Life Lately

These past few weeks we have been trying to adjust to the new routine. We are back at school and there are no more care free sleep in days. Let me tell you it is not only an adjustment for the kids but for me too. Gabriel started kindergarten, which leaves me home with Daniel. I love that we get some one on one time together but we are still trying to find a routine. He misses his best buddy. As for Gabriel, he is still adjusting to waking up early and being at school all day. Kindergarten at our school is a full day not half day, so when the afternoon hits he is grouchy.


The Kindergartner

The Middles schoolers

Plus Gabe, he was so excited for his first day, he wanted to be in all the pictures. 

 The Senior

On Friday we went to the Harvest Crusade.

We heard some great music and a sermon from Pastor Greg.

On Saturday we went to the Dodger game.

Which started off great because this little guy slept until the top of the 9th. 

(Side note: He is two and he can't sit still)

I love him to pieces but this mama needed a little break after the crusade event, which he was a busy little bee. 

Love this guy!! Those are his thumbs up. :)

Ahh.......and here is Daniel after his lovely little nap. 

As you can see the first week of school was busy with jumping back into school routine plus we still had some events schedule. Phew....it was a hard week.

But lately we have still been just trying to adjust to the school schedule. It is really hard, with Dad's work schedule, the kids schedules, after school activities and the business. It's been a challenge and I'm just holding on. JUST BREATHE..., right??

Daniel's Speech Therapy

Daniel has always being very laid back when it has come to his milestones.  When he was born he took his time trying to learn how to latch on to nurse. But he eventually caught on. When it came to cooing, smiling, even his first roll overs, sitting up, crawling and walking, it was all in his time. Not in the time that the books all said he was supposed to. He was always off about a few weeks up to a month on some milestones. Daniel just wasn't in any hurry. Which I kept saying it's fine because I didn't want to rush him as he is likely my last baby {He is baby #5, if you didn't know}. So I want to enjoy his babyness.....(I'm not sure if that's even a word, but I'm going with it).

However, I could see his pattern and  I began to get a little worried as when it came time to talk. You see he was babbling but not very often. He has a very quiet, sensitive and shy personality. He is similar to his older brother, Jimmy who had a speech delay when he was three. Jimmy babbled more but we just couldn't understand what he was saying. We signed him up for Speech therapy through the school district (which was a challenge to get him accepted in to the program, more on that experience later) and started the program. He was blessed with an awesome therapist who helped him. He has since graduated from the program last year at the age of 8.

My sister told me about this program that could help Daniel. They come to your house every week and work with him and it's free!! I didn't even know there were programs available to help with speech at 19 months old, let alone that they come to your home for free!! Oh my!! I was so happy, that just maybe someone could help us with Daniel and that we wouldn't have to wait to get help until the age of 3.

So we called & made the appointment for an evaluation to see if he qualified. They would evaluate him to see if he really needed any help at all. So I took him to the office and I was nervous. Part of me wanted him to qualify but at the same time it would mean he was behind. I didn't want him to be behind, but if he needs help I want him to be able to get the help he needs. I had a mommy feeling that I knew he needed the help but part of me was hoping I was wrong.

So they evaluated him in:
cognitive skills, fine & gross motor skills social skills, language (expressive and receptive) skills and self help skills.
He scored low in some of the areas.
So they were going to send someone to help in all areas that he was behind in. The following week after the evaluation we started his sessions with a sweet and patient therapist.

I wanted to share this with you because this is a chapter in our story and
I want to record it.

Also, sometimes as mom's we can second guess ourselves and not listen to our instincts. If you have a mommy feeling it's always good to listen to it. There are times when I should have listened to my feeling rather than someone else. Remember you know your child better than anyone, listen to your instinct.

Daniel has been in ST for 6 months now and we can see lots of improvement. He still has a long way to go and it can be frustrating at times, but he'll get there, all in his timing.

Trust in Him......And A Shop Update

I have been slowly sketching some new designs out for the shop. I am hoping to work on them this week and get them listed. Balancing a handmade business, being a wife and mom is a lot of work. I really am trying and it is coming along slowly but that's ok. I am so blessed that my shop is continuing to grow and am still maintaining my role as wife & mom. It is hard but I know that God will provide me with only what He knows I can handle. I don't want to neglect my first job of being a wife and mom. And I don't want to do a rushed job on my jewelry. I want to give my family the best me and my customers my best work. With that being said sometimes I'm a little behind here on the blog. Ok, all the time. I am a work in progress.

Shop Update:

At the end of May, our church announced that they would be having their first Artisans and Craft Fair  called Lovely Market at the end of the woman's conference this summer. As I sat their listening to the pastor asking for anyone who has a handmade shop to apply for the craft market, I thought,"I wonder if I should apply?" But soon doubts filled my mind and I thought they'll never pick me.

In the car on the way home my hubby asked, "well are you going to sign up?" I was a little surprised he would ask me that. I told him how I was feeling and he just encouraged me to try. I love that man so.

So we went home and I applied. They said they'd email me in a month to let me know if they choose me to be a vendor. I told my hubby that on the application it asked if I've ever been a vendor, which I haven't so I didn't think they'll choose my shop. My hubby said well if it's meant to happen God will open the doors. So we prayed and just left it up to God. I didn't think much of it the whole month as we've been really busy.

The first of the month came and I checked my email which I saw a message from the church.
I thought oh, its probably thank you for applying but we didn't choose you at this time.......It wasn't!!
It was a Congratulations, we picked you! I couldn't believe it! I know this may not seem like a big deal to many people, but for me and my little handmade shop it is. I prayed to thank God for the opportunity and I called my hubby at work to tell him the good news.

This just reminded me it's all in God's timing and this is another example of Him showing me his grace. If I didn't put my trust & faith in Him and had listened to the doubts that filled my head, then I'd never know if this was the next step for me.
God is good and He knows what we are capable of and not. He knows whats best for us better than we know ourselves.


So now I'm excited, nervous and frantically trying to prepare for my son's 2nd birthday this month and for the craft fair.

So I am pleased to announce Regina Ann Designs will be at it's first craft fair this summer at www.LovelyMarket.Harvest.org on Thursday August 1st from 11a.m. - 7p.m.
If you are local I would love it if you would come by and say Hi!!

San Diego Trip

This summer we went to San Diego for a few days. Here is a peek at our little vacation....

 
Our view from our room....

Then the next day we headed to Sea World.

We t3ouched some starfish....

                   
                     Daniel liked splashing in the water...

We saw some sharks...

      We touched some bat rays....

                                                             
They felt kind of rubbery.

 
    The hubby and kids had a fun time spraying the people on the rides.....so much fun they didn't want to leave. I think we stayed there a good thirty minutes before I tore them away from the spray guns.

Played in the sand with the cousins....

Playing at the beach.....

Fun in the pool....

The hotel had these huge trees outside our room and of course the kids wanted to climb them.

On our last morning in San Diego the kids went down to the beach and decided it would be ok to let Daniel get in the water, even though he was in his pants. While Dad and I packed up the car with the suitcases. 

But they did take some nice pictures, so I wasn't too upset. 

Look at these smiles, how can I be upset. 

Oh how we will miss you San Diego.......until next summer!

My Breastfeeding Story

This topic is a very delicate one and very dear to my heart. There are many women who breastfeed their children and many who formula feed. Every mama knows what is best for her and her child. I have breastfed 4 out of 5 of my children. All were a different experience. However, I wanted to share a part of Daniel's and my breastfeeding story with you.

Right now Daniel is 23 months old and we are still breastfeeding. I am so blessed that I have been able to do it for this long. Nursing a baby and a nursing a toddler is so different. When you nurse a baby they sit and your arms quietly and usually drift to sleep. With a toddler it can be that way at times and then it can be a little less quiet. As he nurses he has his little car in his hands driving it on my arm. Or how he tries to talk while nursing. Which is gibberish because he isn't saying many words yet. Or nursing gymnastics (wiggling around). When I nurse in public I'm always covered up but I still feel like people are looking at me. I imagine that they are saying, "oh my, she is nursing a toddler", "he can eat food so why is she nursing him ?", "he's too big to be still nursing!"Things like this go through my head. Plus it doesn't help when he is shouting for it in public. It can be a little embarrassing. Many people tell these things to me and it kind of makes me sad because I feel like I'm doing something wrong for breastfeeding him this long. But I just try to keep reminding myself that I do it because I believe it is the best thing for him.

Breastfeeding has some pros and cons. First of all, I never had to carry bottles or formula in my diaper bag, just extra clothes and diapers, and we were ready to go. We saved lots of money on not buying formula, so that is a plus. I never had to get the bottles ready or clean them. Night time was awesome because we co-sleep so I didn't need to go and prepare any bottles. However, it can be challenging at times, it is time consuming and you do have to stop what you are doing to feed your baby. But you know what, I kind of like that, it's mine and Daniel's special time. Time where we can bond. Time where I am forced to slow down and just be still. The closeness and the quiet time where he drifts to sleeps in my arms is beautiful. Also, there are times when he wants to nurse but sometimes we are not able to, this can be difficult. I am the only one that can give him this special milk and I am so happy that I am able to do this. These moments I will always cherish.

So when will we stop nursing? I'm not sure. I read lots of parents say that their child self weaned,  I don't think Daniel is ready to give it up just yet. However, I feel that our nursing time is coming to an end soon and I am going to enjoy these last nursing moments that we have left.

Please if you don't have anything nice to say please don't comment. Thank you.