HUZZAH!

The BFF sent an email demanding to know why I was MIA? I told her the next post would be good and by golly, I think this little animated gif is pretty darn good. What do you think? Glow really makes our days brighter!

We're loving our floors and Glow loves crawling on it. Our weekend was spent putting our kitchen back together and gardening. The kitchen is almost done, but not quite as we still have to get knobs in. I am loving it already and I have a few more changes I would like to do to it (ahem, subway tile), but I would like a break from construction before we dive into another. Anyone have white/grey subway tile in their kitchen? I am particularly curious on how well is does on the backsplash of the stove because I am wondering if it is a pain to maintain the grout? We are cookers over here, so the kitchen will be used a lot and it will get dirty. If anyone has any tips or suggestions regarding subway tile, I would love to hear it! This and this picture is my inspiration. 

Learned and links...

Glow loves drinking water from a bottle! None of my girls ever liked the bottle though. 

Soul's is one spunky kid. She goes from happy to mad in 0.5 seconds.

True officially finished kinder. 

Brave is excited about starting kinder.

I am not well-versed in brand name sunglasses, but I like these from the Sunglasses Shop, which is a new sponsor.

Just got these pants and I have a feeling I will live in them all summer.

And I may or may not have ordered this too. Oye!

Announced the Limi Ricki winner on twitter. Follow me here. 

Biggest lesson learned... God is always better than basketball. I'm on the fence on who to go for... Miami or OKC?! Ugh. Not a fan of both.

Can Monday really already be over?!! I have a feeling this week will fly by and I am kind of excited because we have some fun plans ahead.

HUZZAH!

White. I just want white, but why is it so hard to decide which white for kitchen cabinets?! Ugh! There's dove white, ultra white, pale bloom, whisper white, swiss coffee, and the list goes on. The above was swiss coffee, which I was thinking wasn't white enough for me that I wanted to switch to dove white, but dove white looked pretty much the same. It took me 5 hours to figure that out. Though I did decide to change from satin finish to semi-gloss. The satin just looked too dull and I am thinking a bit more shine will reflect more light and be brighter. I like brighter. I hate the fact that I get completely obsessed with these details. Anyhow, let's hope life can now go on. There are much more important things after all. 

Last week was a blur. We moved back in, still don't have baseboards, and they started working on the kitchen. On top of that, I got mastitis and Ben had to call out of work to stay home and take care of the girls because I was in a lot of pain. Here we are with a brand new week. It hasn't been normal here for so long that I am forgetting what normal was like. 

Learned and links...

Can't wait for a bright kitchen like this. 

This stripe is calling my name.

Melody is so good. When it comes to house details, I like to bug her because she is an architect and has a good eye.

The San Antonio Spurs have me really stressed right now. They gotta win tonight's game. 

Love the design of this chair.

Don't forget to enter this giveaway.

Ben and I are working on praying more together. We are much too prideful about our self reliance. 

Happy Monday! True has one day of school left, but there will be Bratcher summer school going on for sure.

HUZZAH!

It's good to be back home and it feels really good to have wood floors and my floors are so pretty!!! I was in awe the moment I walked in the door. All the furniture comes back in the house on Monday and I can't wait.

We just spent the week at my parents' house while the downstairs floors were being sanded, stained, and sealed. All the girls aren't home yet because they are off at Disneyland with the grandparents, but I get to clean and prep the house for the girls' arrival. The floors are done and baseboards go in on Sunday. Next week, the kitchen cabinets get painted white and then all the house fixing up dust should settle for a bit. 

This week's learned and links...

Soul's getting even more sassier. I think this might spell trouble later.

Glow is eating baby food... carrots and peas!!!

True has one cavity and got it filled sans any numbing. Dang. Kids are tough. 

I like my mom making pancakes and waffles in the morning!

Finally watched the season finale of Fringe. So good. I am such a sci-fi mystery geek. I'm sad next season is their last. 

Lime Ricki sent me these and I love them. They will be perfect under my shorts for tomorrow's foam fest run. 

I barely worked out this week, so I am nervous about the 8' and 12' walls I have to climb tomorrow, but if I eat it, I will have more to laugh about. 

Off to get some cleaning done. It's a long weekend over here with Memorial Day on Monday, so not sure if I will be back in this space until Tuesday. I have a feeling I will be busy decorating. Happy weekending friends!!!

HUZZAH!

Ben and I had a couple quiet evenings alone (with Glow too) and the big girls slept at Grammie's and Grumpy's. It was nice. We watched the baby sister in her first official dance performance and just like I suspected I balled my eyes out at her first piece on stage. I am so proud. She's the best and I am not even exaggerating. She had lots of solos to prove it. The rest of the evening will be spent having dinner with my family and watching the Spurs game. GO, SPURS, GO!!! We are so excited about that over here. 

This week's learned and links... 

Glow is cranky when she doesn't get her regularly scheduled naps.

Soul has a new found love for crushed ice.

Thankful for grandparents and their babysitting abilities. 

I am nervous about the foam fest next weekend! 8ft and 12ft walls to climb... OH MY!!! 

Really liking this table. Not the price.

This vintage toy high chair in my friend's shop is way cute! Get it. Someone. 

And this friend, wife of Sexytay (a witty dude that you understand better as you get to know him), has an amazing blog that has me instantly hooked. Seriously. You will be hooked too. This pizza. These pictures. She also has good, smart things to say, but she hails from Cal, so I am not surprised. And she is an architect, so she just has an eye. Melody Earlbaum is so good. 

This friend finally went back to blogging after a long hiatus.

Don't forget this and this giveaway and to check out this blog. 

This week we got dance classes, True's open house, and a bunch of regular life things thrown in with house renovating stuff. I already can't wait until Friday!!! Do you have any new blogs you are really loving?

HUZZAH!

Yes, we are a vintage lovin', handmade supportin', own clothes makin' family, but we also still like crocs. We are so normal. Or abnormal if you abhor those rubbery things. She styled herself. I think she rocks crocs! 

This week's learned and links...

We're making memories living upstairs, but it's getting kind of old now. I can't wait to be back to normal. one. more. week. hopefully.

Glow's got two bottom teeth coming in. The other 3 girls got their first tooth after they turned one, this one is making herself stand out (and her mama hurt).

I want one of these banners asap.

We are in love with Karmin. They are so cute that they are engaged and love that they rap with pretty safe lyrics. They are so talented and that Amy makes me want to rap. Ben says I just sound like an ewok when I try. We spend our mornings watching their videos on youtube. In fact, Brave has been rocking her hair of late. 

True's giant bow is from Much love, Illy. So girly!

These are pretty. Shoes are my weakness.

This weekend is Mother's Day and I have a few requests, but they are mostly simple things that have to do with house stuff. Of course, I am also anticipating the traditional breakfast in bed. I ain't gonna lie... I love Mother's Day!!! 

We have a few giveaways this weekend to celebrate Mother's Day, so check back...

HUZZAH!

With Ben home, our weekends are kind of blurring together. Two weeks down, two more to go. I will be so sad when he goes back to work, but very thankful he has a job to go back to.

It feels like the house re-doing is going so slowly. This week has been about cleaning and emptying spaces. We got a few things done, but still so much more to go and I am currently tackling this horrendous mess of my crafty zone and Ben is working on the garage. Next week, we will meet together in a spare room and tackle that like crazy and hopefully getting to the garden.

As far as our pretty wood floors, a few things have set us back, so now we are looking to get those put in the last week of April leading into the first week of May. Unless, something else sets us back again, but that's the plan so far. Other than that, all is well in our home and I am really just loving all of our time together.

This week's learned and links...

- Love this simple post.

- Brave has the cutest little voice. Listening to her tell a story makes me smile.

- Too much stuff stresses me out.

- Soul must sleep with tons of books in her bed.

- These kid glasses are way cool.

- Making this paper dots garland asap.

- I announced the Misha Lulu giveaway winner on twitter. Follow tweets here.

- I must eat something sweet right before bed. As I type, I am waiting for Ben to bring me home frozen yogurt.

- Follow my pins here and since it seems you can't pin from my blog any longer due to flickr, you can get some Cakies pins here or here.

Tomorrow we are off to another Misha Lulu shoot in the morning and on Sunday we are having some friends over for dinner. What are your plans this weekend?

HUZZAH!

We bought these 1920's/30's light fixtures about 4 years ago at vintage shop in Texas and now we finally have them up. That's one thing off the house to-do list. We had to get them professionally installed and it involved making holes in our ceiling so that is what took us so long. Plus the fact that everything costs money, so we have been saving to do this.

So weird to see lights up in that room and though I love it, I also didn't like it just cause I wasn't used to it. Do any of you have to go through that adjustment period when you put something new in? I always do. You get so used to seeing something a certain way, when something changes it is so weird at first.

Next up, is putting up another vintage lighting piece in another room, once we pick it up from getting fixed up and re-wired. There is already an electrical box there, so that should be much easier. I can't wait to change out the standard light fixture that came with this house into something much prettier! We're slowly trekking through our to-do list.

This week's learned and links...

- I love Ben being home.

- Any home re-doing is fun, but stressful and always takes longer (and more costly) than originally planned. I think we won't see any pretty floors in the house until May. Must. Be. Patient. I think white wood floors will be worth it.

- The girls started dance class this week. Brave is quite the serious dancer. I think she was made for this stuff.

- My mom had a biopsy done and we're nervous, but trusting God.

- Since Ben's been home, I have his phone to do instagram. Follow my along here or here.

- Ben chopped his hair and now he looks like this guy. A lot. I am ready to chop mine next!

This weekend is a special weekend for us as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour...

2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

If you're in the L.A. area and are looking for a church to visit, come visit CrossView Church. Happy Easter weekend friends!!!

HUZZAH!

Ben will be stuck with his five girls everyday, all day for one whole month! We are a whole bunch excited over here about that. We have a long list of house to-dos and I can finally get caught up on some things too. We also want to spend some time serving and fellowshipping with others too. I know this time will fly by, but we are going to try to be smart with it while we got it.

This week's learned and links...

- We did not win the lottery.

- Glow is on all fours, rocking back and forth. The move forward should be coming any day now.

- True is kind of a manipulator and cons Brave into giving her things she wants.

- Wearing these sunglasses and Ben is kinda jealous cause they're too rad.

- The girls are all about their ginormous bows courtesy of much love, illy.

- Soul has been extra clingy to me lately and only wants me to put her to bed.

- Met with one of the gals from our church family and thankful for grace in confessing struggles with one another.

- Wishing these will be in my Easter basket because they are just too fun!

- This sofa on craigslist in Los Angeles is way cute! Someone get it!

- Might make some sort of Easter in a box for my girlies. I think they would love it!

I am pretty excited about the things that will be happening this weekend and the next few weeks. The house will be undergoing a slight transformation and I get to bug Ben all day long. I am totally stuck on him like glue! Enjoy your weekend friends!!!

HUZZAH!

One week left and Ben takes his paternity leave. So happy! You bet I will be drinking some mimosas next Saturday morning to celebrate!

This week's learned and links...

- Glow is getting ready for crawling mode.

- Brave's been extra feisty towards her sister lately. Not good.

- Soul must always go to nap with a stack of books.

- Any sort of house renovation or changing is fun, but can be a headache. Oye!

- Read a book just for fun. I miss reading!

- Love the color on my pansy shoes c/o modcloth. They make me smile when I look down!

- Going to check out the Fallen Fruit in our area (learned from Stephmodo) soon.

- Had dinner with two of my bestest gal pals on Monday and just had a blast joking and laughing about everything. We've been friends forever and though we don't see each other much, so it is always fun to catch up!

Kids are in bed and now off to eat some homemade sushi with Ben. Enjoy your weekend!

HUZZAH!

Friday, Friday... it comes after Thursday. Anyone know this song on youtube that got ripped up for not being that great?! Yeah. Well, it's stuck in my head. You'll thank me later for getting it stuck in your head now. Gotta admit it's annoyingly catchy, especially when it's Friday.

Yesterday, I had a good time with the BFF hanging out at the Daily Buzz event (along with Kira and Kim) at the Madewell in Century City. There was champagne, cupcakes, and games. I would say shopping, but I didn't buy a thing. I was good. Plus, Ben didn't give me permission and he did just let me buy a couch this week, so yeah, I didn't need to shop. Though, I really wanted to.

This week's learned and links...

- True loves math, but let's just say it isn't my favorite subject to teach. Math was not my favorite subject.

-Finally got the whole Junie B. Jones series and can't wait to read them with the girls!

- Soul is starting to look more like a little girl than a baby.

- I am really thankful for our church family. If you are looking for a church in L.A. area, you should come visit!

- My chesterfield couch is really pretty. Love craigslist!

- Announced the giveaway winners on twitter. Follow me here.

- Watch this cute wedding video from last weekend's wedding by Cakeflix. The wedding was totally like we time traveled cause the location was beautiful and it was all "vintaged" out. You will get to see me as a bridesmaid and my girls walk down the aisle too!

- Got my own pair of tumbleweeds sunglasses and LOVE them. Seriously the raddest pair of sunglasses I have ever owned. They are currently having a 25% off sale, so you better hurry.

- My friend Taylor got the memo regarding my bridesmaid retirement. He is hilariously funny, but first you might need to know him to understand him. Otherwise, he might just come across a wee bit too sarcastic for you. 'Sup Sexytay!

We, we so excited... it's Friday, Friday!!!

HUZZAH!

Another friend wed and I think my days as a bridesmaid is slowly coming to an end. Is there such thing as bridesmaid retirement? Well, at least until my baby sister gets married and I will happily come out of retirement for that. The wedding was beautiful and I am sure the pictures will come out stunning. I really can't wait to see them. Other than that, I hope life can settle down just a tad after having back to back weddings.

Learned and links...

- Despite our crazy schedule these last few days doing wedding prep, the girls have been pretty well behaved. That makes this mama happy.

- Danni's post is so encouraging.

- We've got 14 tomato plants coming and will soon be ready to plant them in the garden. Excited for gardening!

- Kinda behind (again) in responding to comments and emails, but will hopefully get on that soon. It's been a busy past few days!

- Thanks for the all the video love. Levi's® is offering 15% off your order using the coupon code: MYCAKIES at checkout. Offer expires at 11:59pm PST on Wednesday 3/21. Try the Levi's® Curve ID quiz now...

I have a few giveaways coming up tonight, so don't forget to check back. Enjoy your Sunday everyone!!!

HUZZAH!

It's been a few weeks since I did a recap. Lots of things have gone on here. The girls keep growing like crazy. I don't think that will stop anytime soon as much as I want to press freeze from time to time.

Learned and links...

- A call to help Suzy Delgado. This is important because someone needs your help. They are looking for a bone marrow match which is a matter of life or death, and if you are of Filipino-Mexican descent, you may be especially able to help! Visit this facebook page or this list of bone marrow drives for more information.

- Soul says, "Mama, go down." "True won't share." " Read me book." "Read again." Language is finally coming out of her. A little slower than most, but it is finally coming.

- Glow weighs a whopping 11 pounds 8 ounces at 4 months. She is a teeny little thing. She rolls over and gets her head up and her happy place is my bed. Once she is on there, she laughs and smiles like crazy.

- True and Brave are both getting better at reading, but we are a little behind in math.

- Ben and I finally got a nice date in.

- Kinda loving these shoes and really want to try colored jeans. Ben is a little iffy on the colored denim thing cause they aren't classic enough for him.

- Madewell is my favorite store along with anthropologie. Dear Madewell, I will gladly take anything you don't want off your hands, especially these shoes. xoxo, Ruby

- Do you read my baby sister's blog? She's the cutest. We are bascially the same with ten years between us. We call her R.J., which stands for Ruby Junior. Kidding. No, her real name is Richelle Jean and she is the sweeter, but lazier version of me and I am the tougher, take charge version of her.

- I got to meet a reader all the way from New Zealand (Hi Ester!) who is living in the states for a bit. She came to visit our church gathering last Sunday! If you are in the L.A. area, you could visit CrossView too!

- This post is good and this DIY is excellent.

- Thank you for all your excitement for those who have seen a little something buzzing about the internet. I can't wait until I am officially able to share it with you all soon!!!

There will be some sponsors to share about this weekend, along with some giveaways so stay tuned friends!!!

HUZZAH!

I am not sure what's going on this weekend, but I just want to hang out with my family. I think everyone is finally well, so it will be nice to just kinda chill. Of course, we also get to see our church family on Sunday.

This week's learned and links...

- Meal planning. Finally starting. Wanna join me? Here is the menu for this week.

- Glow is so giggly and happy and has had more nights of sleeping through the night than not. That is good for this mama.

- After cleaning my closet, I have come to the conclusion, I need more tops. I have tons of dresses and bottoms, but not enough tops. *as ben rolls his eyes*

- Brave has really got some good dance moves. That girl puts on a show for us every night.

- Soul now says, "Mama, I hungry." "Glow cry." Talking is coming to her slowly, but it is coming.

- I want the colder weather to come back. Not this summer stuff we are going through.

- Danni's post and comments were really interesting to read.

- In love with all jewelry from this artist. I got this necklace and love it!

I had one crying and praying out to God moment this week as I was super frustrated and tired, but God still is good! Even in the craziness of the everyday, enjoy it folks. I know one day I will miss all these little kid messes and playing referee. It comes with the package, doesn't it?! So glad today is Friday though... huzzah!!!