5 Lil' Bausons Jumping on the Bed

Welcome to the Bauson Family Blog!

Hey there, I'm Marisa; wife to John. Mother to: Manny, Christian, and Jackson. I am also the author of this blog.

Lover of Starbucks, make up, chuck taylors, flip flops, purses, music, movies, and books.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Chillin' at the park on a Sunday afternoon....

Jackson, Christian and Daddy racing.

10:52 AM

Monday, July 18, 2011

My photoblog attempt at making cake balls. They were fairly easy, though extremely time consuming.

First, you need to bake your cake. I just used a boxed red velvet cake.

When the cake has cooled, crumble it into a large bowl.

Next, stir in your favorite frosting. Since I was making red velvet cake balls, I chose cream cheese frosting. I also decided to use food coloring to dye the frosting red. I didn't want to muddy the cake color.

It doesn't look all that appetizing once all of the frosting is incorporated.

After mixing in all of the frosting, put cake mixture into the refrigerator. I let it set for several hours.

Once it has set, create golf ball size cake balls and roll them into your melted candy coating. Since this was just the test run, I bought the candy melts that they had available at Target. I will probably buy these candy melts for Jackson's birthday (in white, of course).

Finished product (on my spiffy white and blue paper plates, lol)....

8:49 AM

Friday, July 15, 2011

12:35 PM

Saturday, July 9, 2011

All of the schools in Antioch (elementary through high school) wear uniforms, which I'm actually super thankful for.

Manny's school uniform will consist of white, navy, khaki. The problem I think I'll find is finding enough variety along with functionality.

Old Navy actually has a great selection of uniform clothing. I went there to check some things out and got extremely overwhelmed with the choices. This blog is mainly so that I can sort my thoughts, and not go crazy when I finally order.

I will most definitely get a couple of the collard shirts in navy blue and white. They also make the same shirts in long sleeve. I'll get a couple of those as well.

Some button up shirts (both short and long sleeve).

Some pants in khaki and navy blue (should probably get some shorts as well, since it will still be warm for a while).

Sweater and sweater vest...

Jackets also needs to be in school colors...

There is a blazer available, but I'm not sure I want to go that far.

I've just realized that this could get a little expensive, lol. I think what I'll need to do is only buy things he can wear now: short sleeve shirts, shorts, maybe one light sweater. He starts school August 22nd, so it'll still be warm for a couple more months. I'll buy the remaining items in end of Sept., beginning of Oct.

I'll also need to get him at least two pairs of nice black shoes, matching socks and a belt or two. He'll need a new lunch box, and a back pack.

Oh my gosh, my little boy is growing up!

11:05 AM

Sunday, July 3, 2011

WE FOUND A HOME!!!

We finally found a home. A home that we love. A home that we are leasing (I'll explain it further in a second). A home that has a minimum two year lease. A home that is "technically" cheaper then our current rental. A home that actually has a backyard that my children can play in. A home that has a TON of storage, wood floors, new appliances, a gas stove...oh my god....

Three months ago when we found that we would need to move...again...John started looking into a program called "lease to own". We were hesitant at first, it doesn't really sound legit, but after talking to John's mom as well as other real estate friends we heard that this is something that real estate agencies are currently doing because of the economic downturn. People just can't afford the down payment on homes these days, and this is a way that agencies are helping people buy their dream homes.

What's the program? We aren't exactly doing the "lease to own" because there would be no backing out if we decided that we didn't like the home in three or so years. The option that we are partaking in is called "lease plus".

Lease Plus takes $300 from our rent and puts it toward a down payment toward purchasing a home. We have a minimum two year lease, with a maximum of 6 years. If after 6 years (or sooner) we decide we want to purchase the home they will take 20% of the money we have paid and put it toward the down payment.

If in 6 years we decide we don't like the home anymore and want to back out completely, we get back 10%. Either way, we'll be getting some money back.

There is a 12 month warranty on the home. Inside this 12 months if anything in the house breaks or needs fixing, the agency will fix it. After 12 months, up keep is up to us (like leasing a car).

This entire situation has been so stressful. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I can finally sign Manny up for Kindergarten. I can look into preschools for Christian. I can completely unpack!

We move in August 1st...I'm so ready to get out of this hell hole.

12:27 PM

Friday, July 1, 2011

All of the boys had their well check ups this week. As suspected all three boys have different body types.

Manny is our giant. He's in the 90th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. Doc said that if he continues on this growth pattern he'll be well over six feet tall at his full height.

Christian is our husky boy (like we didn't know that already). He's in the 50th percentile for height, and 90th percentile for weight.

I was concerned when I saw his weight, but Doc said not to worry about it at this point; looking at him, he doesn't look overweight and there is still a very good chance that he'll slim down naturally. If not, we'll just have to make sure he's always active. Luckily we'll be enrolling both Manny and Christian in soccer sometime this year (summer league already started unfortunately).

Jackson inherited his Lola Bauson and Grandma Palmieri's stature. He is in the 25th percentile for height, and 50the percentile for weight...poor kid, lol. I knew one of my kids was going to be a shorty, being mostly Filipino with a ~~small~~, ~~little~~, (crap, gotta avoid those adjectives, lol) sprinkling of Japanese isn't necessarily hitting the genetic jack pot when it comes to height.

Jackson also took his first steps this week; of course, he hasn't done it since, much to John's chagrin. He is also getting two more teeth, making a grand total of eight, which means that we haven't been sleeping much this last week.

^^^This has been John and I all week.

In other news, John and I are looking at homes to lease. We've been looking into the "lease to buy" option that a lot of real estate offices are doing these days. After speaking to John's mom, some other real estate friends, as well as doing our own research, we realize this is our best option for buying a home.

We've sent in the application and should be hearing back today to see what kind of homes we qualify for. Let's hope that we find something we like. I want to be out of this house by the first of August (even though our lease ends in September); we still need to sign Manny up for elementary school which means we need to know where we'll be living. If we wait until September, school will have already started.

So please, if you pray, pray that we find a home that we love and can afford. If you don't pray, please keep us in your thoughts. We need all of the positive energy we can get.

Now, please excuse me, the boys and I need to have our weekly dance party :)

ps...I've had that damn Nicki Minaj song stuck in my head all week.

8:56 AM