rylieraycreations

It's been a long time....

2016-09-23T16:12:00.001-07:00

Years have passed, but I'm still around. The scenery has changed drastically and looks better than ever. Ray & Ry are in school. I have had another baby, and Princess Z is almost 14 months old. My hubby (lets just call him ' Captain America', 'Cap' for short) put a ring on it and I've now been happily married for 2 years, 1 month and 12 days.

Originally when I started this blog, I'll admit I started it to hopefully be like many crafting/sewing blogs: something to share, but eventually something to generate income. But now I don't have any type of monetary goal or agenda. But I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, or always, about my kids and their relationship with me. As well as my relationship with my mother and father. And I would like to dedicate this blog to them. And create a some sort of written page for my kids.

I read a meme on facebook (and I forgot to copy and paste) that more of less said this (or this is what I took from it)......'It doesn't matter if your hair is perfect. Your make up is done. Or your clothes are perfect. Just be in the picture with your kids. Because one day they're gonna want to see you.' I am a picture fanatic. And now with social media, I can't stop taking/recording and posting. And I love, love, love, love taking pics of Cap with the kiddos. But if and when that day comes when my kids 'want to see' me, or 'read' me, I want this blog to be that.

That makes me think of my mom. I was a baby, and a kid, and a teen before there were even cell phones, let alone social media. I actually proudly say I'm one of the lucky ones lol. With that being said, I embrace that technology is very present in everything we do. Ok so back to my momma. Growing up my mom had a whole photo album dedicated to each one of us girls (I have 4 sisters). And it wasn't just an album with pics placed in them, my mom cut out magazine clippings and newspaper headlines and situated them as captions where it appropriately fit the pic. (Oh yeah, I also grew up where there were not pre-made scrapbooking packages.) She put her time, thought and really her heart into every page. When I think about my album, and I can still see a the first page. On that page there is a pic of my mom holding me and I was probably the same age as Princess Z. The pic was a close up and I was wearing a crocheted poncho (probably something my mom made). The next pic was the whole family at the time (minus my youngest sister) standing in front of the happiest place on earth. In the pages that follow, there's pics of me at every milestone, pics with my older sisters, my baby shower, pics with my papa, and the list goes on. It has been a long time since I have looked at that album, and I'm sure there are pics sprinkled throughout of her and I. But other than the first pic, I can't remember any of the others.

(Anyhow, before y'all think my mom has passed on, she hasn't. Both of my parents are very much alive and kickin' it. But I figured I don't have to wait to say that I think of them or memories of them.)

So by the time Ray and Ry and Princess Z, this blog (hope they'll still be able to locate it. I'll have to learn how to archive it.) will be like the vintage albums my mom made for us. Even if I'm not in the majority of the pics. I want to give them something tangible that helps them remember their memories of their mom behind the camera.

Talk about Falling.....

2012-02-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, talk about falling off the face of the earth.... I think I've become the queen of that.

So let me give you the brief cliffnotes addition: 'A' is back with her family. Ray is potty trained (Yay!!!) We had a wonderful time in Ventura for thanksgiving. Santa spoiled the kids for Christmas. And today my little Ry turns 2.

If you're able to read between the lines, there has been alot of living life in there.

I was reading back, and realized that I make a lot of hopeful promises, i.e: "I swear I'm back!" So instead of doing that, I'm gonna be real. I'm gonna TRY to get back into blogging. I'm turning over a new leaf and joining some Momma groups (cross your fingers). I've been pretty good about keeping on a workout regimen (double cross your fingers). And I think the blog MIGHT find a new facelift for the new year. I would love to commit to more, but who doesn't have commitment issues? (Everyone snicker)

072611: Yayyyyy!!!!

2011-07-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I'm in my first treasury on etsy. Check me out: Peanut Safari treasury

"Yay for Mommy!"

071511: My scrap blanket...

2011-07-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

So I've told you before how I save my scrap fabrics in hopes of making something, but rarely get to it. Well I've actually used my scraps and made an outdoor blanket for the kids. Voila:

And the kids love it! Every time I spread it out, they get so excited cause it usually means they get to eat on the floor. Happy snacking!!

071411: Love this...

2011-07-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

071311: The Very Hungry Caterpillar...

2011-07-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

Like most mothers, I started reading to the kids when they were in my belly. I bought the whole 'Curious George' collection, the whole 'Beatrix Potter' collection, lots of Dr. Seuss books, etc. But where I went wrong is, I bought actual page books. Now experienced mothers know that this was a complete rookie mistake, because babies/toddlers tear pages. Anyhoo, over the last 2 1/2 years, our library has expanded and we now have a combo of cardboard books and page books.

The kiddos favorite book of the moment is Eric Carle's 'The Very Hungry

Caterpillar'.

So to spice our day up I decided to read it to them, but this time let them paint while they listen. And of course take pictures of them as they do it.

Still Clean....

Ray's an old pro (yes that is Wingo his car)

Now we're getting into it...

Ray painting his lips...

Having a ball....

So serious...

Ray(left) & Ry's(right) artwork
(and yes, those are their hungry caterpillars)

071011: Pics of the Week

2011-07-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Ry relaxed

Ray being creative in helping with a house project

Welcoming the cars to the new playroom (Ray set them up)

Evidence that Ray did eat all the strawberries in the fridge

070711: My accomplishments of the day...

2011-07-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, on my to do list I had: clean the bathroom, laundry, clean the kitchen, vacuum, etc. Of that list I did not have on there: convert the extra room into a play room or organize my ribbon, OR not be able to tear myself away from pinterest

Pinterest is a website where you can create these idea boards. You can find stuff yourself off the internet and pin it, pin your own pics, or repin (which I am the Queen of) other peoples pins. It is absolutely fabulous!!!! I literally can spend hours (if I had them) on this site. So since I can't spend hours, I spend really long minutes on here. If you want to check it out, let me know and I will add you. Trust me once you start pinning, you won't be able to stop.

Here are some results of what I did today:

Before: toys in the living room

After: toys in the now "Play Room"

Before: chaotic ribbon box

After: organized ribbon box (tutorial: how to make a ribbon box)

So what I actually can check off of the list...... laundry.

070711: 'Nuff said...

2011-07-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

070411: Happy 4th of July!!!

2011-07-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th!!! I wish we could show you a beautiful bbq pictorial out of a Martha Stewart magazine. But its way too hot out here for all that. Its over 100 degrees. But, of course, I have pics of the kids :-).

Ry in her little sailor dress

Of course Ray has to have Benjiman in the pic

070311: Old pants, New shorts...

2011-07-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

Like a sewing freak-a-zoid, I save my scraps. I'll save t-shirts, old clothing, blankets, yada-yada-yada. All in hopes that I will give the item new life as something that I can use out of. Now I should tell you, although I have these reincarnation intentions, I rarely actually do it. However, today is a different day.

These were some of my favorite winter pants of Ray's:

And now here is Ray's summer shorts:

And here is one happy and cool customer:

(check out the "how to" in tutorials to see how easy it was)

070211: Ummmm...

2011-07-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

Umm, is it completely crazy that I want the kids to be a tall and grande chai for halloween?

070111: Who said.....

2011-07-01T22:48:00.000-07:00

So who said that spaghetti isn't a finger food?

As you can see we did start off with silverware. But after awhile, the kids just had to do what they had to do to eat. As well as feed each other.

Another pic I wanted to share, which has nothing to do with food, is of Ray:

This is him watching Toy Story 3. You can barely see it, but just left of the blanket are his cars. When he watches a movie that he really likes, he places all of them next to each other and faces them towards the TV so that they can watch too. He has his mischievous look, cause he tried to cover them right before I took the pic. Gotta love it!

063011: Turning over a new leaf...

2011-06-30T23:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm a firm believer in if at first you don't succeed try, try again. In fact, when Ray tells me he can't do something, like find Benjamin, I tell him to keep trying. So as I was giving my blog a facelift, I told myself, "Self, its time. You fell off, but there is no reason to stay off." And in true Ray 'n' Ry's mom fashion, I need to kick it off with a little video:

This is us in our purest form. No professional angles, or even tripod for that matter. No makeup, no rehearsed lines and no model house home. This is just us......Here's to that new leaf. Yay!!!!

062111: Where do I begin, again?

2011-06-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

Obviously I've been M.I.A. for a while. And although I've had tons of reasons, who are we kidding, you don't want to hear about all that. So I figured I'll move on to what we are currently doing.

Summer is finally here!!! Yay, kind of. I'll explain. We couldn't wait to have good weather. I mean for Mother's day, which in times past has been bbq'ing weather, it was overcast and threatened rain. And it continued to be like this until a couple of weeks ago. So yay, summer is here and we love it, but....... now its too hot. Ahhh, Northern Californians are never satisfied with the weather. But here is what we've been doing to stay cool:

Now although my goal of blogging every single day has gone to the wayside. My working out everyday has been pretty good. Granted its not in the conventional way of going to the gym or running 5 miles a day, but I've been running and walking with the kids. And I'm pleased to say I can actually get into some of my clothes pre-babies and still sit down comfortably and breathe.

I've also been keeping busy with my sewing. I recently finished up with a client on her window seat and cushions.

She is a world traveler and purchased this beautiful fabric in Indonesia. I want to go there sooooo bad now, just for fabric. Well not just fabric, but its definitely a plus.

And I finished roman shades for my 'EatPrayLove' baby room. (I apologize for the pic. My camera did not have the flash :( )

In going with the India theme, its made with sari silk and the swag is in homage to how the women wear their saris

So I'm alive. And still here, with less time for myself than ever. But when I look at my babies, or as Ray likes to remind me, big kids, its worth it.

Ray 2 1/2 and Ry 1 1/2

Ray playing trains

Trying to pick flowers

Acting like they run the show

'A' and her friend playing French spies

042811: Leftover Thursdays

2011-04-28T22:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but by Thursday I'm pooped. As a result, dinner is not always the most exciting. But here is what I came up with.

A few days ago we (I mean, Trav.) BBQ'd some tri-tip and a T-bone steak.

So I decided to dice it up into small cubes and sautee it with onions, garlic and diced zucchini.

Put it with a side of rice (you know us Filipinos can't eat without rice.). And Voila! A meal that the whole family can eat. (And it tasted really good with a little bit of A-1 sauce.)

A happy customer!

042711: Are CeeLo Green's hands small, or is it just me?

2011-04-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

"The Voice" started yesterday and all I can say is...... it is super, duper fun-tastic!!! The only thing I still can't get over is, are CeeLo's hands extremely small or is it just me? I know, I know.... I shouldn't even be thinking about this. But I can't get over it. I think the face of his blinged out watch was as big as his palms. Anyway, if you want a commercial break by commercial break review, check out http://web.me.com/threeturtles/www.alwaysamarzan.com/Blog/Blog.html which is fabulously hilarious!!!!

'Idol' did a tribute to Carol King. Who's songs I absolutely adore!!! I mean, 'I feel the earth move under my feet'. That's all I gotta say about that.

But that's enough about tv. I think I'm long over due for a gallery show.

Ry playing with the biggest balloons ever!

Ray and Ry on easter

Ray pouting on easter

Ry so proud of herself finding an egg

Ray busted in 'A's room

Fake sleeping

Cooling off in the misters at the park

042511: Getting in the groove of things....

2011-04-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

So spring break is officially over. Happy belated Easter! 'A' is back from visiting her family in Santa Rosa. I am trying to teach Ray and Ry how to go pee in the big kid toilet. And I have sweets coming out of my ears.

A couple things, though, I'd like to get off of my chest. First, I realize that I said that I would be posting 'before' pics of my body since I'm on my workout mission. And although I consider you all friends, lets be real. No one should have to see the 'pre' pics. I mean, its not like I'm going to be a contestant on the 'Biggest Loser'. (Not saying anything rude about those folks.) I'm just saying, that although I want you to know my mission, I'm just not that confident to show you the 'before' pic. Now 'after' may be a different story. J/K But you will be pleased to know that I've been true to my word about working out. I've worked out every day, except yesterday. And that was only cause it was the holiday.

Secondly, I also realize that the blog lately has been waaaaaaaaaay boring and almost non-existent. But I have reason for that. Reason 1: I have been lagging about uploading all my new pics. (And yay for me I found the other camera.) Reason 2: I kinda lost my way from when my original plan went into attack. I mean, I all of a sudden had this moment of, "What is this blog all about? Except of course my glorified shared diary." Now I wish in all my break taking I was able to answer the question in reason 2. But alas, I'm still kinda lost. But I figured, why stop just cause I'm again in a rut. I'm just gonna keep on blogging 'til I figure it out. Just got get in a groove. So I will. Stay posted, wink, wink.......

042011: Don't you wish.....

2011-04-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

Don't you wish you were on 'Modern Family'? I mean, how great of therapy would that be if you were able to video tape the ish? Oh wait, wouldn't that be like 'Keeping up with the Kardashians'? Never mind. LMAO

041911: Steak soup....

2011-04-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

I'm not a gourmet chef or food critic. However, as expressed in previous entries, I heart food! I actually enjoy the act of eating. I realize this might sound weird. But seriously the thought of eating a meal puts a smile on my face. And I'm not one who only likes fancy-shmancy meals, or only craves fast food. Nope, I heart it all. Including leftovers. Which leads me today's entry.

I grew up on LOs (leftovers). So this is nothing new. But now having 3 kiddos that eat as if I never feed them (although they eat all the time). I am quickly learning how to get more bang for the buck and how to stretch a meal. So we do not throw out leftovers. But lets face it, they're not always exciting to eat. So I have been trying to come up with "new" meals, but using the LOs.

The meal that we had originally was BBQ'd steak and roasted veggies (squash and potatoes, to be exact). We ate this on Saturday night. Sunday we had the LOs in regular format, but still had some. So yesterday, instead of throwing them out, I decided to give it a spin. So was created steak soup. Mmmmmmm.......yum!

Ingredients: one box of chicken broth, 1/2 chopped onion, 4 cloves smashed garlic, cooked cut up steak, roasted squash and potatoes, and cilantro for garnish. Accompanied with a biscuit.

041411: Darn it! Darn it!

2011-04-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

I heart TV. This is no secret. And I know that Wednesday is suppose to be TV land. But by the time I'm done watching my shows, I am exhausted and forget to blog. But never fear, I am finally here.

A.I. is great. And yet, I feel like everyone is "so great" that the drama is gone. Our relationship is stronger than ever (A.I and I), but I am now looking forward to "The Voice" to start.

Top Chef Masters has begun. This is a spin off of Top Chef, but is only in its 2nd season. With host, the beautiful Aussie, Curtis Stone. (Way better than last years host, something with a 'K'.) The best part of this show is these are not amateurs competing. No, no, no, no. These are world renowned chefs who have to go head to head against each other in crazy quick fire challenges and elimination battles. It is fantastic. And now my wish list of restaurants I would love to eat at has grown.

DWTS (yes I occasionally watch this show) is interesting. Gotta love Kristie Alley with her plump self do the damn thing. And Daniel-san (Ralph Macchio) is very good.

But the new show that I like is 'Pregnant in Heels'. It's on Bravo and its another one of those reality tv shows showcasing rich women spending their money frivolously. These women are (shocking) pregnant and they hire this gal to make their experience one of a kind. (Like having a baby doesn't already do this?)

So thats that for our TV stop, until next time...... Watch the tube!

P.S. Sorry the feed of "Operation Pandas" is blurry. I'm gonna try to upload it to YouTube for a clearer show.

041211: Operation Pandas...

2011-04-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

Colton and Adam (Colt and Ama) were "my" boys when I was growing up. Colt and I are only 13 years apart. And to most this may seem like a huge age difference. But in my family, this is nothing. And Ama and I are only 16 years apart. When I was a teenager we (my family and I) watched the boys while my sister was at work. Whats funny is that Ray is very much like Colt when Colt was his age. And ironically enough, they also are only 13 years apart.

Anyhow, they're in a band (all news that is not new to you). But I'm very proud of them. A little background on their band and band name. Mady (a stepsister) is the singer, Cece (another stepsister) is on guitar, Alex is on keyboard, Colt is on bass and Ama is the drummer. All the kids are half white and half asian. Hence the name...... Operation Pandas. Here's their latest set (p.s. my camera started acting up on the last song :-( ):

041111: Let's not judge.....

2011-04-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

I realize that I have not been completely true to my goal of blogging everyday for a year. But I haven't completely thrown it out of the window. And on top of trying to get back into the groove with my original goal, I'm adding a new one. Wait for it......

I am going to put myself on a workout regiment. Pause to hold on to your judgements. (Maybe judgement is too intense of a word. But I think you know what I mean.) After being preggy for 2 years straight and only knowing my body either really skinny or pregnant or "just had a baby" fat, I realized I don't know what my body shape should really be. And lets face it, although I will never be pre-baby body, I do want to be confident in a bathing suit this summer. I want to feel comfortable in my own skin. So enough said, I am starting to workout and all of you will be going on this journey with me. I'll post before pics tomorrow (Yikes!). And will post pics of the process and results.

Okay, so in other news.... here is what is to come this week. A new video of "Operation Pandas" formerly known as "Smexy/ Smexy Walrus". Yes, my O.B.s (original boys: Colt and Ama) had another great performance. Some TV talk. And some fun activities that we will be doing cause 'A' is on spring break.

I know its not 'jumping out of your chair' exciting, but hey this is my fun life. And TLC hasn't decided to give me my own show, yet. So you know, whats a girl to do?

040511: The proof that they're growing....

2011-04-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

As if I don't already show enough proof.

Ry playing at the park

Ray listening to the ipod

040411: The best part of my day.....

2011-04-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

So you all know that what they say about terrible twos is all true, right? And if you had or know of someone who has/had the perfect two year old, well all I gotta say about that is.... damn. But despite all the craziness, Ray did something today that made me love him being two.

He is finally comfortable with repeating words to me when I ask him. But when asked to say, 'excuse me', or 'thank you', or 'I'm sorry', or 'I love you', its still hit or miss.

Well, this afternoon when he woke up from his nap, I tried to be slick and lay him back down on the bed to catch a few more minutes of quiet time. This did not work. But instead of throwing a tantrum, he threw his arms around my neck and said, "I love you, mom". This completely on his own, no encouragement on my end. Granted, he completely just ran game on me, but seriously..... who cares. I know I didn't.

I melted. Completely 100% melted and was happily ready to take on the next tantrum. Which followed only 15 minutes later, when Ry awoke and decided she was interested in Benjamin (Ray's fave bunny). It was the best part of my day.