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!!!

Yesterday was a good day. Despite the fact, I had very little sleep that night due to Glow having a cold, but a good thrift day is good in re-energizing a tired body. Wouldn’t you agree?

I took the two big girls to the dentist with my baby sister, while my mama watched the two baby girls, and we sandwiched the dental visit with two thrift visits. I was most giddy about my shirts, a book for my girls (and one for my mama), especially the load of records we came home with. Wait. That means I am giddy about every. single. thing I found. Well, indeed I am! My sister made out like a bandit too, looky at her treasures here!

I love finding some good treasures!

It feels to good to be meal planning. We have eaten less frozen food boxes from Trader Joe’s, in fact none at all during the week, though those are still nice in a pinch. Meal planning also helps save time in the evening because usually it takes us forever to figure out what to eat after Ben gets home and he is usually the one who would have been cooking it. Now, it is actually me cooking. I am not as good as Ben, but it works.

Wednesday started the new recipes for the week and I tried the Rice and Black Bean Pilaf…

It is a quick recipe, but I substituted celery with red bell peppers because I don’t like celery. Also, the recipe calls for parsley, which we used, but I think would have tasted better with cilantro. The flavors were pretty mild and if I were making it for just me and Ben, I would have sauteed the veggies with some chopped serrano peppers. A whole lot of them actually. Fresh slices of avocado is also good mixed in.

Thursday, I tried Korean Spicy Quick Braised Tofu that BFF and Jane recommended (those ladies know me well)…

Ben was completely loving this dish and said if it were at a restaurant, he would order it! My only change would be to double the sauce recipe, so that you would have more sauce to drizzle on! It was yummy and had a really nice kick! We love kick!!! We will make this again soon.

Knowing that our dish would be quite spicy, I made the girls Citrus Soy Tofu and Broccoli…

I used the leftover marinade from last week’s squid dish and let the tofu sit in that for a bit and then cooked that along with broccoli in a pan. When Brave saw the dish she said, “Ooh! I love tofu!!!” It was really cute. True ate all her broccoli and Brave ate her tofu, but I think if Brave weren’t so tired at the dinner table, she would have eaten more on her plate.

I have got my eye on some of the other tofu recipes you all shared. I can’t wait to try them out! If you have more recipes to share, keep them coming!

Week of 2/20 – 2/24:
Monday: Pasta Puttanesca and Roasted Cauliflower
Tuesday: Chicken Cacciatore and Brussel Sprouts
Wednesday: Monday’s leftovers
Thursday: Spaghetti and Meatballs (we have some church family coming over)
Friday: Pizza or something super easy

I haven’t made any salmon recipes yet, anyone have any good and healthy ones to share?

Each note coordinated with the gift it was attached with. For example, the hotwheel car note said, “You’re hot!” and the whoopee cushion note said, “You make my heart go, “Whoopee!”” or the yo-yo note said, “Yo my favorite thing!” Some also may be a little too risque to share here! *wink*

The ball actually took Ben 15 minutes to unravel and he was tired by the end of it, but loving it all. I like making surprises for him! He’s one of a kind!!! The video condensed that time into a minute and a half. I had seen these surprise balls circulate the blogosphere a few years ago and was always waiting for the perfect opportunity to make one for Ben. I was loving making that ball so much, I am kind of in need to make another. I hope I have to make another present for someone soon!

The day started off with the girls’ love day bags waiting at their breakfast spot and an extra valentine from their Papi for all his girls (including me!).

Their bags were filled with some edible treats and a ban.do clip for the big girls. Their shared wrapped present were the my little pony toys they have been wanting, rather, their papi has been eagerly wanting to get them.

My present on the other hand, were two of the shirts I had been wanting from our trip to Madewell. Turns out, while I was trying things on, that boy of mine sneakily purchased two shirts and had them hiding in the baby sling! See this picture, he is hiding two shirts in that sling of his. Definitely sneaky, sneaky, but I love it and love him more!!!

The girls got put to bed extra early, so Ben and I could get in some quiet time. We ordered sushi, put on some quiet music, and just ate and chatted together. Kinda nice. I also gave him his little handmade present, but I will save that for another post. I love simple celebrations like this. Though, I am not opposed to fancy ones too! I just love celebrating in general.

Ben has a lot of girls to romance and I feel so blessed that he enjoys using his creativity and love for us to spoil us girls. We love our Papi very much!!! It was definitely a good Valentine’s Day in our home.

How was yours?

This morning was a rush with a bit of love day surprises being given, but we managed to get dressed and True out of the house for school. I let her take charge of her treats for her classmates. She stamped painted hearts, cut them out herself, and taped on some candy. It is a simple and sweet valentine that she made all by herself!

I even told her to count them, so I would know if she had to make more… then, I look at them and each card has a number because she counted them. Oh well! I need to be more explicit next time.

Hope your Valentine’s Day is going lovely thus far!