8 things.

A play on the "8 things" quizzes, sent to me by a friend...

8 things I look forward to:

1. Swim lessons for the triplets this month.
2. A visit from my favorite aunt this Sunday!
3. Taking a vacation of one kind or another this summer.
4. Scrapbooking all the layout ideas I have in my head.
5. Going to the Aveda spa and having a massage; I don’t do it often enough.
6. Working on the many projects around our home.
7. Spending plenty of time at the beach in the next few months.
8. Reading a few books on the bestseller lists!


8 things I did yesterday:


1. Caught up on lots of blog-reading.
2. Cancelled the recording schedule of my favorite TV shows on DVR; they’re in re-run mode for the summer.
3. Cooked Mexican food for dinner, it’s my fave.
4. Bought the triplets the organic cotton bed sets I’ve had my eye on!
5. Ate potato chips after midnight with my 2 oldest daughters.
6. Talked on the phone with my favorite aunt for about an hour.
7. Researched twin size beds & mattresses online for most of the afternoon.
8. Fell asleep reading a book about “green living”. But it was late, I was so tired!


8 things I wish I could do:

1. Find the time in my busy days to exercise.
2. See my good friends more often.
3. Pay off my mortgage and be 100% debt-free.
4. Return to college.
5. Move back to Hawaii but still be able to fly to Tucson monthly to visit my parents.
6. Eat as much as I wanted and never gain weight!
7. Be a photographer for a living... and actually make GOOD money!
8. Hire a permanent housekeeper.

Oh yeah... forgot to mention... no bento today. Bento Friday ruined due to low supplies on-hand. Must go to the grocery store this weekend and replenish pantry. Bummed.

bento friday.

Yes, I realize it's Wednesday and I'm posting this almost a week late. Don't know what happened... life, I guess. Don't worry, you didn't miss much... it was a pretty boring bento last week. It's okay, I can admit it. I'm aiming for a little more of the cute factor this Friday.




Let's see... Nutella sandwich (always a favorite), teddy graham cookies, fresh blueberries and some Keebler club crackers. Just the right amount of food for my little 36-37 lb. kidlets...

More coming soon, I have more to share but I'm short on time today. :)

mother's day.

Not much time to write, it's Mother's Day and I'm really enjoying this day! Just wanted to share my flowers with you all, aren't they beautiful? They're from my girls!

Just one more good thing from today... an adorable video of the triplets doing a little song and dance for Mother's Day! If you decide to click play to watch, don't forget to shut off the music player at the very bottom of my blogpage!


Hope you all had a great one!

Happy Mother's Day from Christine Arrocena on Vimeo.

bento friday.

Today's bento lunch for the triplets was a flower-shaped grape jelly sandwich (cut with this great Daisy Sandwich Cutter from Williams-Sonoma) topped with a heart-shaped fruit leather cutout, sliced fresh strawberries and square mini-pretzels. Good thing the little ones have such small appetites right now, they're only six years old and in kindergarten. If their tummies require bigger lunches anytime soon, I'm thinking the bentos might not work anymore... they're just so compact! Or I suppose we could always upgrade to something bigger, a double-decker like this one.

After a month of doing this, I worry that my creativity with this "Friday Bento Project" is losing some of its steam. So I'm going to start doing some online research for inspiration and ideas... I want to see what other people are doing, how they are doing, etc. What I am always aiming for is a happy surprise when my girls open their cute tidy lunches at school... a smile that lasts throughout their lunchtime. So anything new and fun I can learn to do will be so helpful! If you have any suggestions, leave a comment, please. (note to Pat, if you're reading this: thanks for emailing those 30+ bento pics you found, I'm overwhelmed by the bento skills!)

One unexpected effect of all this Friday cuteness is that the girls have become the object of bento-envy at school. Other kids want to touch their lunch, ask for tastes, one has even borrowed (without asking) a silicone muffin cup when one of the girls wasn't looking... (thank goodness her mother brought her to our house to return it when she found it!) Doesn't mean I'll stop doing this... I just thought I'd share. Guess I need to work on teaching the girls how to keep their lunches from others!

If you are a mother, I wish you a very happy Mother's Day! I may or may not be spending my weekend in Las Vegas... we'll see!

bento friday.

Today's lunch was a flower-shaped grape jelly sandwich ( I cut the sandwich with a great sandwich cutter from Williams-Sonoma), sliced fresh strawberries and square mini pretzels. Good thing my little ones are such light eaters. I think we'll have to give up the bentos when they have bigger appetites, or else move on to double decker bento boxes like these!

Posting early because there's a chance we may go to Las Vegas this weekend to visit with family there. I've got to have laundry done and snacks bought, just in case. It all depends on hubby's workd schedule...

To all mothers out there, have a happy Mother's Day!

20 happy little things.

Just a few things that make me smile, in no particular order…

1. A full cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
2. Fresh flowers in the house.
3. Clean laundry.
4. Jack Johnson music on continuous repeat.
5. Time spent with a good friend.
6. Taking photos of the people I love.
7. Super-premium ice cream.
8. Baby-teeth smiles.
9. Feeling close to God.
10. A tidy house.
11. Having daughters.
12. A pedicure and cute sandals.
13. A margarita, on the rocks.
14. Watching the sun set on the ocean.
15. Reading the Sunday newspaper.
16. A house that feels like a home.
17. An afternoon at Barnes & Noble.
18. Spa days.
19. Road trips.
20. Cupcakes.

This list was an idea from another blogger. Feels good to look at many of the things that make me so, so happy. Excellent idea for a blog post. :)

bento friday.

I don't know if it will still be Friday by the time this posts, but I wanted to share today's bento lunch with you all, since it's something we're doing every week:





Today's Friday bento lunch for the triplets was a Nutella half-sandwich + sliced apples + Teddy Grahams + star-shaped fruit leather. It was mango, I think... (And everything was *times* three, of course!)

Hope you have a great weekend!