I crate my dog… and here is why

I don’t know what most people’s thoughts are on crated their dogs, but I’ll just come right out and say I AM A CRATER! I believe that for the safety of my dog and my house when we are upstairs or out of the house our dog needs to be in her crate.

I’m sure there are a million people that will tell me how cruel I am and whatnot, and that’s fine… you do one thing with your dog and I do another with mine… and let me tell you why.

Last night I was upstairs and my friend went to Taco Bell. Instead of being put in her crate our dog was left downstairs and the baby gate was put up as to ensure that she didn’t come upstairs. My son comes upstairs to inform me that we have termites and they have made a hole in the wall. I dismiss it as ‘where in the heck has this kid been? that hole has been there for almost 2 years!’ (Yes, we have a small hole at the bottom of the stairs where an unknown person kicked in…. family drama blah… I have an idea but whatever…different story).

He grabbed my hand and drug me downstairs for me to find the complete horror that awaited me.
Yes, that is a flipping hole that my dog somehow made in my wall. How? I have no idea. Pissed? Yes, I most definitely am! There was no small hole for this dog to even begin this with, so I am still completely baffled. My thoughts, are that maybe there previously was a hole before we moved in, it was patched and it was easy for her to break through. This took place right by the baby gate, which brings me to believe that she was trying to claw her way around the gate to get upstairs.

I’m still completely speechless.

When my friend, Jenise, got home from Taco Bell this is how she found Sophie. Nobody said anything to her, she just KNEW that she did MAJOR WRONG!


And this is why I crate… do you blame me?

Just Stinkin’ Perfect!

My friend of 23 years told me that her sister reads my blog often. I love it when I hear that people that I care about, and especially people I’m not always in contact with come to check up on my family, me, my life. But one thing that she did say was, “Wow, now that Amanda is in the Mormon church is she like this perfect mom?” I don’t know if those were her exact words, but the word perfect was mentioned. AND THEN! Her mom reads my blog and says, “Did Amanda turn into little Miss Perfect?”…… here we go.

I can classify myself with pretty much the most imperfectness out there. I am not in any way a bad mom, I am not a bad wife, but I am farfrom being the word perfect. I don’t always blog about my faults, because maybe I don’t want to face them. I don’t blog about my faults, because maybe I just don’t want to world to know about them. I do have faults though, and many of them.

It’s funny that miss Alicia (hi Alicia!!) said this, because I think this about others. When I do go to church (and let me tell you, lately it hasn’t been very often!) I envy almost all of the families there. They seem to have perfect lives. Their husbands are smiling and rubbing their backs, the wives are smiling and don’t seem at all frustrated as they drag their screaming toddler out of Sacrament. When I’m at church I’m trying my hardest to keep my kids quiet, my husband awake and wishing that we were at the point of being able to take everything in and love it. It’s hard for us. It seems absolutely easy for every member that has been going to church all their lives, but it’s a drastic change for the Garibay family and I anticipate it taking a while for us to be that family that the new comers look at and envy.

I am probably the most organized unorganized person you’ll ever meet. I could walk into somebody’s home, tear it apart and have everything organized and beautiful, because I know how to. I know where to start, and I know how to get to the ending prize. Have you been to my house? If you have you’ll know that I struggle with organization. Maybe it’s because I’d prefer to always be struggling in this department, because I most definitely know how to get there…. I just haven’t gotten there yet.

I love my children, but they drive me flipping crazy sometimes! I sometimes wish that they would walk away from me and give me some space so I can tweet, blog, surf the internet, read or just think BY MYSELF… whatever. I’m sure that doesn’t make me the best mom in the world, because I actually need a break from them to do the things that make me happy, otherwise why the heck am I living? I love them and breathe for them, but I’m not afraid to admit that I need breaks sometimes, I need a night out without them, and I know many moms who cannot admit to this. So, I guess I’m not so perfect in this department as well.

I often wonder why we sometimes hide our faults. Why we don’t let other people know that hey, I’m not the best wife, my house is a disaster most days, I definitely should not classify as the world’s best mom (even though at times you think you are).

I just want everyone to know me for me. I don’t always blog about my faults, but I have them. I need to remember when reading other people’s blogs that they may seem perfect, and have the perfect blog, the perfect husband and seem like life is just flipping perfect for them, but there’s no way, because none of us are perfect. They have faults just like I do, you do and we all do…. even our mother-in-law’s 🙂

Tips to Surprise Your Kids


To be a good parent we are not always meant to stand as fun. We are not supposed to be the “friend” especially to our teens. We are here to ensure that our children receive structure, rules, morals among many other life tips that we hope they carry on with them.

In between all of these events of training our children up we need to mix in surprises! Surprises that remind them that while we may not always be all about fun, we still have fun in us. Here’s a few tips to excite your kids!

  • Go in 20 minutes after your kids have gone to bed and get them up to take them to ice cream in their pajamas {Read this on twitter! Can’t wait to try it}
  • Surprise them after school with a picnic in the park for the after school snack
  • Show up at your kid’s school and have lunch with them
  • Have breakfast as a picnic on mommy & daddy’s bed… and a fun breakfast at that!
  • Have a hookie day at least 2 times/year where you go and have a full day of fun – their choice of activities
  • Let your kid choose and help cook whatever meal they can make up in their mind… and sit down as a family to lavish over it
  • Mix up meal day where they can choose what they want to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner…. as long as it’s mixed up (ex: lunch for breakfast, dinner & lunch, breakfast for dinner)… that’s always fun… hey maybe even let them have dessert for lunch! One day won’t kill them
  • Make an art gallery of their art work, framed an all for them to come home to… talk about feeling uber special!
  • Surprise them with a half year {birthday} celebration party ~ no presents, just a celebration w/maybe cupcakes and some friends and games….. maybe a fun slumber party
  • For your little girl, let her play dress up with your makeup and take her out for a special treat…. she’ll feel beautiful!
  • For your little boy take him to a sports game (even if it’s a local high school, or any local school one) and choose a team to cheer for and get all excited with them. It’s fun!


I know that there a million things out there that you could do, but I just wanted to throw a couple of things out there for you so that you can realize that it really is simple to have some fun with your young ones.

Throughout our crazy, busy lives we can sometimes forget about the small little things can make our kids have fun memories of their childhood.

These are my little things that work for me and my kids. There are HUNDREDS of tips from others for a huge variety of different topics. {Kristen} is hosting this fabulous carnival! Go join in the fun!

And come back on Monday for {Just a Motivating Monday} hosted by me! It’s my day where I write an inspiring blog post and have a link up for others to link up their inspiring posts. Even if you have nothing to share I hope you’ll stop by to read what I have to write.

Just a Motivating Monday – Friendship

If you’re just joining us:

-Write a blog post about ANYTHING at all that inspires you, or something you feel will inspire others.

-Please link back to Garibay Soup

-Please snag my Just a Motivating button on your post.

-I hope that we can all go and visit each other’s blogs and read what everyone has linked up ~ I hope that this carnival can bring more traffic for you 🙂 So, spread the comment love!

After the day I had to day I must say I was not in the mood to write anything inspiring for anybody, because I was just downright now inspired!

We’ve all had a day where it all just started going wrong, it was like bad events had a domino effect going on. That’s how I felt today was. Now, I sit here, with sleeping babies, peace in the house and the Kardashians on my TV….. needless to say I’m happy and ready to start writing.

This week my best friend in the entire world is up in Oregon visiting from my home town Sacramento. I find our friendship so inspiring and felt like sharing it with you, here on Just a Motivating Monday.

I have always been a different person when it comes to friends. I know people have tons of them, and I only hold a small few in my hands. Once you become my friend, you will always remain my friend, and I think that’s why I am so picky choosing them.

Jenise and I have been friends since as far back as I can remember, we started our first day of school together. I have moved many, many times (that’s a whole other post I need to write about!) But through it all, Jenise has always been there. Even when we were 12 and separated we kept in contact by letters, but I always returned back to that small town Jackson, California.

Jenise has always been the one I cry to, she is always the first person I think of when I have good news, bad news, or just need a friend to be there for me….. no matter where I live. It’s hard to find the right words to express the friendship that I feel so honored to have. Not everyone is blessed to have a friendship like we have, and I couldn’t be more thankful.

I am inspired by the unconditional love that we hold for each other. I believe that we should all hold this kind of love for our best friends. Don’t let the petty stuff EVER get in the way of your friendship, because it’s never worth it. Just remember that while you might not always agree with each other, you will always love each other.

Jenise has put up with so much crap from me, and I’m so lucky that she holds this unconditional love for me, because NOTHING could ever get in the way of our friendship, and since we are so close…. we would never do anything to each other to jeopardize it.

Neener, I love you to death and I am so grateful that you are my best friend. I would move mountains for you if I could, and I will always be here…. no matter what it is that you need.

Dear Ella, You’re 2… Oh my

Dear Ella,

I will begin this letter to you letting you know that you are extremely special to me. You make my heart smile (actually grin!) all throughout the day and I’m so thankful for every moment that I have with you. From the day you were born I knew there was something special about your sweet, sweet soul. From the beginning you have been a little girl that turns heads, and puts smiles on people’s faces. There’s times where I just stop and stare at you and think to myself ‘Wow, what a beautiful girl.’

You definitely have not had the easiest 2 years that a normal little girl gets, but although you have faced death a couple of times, you are still here to continue making me want to be a better person. Ella, I couldn’t imagine my life without you, and I am thankful for every tear, every smile, every frustration, every moment that you give me.

This past year you’ve grown into this little girl with this strong personality. You are no longer a baby, although I still rock you to sleep almost every night. I treasure those moments, and hope I get many more! You love girl music, you love to dance, you love to sing, you love to order your brother around. You love babies, and act like a little mama. You talk more than I’ve ever heard a toddler your age talk before. And laughing lights up your eyes. You try to open your eyes as big as you possibly can and oh my, what an adorable sight.

You’ve become a little best friend of mine.

I can’t wait to see what this next year brings us, I pray it brings good health and lots of smiles. I love you my little princess, you hold a huge part of my heart in your tiny hands…. Happy Birthday!

Love, Mama

3 Days Old… now, that’s beauty!


10 1/2 months old
2 years old…. my little lady


I’m grateful that I am your mom. Thank you for choosing me ~ I love you my princess… now and forever.