Sweet 16

My niece, Jessica, turned Sweet 16 yesterday. I surprised her at home when she got out of school and went to dinner with my brother and the girls last night at Papasitos. I cant believe my nieces and nephews are teenagers and older now! It kind of stresses me out at times , ha.

Here are a couple of pictures from the dinner. Her party will be this Saturday.

I won..I'm a Hot Momma!

So as some of you know and as some of you nominated me, I was one of the winners of the Hot Momma contest that my talented friend Lisa posted on her blog for photography! ( http://www.nowandthenphotography.com/##)
My sweet sister started the nominations and got all my friends and family to nomite me also.

Here is what Lisa posted on her blog to announce the winners:
Kari Sanchez was entered into the contest by 8 of her friends and family. Kari is the mother of one precious little girl who is about to be 2 years old. This is what her sister Lacy wrote, "It's not easy having your husband be deployed for a year at a time.....but it's happened to her 4 times....and each and every time she holds her head up high and she loves and supports her husband and she does her very best to take on the role of both parents and be the best mom a child could ask for even though deep down she's hurting and missing the love of her life. I can only hope to be as great of a mom and a wife...... as she is someday."

So I have to say that I'm so excited about this! I need a makeover and pampering for a day! Thank you to all of you who nominated me and thought I deserved this! With hair, makeup and the skills of Lisa I cant wait to see the results (think they can shed some pounds on me too? lol)

What's on the table tonight....

Well I decided to cook my family dinner tonight and I was in the mood for shrimp. So I thought I'd share the recipe.

Cashew Shrimp
8-10 raw, peeled shrimp
Cashews
Lemon
Minced garlic
Lemon pepper
Olive oil
Cilantro

Marinate shrimp with lemon pepper, olive oil and a small bit of cilantro and let it sit for 2-6 hours. Sauté minced garlic with olive oil in a saucepan for a few minutes and add shrimp. Add cashew halves once the shrimp are cooked (as indicated by a light red exterior). Squeeze a lemon over the shrimp and set aside. Serve shrimp over rice or pasta. I added pasta to the shrimp mixture.

On the side I had
Green beans with carmelized onions and almonds
(adjust amounts for your family size, this is a big serving so maybe cut it in half)

Kosher salt
3 pounds green beans, trimmed of stem end
1/2 cup skin on sliced almonds
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper

Fill a large high sided skillet with some water, adding enough to be just shy of the rim of the pan by about 1 inch. Place over high heat and bring up to boil; add a big pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook for about 5 minutes, the beans should still be crisp. Drain the beans and then run them under some cold water to stop them from cooking. Reserve the beans while you start the onions.
Return the skillet you cooked the beans in to the cook top over medium heat. Add the almonds and toast stirring every now and then until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the almonds from the skillet and reserve. Return the skillet to the heat and add the butter and olive oil and heat until the butter has melted. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook stirring frequently until the onions caramelize, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the thyme, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cooked cooled green beans and almonds, and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Countdown

Let the countdown begin (or continue really) So I just saw my countdown on myspace to Luis coming home and I got all excited! It shows 1 month 26 days, just happy it's down to 1 month now. So I have added a countdown to this page too so all of you can keep track in case you are wondering. This of course is a estimated date, as some of you know, there is no set plans in the Army. Famous Motto "Hurry up and wait!" But I'm excited the time is getting closer. Of course times like this that you want to come, time seems to slow down.

Sharing Pictures is like sharing memories

Ashlyn and her Great Grandmother...Nannie

First trip to Chuck E Cheese

Today was my best friend's son's 3rd birthday so we took the kids to ChuckE Cheese, Ashlyn's first trip there. Isaiah hit the ground running and playing, Ashlyn had to let it sink in, for quite awhile. I dont know if she was overwhelmed or scared, but first 15 min there she asked to go bye bye. The longer we were there the more she got used to it and played. She was terrified of ChuckECheese himself, she screamed and came running, must be a girl thing, Isaiah gave him a big high-five. And those cars that you get on and put a coin in and ride like they have in the malls, yea terrified of those too!?! Until later she on her own got in one, but dont dare turn it on, it has to be motionless. My child is something else! Guess we wont be having a party there anytime soon! Here are a few pictures.

Shea and Isaiah

Isaiah and Ashlyn eating pizza

Racing
Oh yeah and she stole the birthday crown, meant to be a princess

Such a girl
SkiBall was it a hit though

New pics of Luis

A new look

Bare with me as I'm trying to get a new look for my page. I'm trying my best to make my own but it's taking time. I'm trying to get just a one color background but everything has patterns, and I'm not digging this plaid look, so I'm still searching. I have been on this for hours and now it's 1:20am and I HAVE to sleep now! Good night!

Welcome Lacy....

My sister has joined the world of blogging, she always is reading mine and my friends so she thought she'd give it a whirl so now you all can read her blog too. She's on my friends list.

Bluebonnet photos

Talking to Daddy

Luis called this morning to talk to us, which it's alway good to hear his voice. I've missed talking to him. But he was on the phone with Ashlyn and I didnt know what he was saying to her but all I hear on her end is :

"I love you too Daddy
I miss you
I miss you too Daddy"

My eyes filled up with tears. It was the sweetest thing to hear her talk to him on her own without me feeding her the words to say. She has grown so much in the few months he's been gone. He's going to be blown away come June when he sees her and how big she has gotten and how well she talks.

Anyways, I just wanted to share this sweet moment that I'll cherish forever.

I've been Tagged

I've been tagged by Brooke....

A - Attached or Single: Attached very tightly
B - Best Friend: I have many
C- Cake or Pie: Cherry Pie..yummy but I love cake too who doesn't?
D - Day of choice: Saturday
E - Essential Item: laptop...my lifeline, my camera...my memories and my phone...my voice
F - Favorite Color: red, brown, pink
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears
H - Hometown: Austin
I - Indulgence(s): sleep lol I love sleep
J - January or July: July...summertime baby!
K - Kids: My precious baby girl Ashlyn and my beautiful stepdaughter Samantha
L - Life is incomplete without: God, prayer, hope and faith and family
M - Marriage Date: Sept 6
N - Number of Siblings: 2 sisters and 2 brothers
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P - Phobias or Fears: I HATE bats, terrified and fears...losing ones I love
Q - Quotes: I'm so bad with quotes, my mind is blank right now sorry :P
R - Reason to smile: June is right around the corner!!
S - Season: Spring or summer
T- Tag Three Friends: Debralea, Nicci, Lori
U- Unknown fact about me: I am ambidextrous, I can write with both hands forward, backwards, upside down, upside down backwards and at the same time and i can right forward with my left hand as my right hand is writing backwards! (and so can my mom)
V - Very favorite Store: Pottery Barn / Target
W - Worst habit: nail biting
X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound
Y - Your favorite food: Mexican and Asian
Z - Zodiac: Scorpio

I miss him....

I miss him ... I miss him! I cant say it enough, but even more so I love him I love him I love him. So we are going on 4 months now, but it feels like twice as long. Of course now that we are anxiously awaiting June to roll around it seems like it's taking longer.
I am so proud of my amazing husband. He is so great at his job, a side of him that I never really see, but I finally got to see a peak into his world. A reported from the BBC in London was with Luis a few months ago and filmed him and was so great to actually burn me a copy of the video and mail it right to me. It made me cry as soon as I hit play. Luis spoke straight to me and to Ashlyn. He showed us around his room, the hangar, the gym, their game room, etc. So I know now where he spends his days and nights. The reporter also went on a full mission with him, which was incredible to watch him in action. From lift off to riding in the helicopter, to landing, to going to get the patient that had been in an IED explosion, and taking him back to the helicopter and transferring him to the hospital. He is so amazing at what he does, it just blows me away. I know him as a soldier in the Army, but now I got to see him as a flight medic /EMT-I in the army which was so cool .
On top of all that he's such a wonderful husband and father. I don't know how I would survive all these deployments if I weren't so in love with him and he weren't so in love with me. Our love, our faith, our commitment and our trust is what gets us through these each and every time. It's always said "it will either make you or break you" I have seen both happen and with us it only makes us stronger. So in honor of my courageous, selfless, hard working, devoted and oh so adorable husband...my page is for you.
Please continue to pray for Luis and his safety, I constantly worry about him, it's only normal. Also please pray for God to open and close the right doors for us once this is all over. Luis is applying at several places in Austin, starting with the APD so entering the civilian job force is a bit scary when you have been in the military for so long, so prayers are needed.

Babe..I love you for who you are, for what you do and for all you do for us.

She did it!

She did it, she did it! Ashlyn went tee tee in the potty today for the first time! I was jumping for joy, but she of course didnt see what the big deal was. I told her she could have a candy (M&M) but she didnt want it, ha. Guess I'm going to have to think of another way to reward her. But I was so proud and just had to share!

I'm adding to this post....she did poo poo too!!! Lollipops are her fav so that is her reward tonight. I never knew how exciting seeing your child go to the potty would be lol Or maybe it's knowing you wont have to buy diapers anymore! So proud of my baby...I mean..my BIG girl :)

A little of this .. a little of that...

The bluebonnets are finally out! Being away from TX made me miss the bluebonnets, I have gone several years without pictures in them. So if anyone knows of a field of bluebonnets near please let me know I am dying to take pictures of Ashlyn.

Ok so this weight thing, totally been on a stand still along with the work out, I need to get my bootie back in gear! With Ashlyn and I both being sick I was stuck at home and once you get out of that routine it's hard to get back but I dont have a choice! Luis will be home in like 2 1/2 months so I need to crack the whip!

American Idol reviews....my favorites are Michael Johns - he just has this sexy thing going on with his maturity and his amazing voice and of course accent,loving that.
David Cook- he just has it made. He will get a record deal regardless, he's awesome.
David Archuleta - he is just so stinkin adorable and his voice is so pure. I dont think he should win, I think the other two guys have it made since they are more mature, but I still think he will get signed too.
Last is Brooke White, she's my favorite girl. She hasnt impressed me the last couple of weeks but her performance of "Let it Be" was so powerful.
So those are my favs....This is just a good year for American Idol.

And tv shows....Desperate Housewives will be returning April 13 and Grey's Anatomy returns April 24!!!! FINALLY! And for those who watch "Army Wives" the new season premiers in June.

And last but not least...potty training.... She just will not go while sitting on it, I know i need to take her much more often during the days but we are trying so wish us luck :)