Melissa’s Blog

All we have been doing lately is biking, the kids are loving it so much. We have taken the bikes down the Venta Spur path to the little park. We have ridden in drizzle, cold, etc. The kids biked around the neighborhood and I jogged a bit. We stopped at our neighbors as the kids really wanted to show that there were no more training wheels on their bikes. Today I dropped them off at school then ran to the grocery store. Dad had to go to the foot doctor to have his warts lasered off. Poor guy, that hurts. When we got home from school the kids biked some more. We just biked in the cul de sac and I got my bike out as well. It was fun riding around with them. Justin is becoming quite the daredevil. He is going over curbs now and taking his feet off the peddles. Nicole is able to start on her own almost every time now. They helped me for a bit with the hedging but then headed in the house and played. After dinner, daddy headed out to the pre school meeting. So weird to send dad. I feel a little guilty but I am a little burnt out from ICNS. Hopefully dad will just play on his laptop and rest. The kids played Mario Cart for a bit. Still working on cleaning the grout and will probably be a few more days until we finish. Upstairs the kids raced each other down the hallway and back and forth. I finally got their teeth flossed and brushed. We just snuggled in my bed and read lots of books, it was really sweet. And gave me a warm fuzzy feeling 🙂

I will let the pictures tell the story of today’s blog:

It was so exciting! These were the bikes Grammy bought. We picked up Brittany from school then went to Grammy’s. At Grammy’s the kids rode bikes. Justin was off on his own pretty fast. So weird to watch them ride on a two wheeler. When Nicole saw Justin doing it by himself her determination came in and soon she was riding a two wheeler as well. It is crazy they are our babies and now they are riding two wheelers. Both are doing really well-It was an exciting day for us.

This morning our day started off by going to Lake Forest in the woodsy area. The kids threw as many rocks as they could in the streams. Nikki made snowman with rocks and added hair (sand). Justin carried the biggest rocks ever. He was so excited for the big splash.

When we got home from Grammy’s. The kids rode around the cul de sac. They perfected stopping on their bikes and Nicole is able to start on her own most of the time. It was so hard to make them stop riding, they are just loving it! We just had a quick dinner then played bop the balloon. Kids got a bath and some books then off to bed.

On Sat morning dad went to trombone practice. I walked our friends dog so they could get ready for a birthday party. The dog, Tyson stayed here during the birthday party. I then did some gardening and relaxed a bit. I had Tierney for a bit, such a cute little girl. She was so silly and happy playing with the toys. She loved the kitchen and the stroller…plus the play house outside. The kids came home from sleeping at Grandma/pa’s. They had a great time but were tired. We headed over to Olivia’s birthday party. The party was fun with lots of games and balloons. It took Justin and Nicole a while to get into it. After a while Justin kept saying he was tired, so I called dad and he came to get Justin. Nikki stayed with me and just played and played.

Dad was pretty much up all night as he is on call. I gave the kiddos showers and dad took a nap. While dad was napping we played outside. The kids were busy riding their scooters. We did rockets then we took out the Moxie girl stuff. Then it turned into a picnic lunch. It was nice and I was able to get the front hedge done. We all ran to the grocery store then Grammy, Buffi, and Brittany came over for dinner. The kids were so excited. They played with Brittany for a bit. The kids noticed the movie Despicable Me so we let them watch it. Luckily nothing too scary. Nikki really liked the movie but Justin didn’t really. Nikki was pretending she was the little girl from the movie. Nikki had trouble falling asleep tonight but Justin was out quickly.

On Friday the kids had their Valentine’s celebration at school. It took us all morning before school to finish the Valentine cards. They had fun putting everyone’s Valentine’s in their mail boxes made out of shoe boxes. I was supposed to work but for some reason it changed. I came back early to take pics and bury kids in the sand. It was cute all the kids wanted to be buried. I was surprised that the kiddos did pat on the back’s for mom’s. They also gave each mom a rose, it was very sweet.

It may be hard to read. Nikki said I love you more. My mom is good at playing games with the kids. Justin said My mom is good at building sandcastles with people. I love you more. I just smiled-I loved what they said about me. Here are more pics from the day:

They loved going through all their Valentine cards, plus eating some of the candy. After school I took the kiddos to grandma/pa’s to stay the night. Dad and I were able to go out for a nice dinner and just come home to the house to ourselves. It was nice to be together.

Time to catch up on the blog. Some days I feel ok and others just kind of blah. I have definitely been a loner lately and not hanging out with friends. Yesterday was Grandma’s birthday, we surprised her and came over in the morning for breakfast. The kids were so excited to surprise grandma. They made her some pictures and a Valentine. We were there way longer than I anticipated. Then we stopped off at a friend’s house to drop off a baby gift. The kids were able to jump on the trampoline and play for a while. Then we went over to the Mission Viejo mall and played for a bit. We went on the lights, play area, Disney store, pet store, etc. We hadn’t really just hung out at the mall in a long time. At the Disney store they were having a good sale so I ended up spoiling the kids. Justin got a Tigger stuffed animal and Nikki got a Bolt one. Then I bought them cars, Justin got Luigi and Guido and Nikki picked out Sally. When we got home they were so excited to play parking garage together and had a blast. We are working on making Valentine’s for their pre school friends. They need to bring them in on Friday. So far it has been good practice writing and cutting.

So Buffi and Brittany are here as well. We have been trying to do lots of stuff with them. We went to Newport Beach with them. Nikki got to do the jumpy thing that she loves so much. Justin didn’t want to do it but went on the ferris wheel and played some games. Also we took them to the Spectrum. The kids and I tried to go earlier to play a bit but we ended up not having as much time as I hoped. We went into the pet store and a boring store for me. Or what the kids call boring. I am in need of clothes still. We had dinner with Buffi, Brittany, and Grammy. Nikki wanted to go ice skating so badly. She was so happy to be on the ice and she picked it back up again. She loved everyone watching her. She skated for a long time. Justin went on the ferris wheel twice. Nikki was so sad to have to go home and stop skating she cried and cried. It was close to bed time. She didn’t get over crying for a while. The kids are loving having Brittany and Buffi here-it is really cute. Both kids really look up to Brittany.

Dad had to get computer glasses and looks so cute in them. I will have to post a picture soon. The kids had pre school today then we headed to the library for a Thomas and Friends thing. It would have been cute had there not been so many people. Justin played on the library computer for a bit and Nikki and I read a few books. Then they colored a bit. We went out to dinner with Grammy and gang, then headed to Grammy’s for a bit. The kids got some new coloring books so they worked on that. As we were leaving they got all crazy, playing tag with Brittany. We got home late but it worked out as dad was busy working-he is on call this week. Plus we got a new TV for upstairs and a new Tivo so that has kept dad busy.

Picture of dad in his glasses:

We have been such home bodies lately but it has been kind of nice. We  had lunch then we were off to pre school. I worked today. Today they did a pat on the back for Nikki. It is when everyone says something about him and the teacher writes it down. Nikki really liked listening to what everyone said about her. This is what everyone said:

-Justin says I love her more. I like to play cars and parking garage with her. She says that its boring when she gets tired of playing that. I think thats funny.
-Nikki’s mom likes how thoughtful Nikki is and I love her more
-Violet says Nikki is good at puzzles
-Ella says I just like Nikki
-Anushka says Nikki is good at helping her mom. She is good at playing Scooby Doo
-Melody says I think Nikki is good at numbers
-Izabel says she is great at playing toys and she is very nice to me. She likes and loves her brother. He is a good boy and he loves her
-Nathan says Nikki plays with me
-Sushant says me too (to what Nathan said)
-Rakshana says I love Nikki. I play with her. She likes to play with me.
-Jaffer says he likes Nikki. He likes to play puzzle pieces with Nikki
-Sansa says I love her. She likes pancakes
-Danial says I like her. I like to play cars with her
-Areebah says she loves Nikki
-Sushant says I like Nikki. She plays good
-Mrs. Nowicki says that Nikki is good at playing. Nikki has good ideas and includes everyone.

Yesterday I tortured the kiddos and took lots of pics of them. Actually they were troopers and it turned out to be really fun. Here are the pics:

So I drew hearts on the kids feet and then I let them draw on mine. They had a blast and covered the bottom of my feet. Here are more pics:

I ended up putting my feet in the bath then the kids did the same. They decided to take a bath since they were already in a bit.

Back to today. After school I started dinner. The our contractor didn’t show up tonight like he was supposed to. It is re-scheduled for tomorrow. We went out for a family flashlight walk which was nice. The kids had fun exploring. Now that they are in bed, time to relax.

Things are getting better and better, thank goodness. I seem to be back to my regular self. Now I have to catch up on the things I was ignoring the last few weeks. The kids played this morning. We took it easy at home for a while. It is Alan’s b-day today so the kids and I left him a message. The kids thought he deserved the day off since it is his birthday. They wanted to see him so hopefully we will see them soon. The kids played upstairs. They play so nicely up there-it is great. We  had lunch then we were off to pre school. I worked today. Today they did a pat on the back for Justin. It is when everyone says something about him and the teacher writes it down. Justin was up there just smiling but a little nervous. In the middle of it-he says I love you more mommy. This is what everyone said:

-Nikki says she loves you and that you are good at running
-Justin’s mom says she loves him more
-Mrs. Nowicki says Justin is great at being kind to all the kids at school
-Mohammed says Justin is good at playing
-Ms. Donna says Justin is a great hugger
-Anushka says Justin is good at playing w/Nikki. Nikki is his sister
-Sushant says Justin likes trains
-Izabel says Justin is good at doing puzzles and he listens to Mrs. Nowicki. I remember he likes to play in the snow and he loves his sister and mother.
-Melodie says I think he is great at games
-Nathan says I love Justin
-Sansa says I love Justin and he is my friend. Justin is good at playing with cars
-Jaffer says he likes Justin. I like to play with him
-Rakshana says I love him. He is good at riding bikes. He is good at climbing trees

Hopefully on Wed. she will do Nikki. After school the kids played outside of school with their friends for a bit. Then we went to Kohl’s for a return and ended up getting Justin some pants for next year. At home we played out front. The kids rode their scooters. They pretended they were going to Disney on their scooters parking on the Chip and Dale level. So funny. They were having a great time. I did a little gardening. Our neighbor came by and we just hung out. The kids wanted to eat dinner at the bar, so we all did. It felt very strange but was fun. Then after dinner the kids played Mario Cart together. We had a nerf gun war, so fun. The kids and us love it. Then we just read lots of books in our bed. Finally they watched a book on the ipad (Monster at the end of the book) and off to bed they went.

The blog is getting more and more scarce. Lets see the hormones are still bringing me down. I finally called the doctor and had him give me a 7 day prescription so I could fill the new drugs. This way I can start it soon rather than waiting for it to come in the mail. I just took it yesterday and it will take a few days to actually work. Today we were so busy that there was no time to be depressed. Dad was off to trombone practice. We were out early this morning too. We went to a science fair. We didn’t have much time there though. But we did see was pretty cool. The kids made a color wheel, watched a math magic show, then the water rocket was the highlight (at least for Justin). The kids built rockets out of soda bottles but when Nikki saw that some of the rockets were falling apart, she didn’t want to send hers up in the air. Justin did and it was pretty cool. We then headed to a birthday party for a pre school friend at Chuck E Cheese. Dad met us there. The kids had a really good time. It was a little crowded so it was nice to have dad there. Justin just wanted to play games. Nikki gave some of her tickets to a little boy who didn’t have any. I was so impressed by her thoughtfulness; she made me proud. I ended up grabbing her and giving her a great big hug. We let her get something more with her tickets. She was able to get a doggie chuck e cheese stuffed animal. Justin got a rocket with his tickets.  We then headed over to Grammy’s to see Brittany and Buffi. The kids were so excited. Nikki and Justin just love Brittany, it was so cute. Brittany is going to sleep well tonight because the kids must have worn her out. Since we had two cars I ended up coming home by myself. It was so weird-I only had about 5 minutes alone. But I didn’t have to try and get the kiddos out of Grammy’s house. The kids did not want to leave Brittany. We went to a neighbor’s house for dinner and had a great time. The kids all played so nicely and we were able to carry on an adult conversation. We didn’t get the kids to bed until 9:45. It was nice to be able to walk over to someone’s house and just hang out. I thought about canceling since I have been kind of down but now I am glad I didn’t. Off to bed soon.

I am so slacking on the blog. I have been hormonally not doing well. I finally e-mailed my doctor and went in to see him today. Thank goodness for a wonderful husband who has put up with me the last week or so. Seriously the love he has shown to me is amazing. Hopefully I am on the road to being fixed. I thought our battles would be over after pregnancy. Luckily we have two healthy kids and all this is happening now rather than before we had kids. Anyway we went on a whale watch cruise with the kids pre school this morning. It was so cute as we were getting on the boat Justin was holding Violet’s hand and they walked on the boat together. They spent lots of time together hanging out. Nathan, Justin’s buddy followed  him around the entire time. Nikki was a busy body walking around the boat, going inside and out. The kids had a great time on the boat and I was so glad I didn’t get sick. We didn’t see one whale. We did see lots of dolphins and sea lions. That was pretty cool but it was a long boat ride just to see that. We ran off the boat and I dropped the kiddos at Grammy’s. Grammy watched the kiddos while I was at the doctors. We went out to dinner with Grammy and a few of her friends. The kids were super tired tonight and so am I. Here are a few pics from today:

Well today didn’t quite work out as I had hoped. I got the kids in the shower this morning so we could get bath out of the way then ate breakfast. I did let the kids watch TV while I got ready to go for an adventure. The adventure was happening since we had to go to LAX to pick up Grammy from the airport. So the plan was to go to the kids space museum in Pasadena. Traffic was great until the car pool lane ended on the 5 and it was just bumper to bumper with no end in sight. The kids were so good in the car, no complaining what so ever (unlike me). So we finally get to the museum, 45 minutes later than I thought to find out it was closed. So crazy as I checked the website and nothing. There was a little park there that the kids played on while I figured out the next thing to do. All the things I had in mind involved getting back in the car, ugh. We finally decided to head to Santa Monica Pier/Beach. This way we would be closer to LAX and have fun. I think traffic followed me everywhere today and I think I was on every freeway in LA. On the way I am watching the temperature and it is getting colder and colder. It went from 72 to 59. Luckily I did bring jackets and I had one pair of pants in the car for the kids. We ended up having a really fun time. We walked around, played games, had lunch, fed and chased the pigeons, people watched, played in the sand, collected shells, etc. It was a nice time except a little cold. Back in the car again to go to the airport to get Grammy. We saw her luggage came down even before we saw her. We had more traffic from Grammy’s house to ours. LAX to Grammy’s wasn’t too horrible. We spent a little time at Grammy’s then came home. Dad stopped and got a pizza for dinner. I went through almost a half of tank of gas and am just beat. We just played tonight and I was ready to fall asleep at 8:00PM.