Life as a Brandtito

Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute you didn't grow under my heart but in it. Fleur Conkling Heyliger. Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms, Stepmoms, Adoptive Moms & Momma Role Models out there! I hope you all had as wonderful day!! I want to especially wish my own Mom & Step Mom a wonderful Mothers Day! It is because of them, that I am who I am today.  My Mother is wonderful. Perfect even. Growing up, I never doubted her love for me for an instant. I also never doubted that she would absolutely knock me into next week for being disrespectful. She is exactly the Mother I hope to me. She is a strong, loving, kind woman who constantly shows others the love of Jesus thru her actions. But she is not to be trifled with. I love her with all of my heart.  Though we didn't always see eye to eye growing up, it is because of her that I opened myself to the possibi...

Did you know that I'm a quarter Filipino & a quarter Nicaraguan?? It's True!! Alright well it's not, ACTUALLY true but I spent enough time at my best friend Erika's house growing up to be  an adopted member of their family. Sunday, the girls and I celebrated my adopted Nephew Collin's 5th birthday at The Ridge in Pace. We had such a great time! There were cupcakes, arcade games, pizza, friends and we even got to watch "Rise of the Guardians" to top it off. The Birthday Boy

I honestly have no idea what's going on in this photo SLUMBER Party is really a poor title for a girls sleepover. No one Slumbers...everyone just stays up all night being crazy & creating havoc....also known as fun. Heaven had a 2 part birthday this year. Friday night she had a few close friends spend the night. She'd wanted a camping party, but I didn't think most parents would be okay with their kids actually camping in the back yard (an no way was I camping in my own yard...much less sleeping, or attempting to sleep in a tent with 6 girls) so John being the super awesome Dad that he is built a tent in our front living room for the girls to sleep in. It was definitely a hit. We made pizza, decorated cupcakes, made smores, played with glow chalk, had dance competitions & even watched a little Justin Bieber. Making Pizza Dinner Time Decorating Cupcakes Heaven love JB!  Smores!  Glow Chalk!!  Indoor Tent The next morning ...

I've heard of this diet called "Carb Loading" that's supposed to give you loads of energy. I think there was also something in the fine print about it being specifically for like Olympic's style athletes or something...but it seemed like a minor detail. The Mini's will be in Orlando this week to visit Aime. We decided to have a special send off with a carb filled dinner at Ozone's...or Pizza Castle as the kids call it.  O'zones is located in the old Sacred Heart Hospital and the girls especially, love checking out the upper floors! You can't go all the way up to the top, but the first few floors house different businesses. There are lots of creepy glasses cases with old hospital artifacts in them that the girls love checking out. We got to sit in the "new" addition at Ozone's, which was wonderful, because as much as  I do love Ozone's it's always SUPER loud. The new side room allows you to have actual conversation, which ...

Just a lazy Sunday at Nana's!! Uncle Bob/ will be out of town for the week, so Ava will be staying with us a few days to keep us company while her Mama works the night shift at the hospital.. She is always a very welcome guest!  Since John is out of town this week too for work....I decided it was time the kids learned to fend for themselves at dinner time...at least partly. Introducing...make your own pizza night!! It was a hit...especially since they had ice cream dessert waiting for all who finished their pizza...