 

Don't you just love spring? (^_^)


 

My Favorite Bible Verse FREE Printable

The word of God is a double-edged sword --- it convicts us, but it also brings us comfort. As a Christian, John 3:16 has a very powerful message. God loves us so much that He gave His only Son, a sacifice that is not to be taken lightly. I have always loved this verse, even as a kid. I did not fully understand it then but it never failed to bring me reassurance. But as I got older, the verse that really stood out for me is this one.

For those times when I feel unwanted, disliked, hated, rejected, and it seems like people disapprove of everything I do, or not do, or what I look like, or what I come from, I know in my heart of hearts that God loves me, and He put me here for a reason. 

I am not perfect but He loves me and He has a plan for me. It doesn't matter what my circumstances are, God has always been and will always be there for me. 

I am not an accident. 

I am not an embarrassment. 

I am loved. 

I am a child of God.

How about you? What is your favorite verse in the bible?

Click here for the free download.



I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

A Night Owl Blog : Create & Inspire Friday Linky Party
A Peek Into My Paradise : T.G.I.F. Link Party
A to Zebra Celebrations : Link Party Tuesdays
Create With Joy : Inspire Me Monday
Love Bakes Good Cakes : All My Bloggy Friends
Memories by the Mile : Tuesday Trivia and Link Party
I Should Be Mopping The Floor : Mop It Up Monday
Rae Gun Ramblings : What We Wore, Read, and Made
Rain on a Tin Roof : Give Me The Goods Monday