Kaitlyn's 7th Birthday

It was our first time to attend Kaitlyn's Birthday. 

For Kaitlyn's birthday, Mommy Rochelle chose the Mario Bros. Theme

* Loots for the kids to take home

* Joy did an amazing job with the cake

* Sparklers and candles :)

* Mommy Rochelle with Kaitlyn and Ryker

* Kids gather for the birthday song

* Birthday Girl Kaitlyn

* Mommy... wish Mommy G was here too

* Karl and Mel

* Love is in the air...

* ... and so is laughter

* Justin; Kimi with fave buddy, Samantha

* More pics of Kimi and Samantha

* Kenzo so happy to find a lot of Thomas in the house

* Papa Karl with Kenzo

Thanks to Charlie for some of the pictures posted above :)

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KAITLYN's 7th BIRTHDAY

Surrey, B.C.

Easter Inspired Carrot Cupcake

I am itching for Figaro's carrot cake and I can't get it here in Canada, I attempted to bake some and hope that it will suffice.

I decided to make an early Easter Inspired Carrot Cupcake. The flavor would be perfect for Easter, anyway, with the bunny usually used to symbolize the occasion.

I chose a recipe for Carrot cake here and tried the icing from this recipe.

I got my chocolate sprinkles and Cadbury Mini Eggs to make my nest.

It's simple and cute.

* Easter Egg Nest 

I ran out of Mini Eggs and decided to alternate other cupcakes with colorful sprinkles.

* Colorful Sprinkles

I am so glad to get this cupcake box at a bargain in Marshall's when we went for a day trip in U.S.A. last weekend. It was the perfect box to house my Easter cupcakes and at a really good price too!

* Perfect box to house the little sweets

* Easter Nest Cupcakes in their natural habitat, no pun intended :)

...and as for the taste of my carrot cupcake,

* Look who we found with his hands in the cookie jar cupcake table

...if this is an indication

* I guess I passed the taste test in flying colors

* * * * *

HAPPY EASTER

...I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;

and whoever lives and believe in me will never die.

John 11: 25-26

Life as an Architecture (Fine Arts) Student...and more

One of the best times I had when I was younger was my college years.

The best of both worlds, I got a bit of freedom and  a lot less responsibilities to worry about than now. Those carefree moments when life was stretched out right in front of you. 

I was a student of Interior Design, University of Santo Tomas then, and like Jerald, I can perfectly relate as to what he was talking about regarding plates and endless sleep. Sleeping over at a friend's to finish a plate to be submitted the next day. The cramming. Actually, sleeping over is not actually sleeping but trying to listen late at night on the radio while finishing our plate with cups after cups of coffee to keep us awake. Alarming our mobiles to make sure that we are informed when the time is almost running out or in case we accidentally slept out of sheer exhaustion. 

Graduation was both a happy and sad occasion. Happy to see that we are somewhat in the finish line for school days but sad when we realized that we won't be seeing as much of our friends as we were used to.

I didn't have someone significant during my college years but I would really be swept off my feet if my boyfriend did this during our graduation...

It was a real treat to see Beato Angelico in the video. It was quite new when we left for graduation. The familiar hang out tables and chairs as well as the new uniforms. I feel like it was so long ago... Thanks for this video, it somewhat transported me back to my yesteryear as a Fine Arts Student.

* * * * *

To Jerald and Angela, I don't know you but I definitely wish you all the best 

* * * * *

Everybody deserves someone 

who makes them look forward to tomorrow

-Anonymous

Wilton Course 4- Completed!

This is the newest course which just debut on February 2012. I figured that since I already got the first three completed, might as well get the last one to complete it...-and finish I did! Thanks to hubby who took care of the kids every Tuesday so that I can go to my class and have my me time despite being tired from work himself.

* Course 4: Advanced Gum Paste Flowers

We were not given a book for this course (yet), it was a bit hard to follow the lessons with a xerox copy for reference but the instructor, Kim, did the best she could and we were able to do what was required every week.

* Lesson Course 4

I was not able to make it to the 3rd class :(. I had a valid reason though, but I wish I didn't have to miss that class. My in laws were going home and I had to stay home and look after the kids while they were driven to the airport for their vacation. 

Last day was about wire wrapping basically. We wrapped all the wires of flowers made during the first 3 weeks and we spent a good amount of our time doing that. After the wrapping, we assembled the Stargazer Lily petals and wrapped them to make them into a flower.

* Mel's Stargazer- The Classic Colors

* Mona's Stargazer- Color more on the Tiger Lily Variety

...then we were to assemble the flowers into a bouquet/ corsage for our final project.

We used up a lot of our time wrapping and only a couple of us were able to finish with a bouquet.

* Instructor Kim's Bouquet

* Charlotte's Bouquet

I had to make do with whatever flowers I had minus the 3rd class' flower so I only got a couple to work with. It was also hard working with this things because they are delicate and prone to breaking. Some of mine broke before the 4th class during drying period, while some of the students got theirs broken on the way to 4th class. It pays to be careful and make extra leaves/ flowers just in case. You could see a cringe on the students face every time one of their item drop and a sigh of relief when they discover that it did not break. 

* Mel's Bouquet

* * * * *

Far from what I once was

but not yet what I am going to be...

* * * * *

WILTON CLASS COURSE 4

Michael's Craft Store

Burnaby, B.C.

A Hint of Italian

To those who know me, they know that I love to categorize (thematize) everything. Making meals is not an exception. Even though it is not the path I usually thread (making meals), I want to do it in themes and put some fun spin into preparing them.

I decided to go with the Italian this time. Inspired by my friend, Joy's post on easy recipe on Homemade Chicken Caesar Pizza, I did Caesar Salad and Ready to Bake CPK BBQ Pizza which I have been craving for some time now. I will probably do the recipe next time when my ready-bake runs out ;). Stone and Twinny did some grocery shopping for our shared Baked Mac with Bechamel Sauce. For our dessert, I just drizzled sweet milk on top of our strawberries.

* Italian Fare for the Night

As usual, it was a fun process and the conversations were really the spotlight as we enjoyed our meals together once more :).

Dinner at (Steak) Stake

I am fortunate enough to have someone (mother in law) to do the cooking for us regularly, so I was able to focus more on other home stuffs I need to attend to but when they went for a long overdue vacation, I go for a mini panic attack, thinking of meals that I can make for my family without sacrificing too much time preparing them.

I am so glad that I got friends every time I get into those situation. 

The first time that my friends were tested was when I was expecting Kenzo anytime and hubby and Kimi was the only family I had with me. My friend, Sarah, stepped up to babysit Kimi while I gave birth and send me food as soon as I came home from the hospital. My friend, Glenda, made sure that I got all baby items covered and had everything readied for me even before Kenzo came out of my womb.

This time around, Mommy Joy, took the time out of her busy schedule to make easy recipe available for me on her website (CLICK HERE) just so I would have some sort of a recipe when my trusted recipes are all used up. I am so touched with this little gesture of kindness. Mommy Jo, on the other hand, gave me some reliable websites to turn to as well for reference.

As for our dinner,

We had to check on what was left on our fridge and we got a pack of Tenderloin Filet Mignon. We decided to make a dinner based on the steak. 

Stone and Twinny came to our rescue on Friday's dinner, they went all out and came to our house to share meals with us.Stone did the cooking mainly, while I did the dessert (Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake) and the starter (mashed potato). Doing Double Dine In Date doubles up the fun and divides the work entailed in preparing something regular and make it much more special. Eron was able to come and join us as well.

Let us see what else we can conjure for our meals as my mother in law enjoys a month (or more) of vacation in the Philippines. I am open for more suggestions ;)

* * * * *

As iron sharpens iron,

so a friend sharpens a friend.

Proverbs 27:17

Spring Chicks at 4Cats

I decided to enroll Kimi somewhere new for Friday.

It was a one day Spring Break class for 3-5 years old which was quite interesting.

It involves oven bake clay and little hands and mommies waiting on the sides, without needing to participate.

That is a good combination for mommies of two who'd want an hour of relief away from one kid.

I was happy to get Kalen and Samantha to join us for this one day class at 4Cats...

* Pastels for early worms to use and create something with the papers

As for the studio, it was quite artsy. Kimi commented at how much she likes the place.

* Reception Area

* Colorful arts graced the walls 

* Room for more creations

* I love the easels hanging on the wall for little art works

* This must be the room they paint without worrying about mess

Sarah and I had time to catch up and we got our youngest to look over.

* Shawn is not that small anymore :)

* ...while Kenzo is still deep in concentration with his gadget

There was no wall unfilled with some kind of art. Even the bathroom was not spared.

* Paintings inside the bathroom

* A little info on why the bathroom is colored silver

Andy Warhol inspired

I forgot to mention that I had a little girl left as my responsibility for the day. I am so happy that she was well-behaved and such a trooper!

* So ready for some action. Look at this little fashionista- Kalen  :)  

I was glad that the parents were asked to be on the waiting area and not to participate. It would mean that what really happened with the result of their work was really of their own doing.

* Top Left: Kids anxious to start. Kalen, Kimi and Samantha

Top Right: Spring Chick aka Angry Birds ;)

...and if you are wondering what they were supposed to be making...

* This was the model...Yup, it was far from the model but... it was A for effort :)

* Curator Michelle with the little students

* Little Bags to take home with the Spring Chicks

* * * * *

SPRING CHICKS

4Cats South Burnaby

Burnaby, B.C.

* * * * *

We got the kids to bond more at the mall. It was fun (at least for them lol!) and a bit of a workout for us :)

...but their laughter was well worth it.

* Tired from running around

* Glad to be together once again

* * * * *

METROPOLIS AT METROTOWN

Burnaby,B.C.

Science Day at Chapters

Our Second day at Chapters, Metrotown.

Today is all about Science.

First, was the preparation for the volcano

* Kids took turn to build the foundation of the volcano

it was left for drying, storytelling was next to keep the kids attention away from the volcano.

* Lab person as storyteller

Story was about how to save energy.

* Kids really loves story time...

They also made gummy worms with some pebbled powders and water and with the help of food coloring, manipulated what colors the gummy will turn out. Sorry, no picture on the gummy worms.

Next on the agenda, was turning powder into snow.

* Kalen got the best place possible...

...then she wandered and found,

* More interesting things- a whistle!

* Feels like snow, BUT not cold at all

Meanwhile, the volcano structure are still on the sides getting dried.

* Volcano Experiment

...Kenzo?

*....not interested in Science- AT ALL! I want to be an engineer.

* Kimi finally realized that Kenzo was missing 

and decided to look for him

* Kimi wanted to take some snow home

The volcano was finally ready for some action. 

* Some Explosions

They put a tube inside the volcano and the other end on a bottle with some solutions (smells like vinegar) to make some explosions spurts.

* Kalen observed the event 

while keeping a watchful eye on Kenzo :)

Justin and Kimi, on the other hand, found a play mate in each other and was happy to be together throughout the event.

* Goofing around  :) 

* Upclose Shot of Little Professors

...at the end of it all, was some loot bags to bring home

* Kimi with her goodies :)

* * * *  *

A child can ask questions

a wise man cannot answer

- Author Unknown

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CHAPTERS INDIGO

Metropolis at Metrotown

Burnaby, B.C.