Local Author-Alva Sachs

  Nico between a local author and a future author =)

 Alva Sachs ( local children's booksCircus Fever, On your Mark, Get Set, GO! and her latest release is I'm 5. All three of those books have received honors and awards for children's picture books) with Chudney Ross, owner of Books & Cookies Children's Bookstore.

I wrote a little piece before the event on 

MakingMommy-hoodEasier.blogspot.com:

As a future children's book author and illustrator, meeting someone that has gone through this process and completed it successfully 3 times is going to be a great experience. It's hard to stay driven sometimes when you have a blank canvas and a pencil in your hand but can't seem to start that first line. Seeing completed projects and all the events that she has participated in, and the millions of smiles that she has brought to families...especially children...is a great motivator. It also reminds me that every great story starts with ONE WORD and every great drawing starts with one line....and I can't be nervous or afraid to place those lines. All art-work is a work in progress and the first line won't determine my success. 

SO...I hereby decree that the first lines placed on these pages are unimportant... unloading the pressure that is stacked on top of my drawing pencils and markers! 

Event's like tomorrow's Local Story-time take place the Last friday of every month. This gives the local authors a chance to connect with their readers and it give our kids the opportunity to meet those special people that write the books that they read everyday. 

To find out more about events and activities at Books & Cookies, check out this Calendar.

I've started a NEW BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have started a NEW BLOG:

Making Mommy-hood Easier

Don't worry! This one will still be going strong with updates on our lives and NICO!!! But lately my brain has been churning ideas, in hopes that I could put to use all I've learned about motherhood into something special....and soooo I decided to stop thinking and just start writing....

My "field of dreams" mentality is what is telling me that if I write, the job will come...lol. But for real. While I wait to land that PERFECT JOB FOR ME (and by perfect I mean one that will pay me...hahaha), I want to invest some of my time writing about the things I've learned and keep learning about everyday as a MOTHER. I have incorporated that into this blog: Expecting the Unexpected, but I mainly share daily or weekly updates about our regular life that NOT EVERYONE (as I sigh loudly) cares too much to read about besides close friends and family.

My new Blog: Making Mommy-Hood Easier is going to be my place to EVALUATE and SHARE my thoughts on the things that I think make Mommy-hood actually easier! It will also be a way of organizing links of things that I stumble upon!

I hope that my mom friends and other people who are on this journey, sign up to follow by new blog and see where this adventure takes us all! Your suggestions, feed back and ideas are always welcomed!

PAPA is a PROFESSOR!!

Peter started teaching yesterday!!!!!

Yes you read right. Peter is now teaching an Engineering Lab Course at Cal State LA! He is a College Professor for the next 10 weeks.

I am so proud of him!! Hence all the exclamation marks...hahaha.

Papa, Nico, and Mommy News!

We've go UPDATES!

Papa News:

Peter has been search for a MORE COMPLETE program that will be entertaining, help him bulk up a little, and challenge him. Both of us think that the people in Cross-fit have some sort of JUICE that they give their members...cause everyone who starts it becomes obsessed and loves it. So Peter went to an info session to see what the hype is all about....he ended up doing a 10min workout that really got to him. He is considering joining but we still have to figure out some minor details ($$...hahaha).

Last THursday Peter went to Check out a FREE CROSS-FIT endurance workout where he got to JUMP OFF THE SANTA MONICA PIER---and not get arrested. Then he had to swim to shore, do a whole bunch of push-ups, squats, burpies, run about a mile out and swim some more, run back, and then Swim back out to the Pier and climb out. It looked like fun...but also LOOKED FREEZING! I think Peter could jump on the Cross-fit band-wagon if he gets to do more of these types of workouts.

While Peter was out there Nico and I got to see 4 dolphins swimming around!!!

In Nico News: He finished his 2 week of Daycare and WE are adjusting a lot better...hahaha. Nico seems to like it more everyday. I'm so happy that he is!!

In Mommy News: I've been working hard to FILL my BOOTCAMP4MOMS classes which are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the Morning and Monday and Wednesday Evenings at 6pm. I really enjoy helping moms get into a routine and tell me that they are feeling SORE AFTER!! The little ones love hanging out at the park too!

Check out BootCamp4Moms online

Facebook

Meetup.com

The Tyson Method Website

But it hasn't been all work and NO PLAY for Mommy....Our mom group here in the Marina, MDR Baby Mommas, has evolved to EVENING play-dates as well. We've been going out once a week together to do things....We've gone to watch a couple chick flicks that our husbands would never go to...lol and we EVEN pulled out our heels, un-dusted our make-up kits and went CLUBBING!! I use this term in the loosest sense since we met up at 9:00pm for drinks (after getting the kids to bed and husbands fed) and were at the club by 9:45pm--while people were still eating and sitting....and were wasted and home by 12:30am. Did I mention that we also had time to stop by IN-N-Out Burger on our way home???....and were in bed by 12:30...Go ahead and laugh...cause I did. I could have sworn it was 4 is the morning, at least. But NOPE! just past midnight...haha. But it was a great time.....there was a lot of SUPPRESSED DANCING URGES in this group....that ALL got addressed! There are a lot more pictures...but i'll have to keep those for BLACK MAIL =). I had so much fun with my mommy friends!! Thanks for coming out girls.

And last but not least, I've been busy writing and Drawing. Writing articles for examiner (that I have yet to post) and working on the illustrations for my children's book.

Soon we'll share out weekend adventures....but for now, my computer literally has NO MORE SPACE for ANYTHING--so we have to address that.

Have a great week.

Malibu Ranch---Horsin Around

A couple weeks ago we went to a farm in Malibu with some baby Friends! We had a blast! We stopped on the way and got  the Horses some carrots and apples...Which was Nico's FAVORITE WORD that day....AAPPPPPPPLLLLEEEEE...(1000x)

The owner of the horses was friends with the Momma we went with. So we were lucky to get to see the horsy up close, and brush the horse, and feed the horse, and hangout with her.

I was itching to get on but I had to hold it in. The owner of the horse did invite me to go help out on trail rides in exchange for FREE RIDES!! I have to take them up on their offer soon! Our weekends keep filling up before I have time to schedule some much needed...Horse and Mommy TIME!!!

We walked around the farm and Nico got to get his first BIOLOGY LESSON...

Then we found a playground: Papa and Nico had a BLAST! Me and the other moms determoned that this playground could possibly be the most dangerous one we'd ever seen:

Main Reason:

 All the openings, exits, were very difficult to get to...for PARENTS, which meant that the 3 kids there that day were A HAIR from falling 5ft at least 3 times each...HEART ATTACK!

 Fortunately we survived!!!!

 And we also had LOTS OF FUN!

 Nico helped pick up before we left! Gosh my little bugger head is so cute!!!!

The Publishing Process Begins!

And so TODAY it's OFFICIAL! The publishing process has begun!

As most of you who know me know, I love writing and have a couple "books" in the works...but I have a finished Children's Book that I have been day dreaming about being read at the Local Storytime for kids like Nico.

When I'm at book stores, in the kids' section, I can almost SEE just how MY BOOK is gonna look...but it's only been a day dream until THIS MORNING, when I got on board with a Self-publishing company who is gonna help me get this book out in print!

I received this email from MY PUBLISHING CONSULTANT:

http://www.xlibris.com

Dear Valeria Flores, I want to personally thank you for choosing Xlibris to publish your work. It is our full commitment to provide our authors with the best in self-publishing, and I want to say that your satisfaction is our top priority. Please don't hesitate to call at any time if you have any questions or clarifications. We look forward to making your publishing experience the very best it possibly can be. All the best, Chris Lopez Publishing Consultant Xlibris Corporation

Once the book is published, it will be available through the publishing company's own WEBSITE, AMAZON.COM and BARNES&NOBLES.COM plus a lot more places.

The next step is waiting for rules and the steps for the submission of the manuscript---

AND on my side, get cracking on final drafts for the illustrations before sending those in as well!!!

I will soon be able to say:

I'm A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!

I know the process will be long, and there is A LOT of work to do! But Today, RIGHT NOW, I just want to be super excited, jump around in my living room with Nico, play Juan Luis Guerra really loud on Pandora and smile so much that my cheeks are gonna hurt very soon! Tomorrow I'll check back into the "REAL WORLD".

TODAY...I wanna FEEL this moment and try and trap a little of this excitement in a little jar or water bottle just to that I can Always have it there to remind me of WHY I STARTED THIS JOURNEY:

to catch a dream!!

Thank you Peter for being excited for me and helping me with this project. LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

20 Months old!!!!

Happy 20 Months Pumpkin-Head!!!!

(Don't worry- the brownies were for show...lol, and Papa)

Today Nico is 4 months away from being 2 years old!!!!! I know I say it every month, but he's so BIG and growing more each day, learning so many things, making me smile everyday! My love for him keeps growing--and I don't know where to fit it all!

I was looking through an old writing notebook and I found this letter that I had written Nico....but I don't think I ever posted it or gave it to him, so here it goes:

Nico Lico,

I hope that when you grow up, you do something great,

something you feel is amazing and worthwhile,

something that makes you feel happy and complete,

something that keeps you alive and upbeat!

Go explore and carefully look around,

you always find treasures in life's playground.

Travel the world and see all there is to see

And follow your heart wherever it may lead.

BUT Make sure you always STAY YOU!!!

No matter where you go or what you do

Mama and Papa will always and FOREVER, LOVE YOU!!

Have a great 4th day at Daycare!!!!

20 month update:

• Words:It's hard to keep track of his word count now since he's a little broken record!
• Sleep:Doing great, taking solid 2.5-3hr naps and sleeping through the night most of the time.
• Teeth:all there...now brushing his teeth is sometimes hit or miss but it's not as tortursome as we expected.
• Other: He's just plain FUN! He interacts with other kids now at Playdates and in daycare, he repeats things you say and sounds, and he seems to really understand the world around him.....and he has really good memory!!!!

Nico Started Daycare this week!!!!

This has been a BIG week for Nico (read ME). He started Daycare on Monday. They recommended that the first to weeks he go everyday for a couple hours to get used to the new environment and then after that he can start his routine (2x a week for a couple hours).

Let's start by being honest! MY HEART IS DANGLING BY THE LAST ARTERY here. Seeing him screeching and in tears as I headed towards the door has been one of the hardest things to handle next to seeing him throw up for no reason, and delivery(hahah, just kidding....not like delivery---I don't think anything will ever be THAT painful). But whatever---it has been really hard.

Day 1- Mommy and Daddy both went...so that mommy would actually leave Nico....lol.

Day2- His friend Lorena was there and He did a better.

Day3- Mrs. Cathy told me that he barely cried today when Peter dropped him off (probably a lie, but it made me feel a little better). When I got there he was as happy as a button (probably not the right way to use that incorrect expression--but anyway...he was HAPPY and NOT CRYING).He actually said buh bye with a smile to everyone as we walked out....SUCH A BIG BOY

It's crazy cause just yesterday Peter and I were seriously discussing taking him out and waiting a couple more months to try again later---you must be thinking, crazy mom eyyy...already rushing to take her child out of daycare because he shed a couple tears--WELL YES, THAT'S ME!.

BUT today when I walked in...I thought, maybe i'm rushing. Maybe 2 days a week will be fun for him and a great opportunity for me to FOCUS on MY CHILDREN'S book.....which by the way is one step closer toward the REAL side than the DREAM side! Peter and I have been contemplating the Self-Publishing route through Xlibris. They have a really great packages that would help me get the book going....but that's a whole other post.

But anyway, back to Nico and daycare....He has been doing better everyday--and so have I. It really helped today that Peter dropped Nico off. The daycare people say that he vocalizes all the words really well and is great at repeating everything he hears =). They also say that he is really friendly with all the kids in his class. Maybe this will turn out to be a great new step for us where I will be able to work on a making my dream a reality and Nico will have time away from me to play with friends, learn to share, and be in a different setting.

Little Adventures here and there with my Pumpkinhead =)

I haven't posted in SO LONG! I know my parents have been asking why i've been depriving them of their daily dosage of NICO's LIFE...so here are some HIGHLIGHTS.

Things we've been up to...

Hanging out at the Venice Farmer's Market and the Park:

Hanging out with friends:

Playing on my new laptop

while the girls play dress-up...

Doing Art with Lorena:

Hanging out at the Aquarium of the Pacific with all the FISHies: Waiting in line!!

Nico got to touch the SHARKS!!

Hanging out with other GATORS to Watch the Gator Game:

Click here to view slideshow:

Click here to view slideshow: