Melissa’s Blog

Well I learned to actually listen to our answering machine. This morning the cleaners changed the time on us and came early. It worked out but I got a little stressed. The kids watched TV while I got things cleaned up. I wanted to get out of the house so the kids don’t bother the cleaners. I took the kids out for bagels-they were so excited. We had a nice little breakfast. Then we headed to the party store. We just looked around at the Halloween decorations. Nicole sounds a little stuffy so we just took it easy. I read the kiddos lots of books. We played blocks, lego’s, etc. Nikki was in the play room making up stories with her toys and the big lion-it was really cute. The kids got along pretty well today. We headed out to go to soccer for Justin. Thank goodness the sun went behind the clouds so it cooled off a little bit. It was still hot but Justin was a trooper and had fun. They played a cool game in the beginning. There were two teams, one had to turn the cones over then the other one turned it back over. I will look at this later and I will not understand how explained the game went. The kids played at the park for a bit after soccer and we headed home. The kids played outside in the backyard while I made dinner. I kept on checking on them. They were pushing the little wheel barrel and truck around. Later these things became “useful engines”. They were moving all the stuff in the backyard to the corner gate. We have a mess to clean up. But the mess was worth it since they were having so much fun. The nice part was Bret and I were signing re-finance papers and the kids played nicely. They ended up coming in the dining room to color, just to be with us. The kids were wanting a pretend pizza thing like at the museum in Palm Springs. We had a couple things and a cupcake thing that the kids enjoyed playing with. I went for a little walk while the kids played with dad. So fun to come home as the kids are so excited to see me. Both had a hard time going to sleep. Nikki and I cuddled with Justin until he fell asleep then we went into Nikki’s room for a bit. She sang a song she made up about birthdays and X-mas. It was really cute but it would have been better earlier in the day.

Well Bret is at least back to work so he is definitely on the mend. We didn’t do much this morning. We kind of enjoyed just being at home. The kids played nicely. I dropped the kiddos off at pre school. While they were there I ran to the grocery store. I was excited to try some new recipes. My turkey burgers weren’t all that great tonight. I was so disappointed! The kids had a great time at school. They played with the trains and outside. It was really really hot today. They came home with little apple pies. The kids didn’t help make them though they were busy doing other stuff. I am not getting as much art work as I used to. The kids were really excited as they were able to take home the book, Soup Opera. We read the book and it was too hot. So we decided to go swimming. It turned out to be great. We ran into lots of friends. The kids had a great time in the pool, jumped into floaties, dove for dive sticks, played with me, etc. I was able to give them a shower too which was perfect as it was bath day. At home Nikki helped me cook dinner. It is fun having her in the kitchen with me. Justin and dad played Mario Cart Wii for a bit. Then the kids just relaxed in front of the TV while dad and I finished dinner. I spent tonight getting ready for the cleaners, picking up toys, etc. The kids played with all these beads you can put together to  make things, kind of like snap beads. They were walking all over the beads and Justin made a snake. To clean up Justin got his toy snow plow truck. We went upstairs and the kids played in Justin’s room while dad and I were in Nicole’s room. The kids were playing cars and reading books together. I only had time to read one book. We need to start getting these munch kins to bed earlier, they are cutting into our TV time.

We have had just a quiet weekend. Unfortunately dad’s back isn’t better yet so he has been home bound (poor guy). It has been hot. I ended up taking the kiddos swimming. The pool was a bit cold but we had a great time. Thank goodness for the warm outdoor showers. After I let them go over to the park. For some reason we rarely get over to the Meadow wood park. The kids had so much fun. They met a little girl who played with J&N. They all played freeze tag and were running and running. There was a cool spinny thing that the kids hung from and spun. When we got home we made dinner. My steak didn’t come out so good, the garlic bread saved the dinner. Nikki was asking to go for a walk as a pretend dog. After dinner we ran into Zoe the dog and family. Then we walked to Yogurtland. I held two leashes and pretended to walk my dogs. A little embarrassing but the kids had fun. I need to get back on my diet sometime soon but that frozen yogurt was really good.

Sunday morning Justin came into our bed. He wanted to sleep with no diaper. I feel bad because it is not his fault, he is a deep sleeper plus a boy. I just need to find a better way to do his bed so I don’t have to keep washing it. I needed some stuff so the kids and I ran to Target. We ended up buying a glittery green skeleton. I can’t wait to decorate for Halloween. We played all day. We did water balloons, did puzzle, potato heads, cars, we went from one thing to another. Finally we decided to watch a movie, Alvin and Chipmunks Adventure or something like that. The kids loved it. It was more playing after the movie. Justin got the Geotrax out and the kids played together for a bit. The kids have been asking for popsicles that we make. So we put apple and orange juice in the freezer. Then I wanted to wash my car. However, I felt bad for dad with his back that we washed his car first. The kids were so excited to surprise daddy with his car looking all clean. It was getting dark but I chanced washing my car. Tomorrow I will notice all the spots I missed. The kids were wanting to go in the car for a ride without car seats. Since they helped with the cars I took them around the neighborhood. We noticed people are starting to put up their Halloween decorations, yeah! So we grabbed daddy and walked over to them. At least we got dad out for a bit. The kids decided to have a picnic on the stairs. They were having such a great time together. It allowed me to put some laundry away and make Justin’s bed. We bought some waterproof liner thing to help with Justin’s bed. I can’t wait for that to come in a few days. We read lots of stories and off to bed the kiddos went. Justin was really tired.

Home sweet home. Nice to sleep in our own bed last night. Nikki woke up twice though to go potty. I was in such a deep sleep…..Bret’s back is still not great. We just stayed home this morning. The kids played. We opened the doodle track car. The kids had fun with that for a while. It was hard for them to make tracks for the car to follow so dad printed some up from the computer. Nikki is wanting to play dolls and more dolls. I get to be Sleeping Beauty while she is big and little Belle’s. I played a bit but I wanted to get some stuff done around here. I had to do laundry, put things away, etc. I finally picked our big watermelon that has been growing and growing. I put it on the scale and it weighed 21 pounds and it was just perfect. Since dad’s back is out we ended up sending the kiddos to pre-k. They had a great time. Both kids made bracelets for dad and I plus little books. It was really cute. I promised the kids they could watch the Incredibles when they got home. Of course after it was over Nikki wanted to put on her costume and pretend to be Violet. We flipped over Justin’s train table and he was able to use the other side as a track for the new car. The dry erase marker worked and it allowed him to make a new track for the car to follow. After dinner I wanted to be outside for a bit. Nikki came out right away with me but Justin was finishing playing with his car. They both helped me sweep up the leaves. And they both wanted to be in the swing which they pretended was a roller coaster. They are really too big for that swing but it is still up for T. Justin decided to go into the jacuzzi. We had to find his two little boats for him. It wasn’t that warm but he had fun. Nikki was busy cleaning the top of the deck box and the picnic table. Dad is doing a bit better with his back-it sucks but know he will be better really soon. The kids took apart the Toys R Us ad I had. They circled what they wanted for presents, then cut them out to tape them on paper. We went upstairs and played cars for a bit. I pretended to be the bad cars while Justin and Nikki pulled me over. We read books and were almost ready for bed. But then the kids said they were hungry, ugh. After snack and re-brushing teeth they went to sleep. Justin has been calling me baby lately. He says I love you more baby, such a cutie pie.

Today everyone slept in a little bit. I was the only one up. Justin and Nikki are so cute sleeping together. Justin snuggled himself up to Nikki and put his arm around her. I wanted to take a picture but I didn’t want to wake them up. We couldn’t decide what to do today. We stayed in the hotel a bit and the kids played. We played Memory and Uno, just took it easy. Then we decided to go bowling. The kids have been bowling on the Wii in the lobby so they were ecstatic. Their first time bowling. It was so much fun and great family time. Both kids did really well for their first time. I could have used the bumpers. Here are some pics:

A good time was had by all. Dad did hurt his back a little though, ugh. We grabbed lunch then came back to the hotel. Dad rested his back while the kids watched TV. We went down to swim one more time. The pool was really cold though so it didn’t last too long. The kids and I took a shower together. They love filling up the bath tub while the shower is running-it is the little things. We debated for a while but decided to head home. We figured dad would be more comfy at home. It was sad to leave though. So nice no laundry, cleaning, etc for a week. The kids took leaving really well. They played with their Leapsters on their way home. We stopped in Riverside for dinner. There were fountains outside so the kids got all wet. Luckily we had extra clothes in the car. They had a great time getting all wet. It is nice to be back at home. Dad and I are catching up on all our TV shows and kids are in bed.

So nice being on vacation, no laundry, no cooking, no cleaning, etc. It seems as almost everything we plan to do isn’t working out so well. We went to the Living Desert and Zoo on the hottest day, the tram is closed for maintenance….we thought about going to Boomers yesterday but it didn’t open until later. We ended up at Chuck E Cheese. It was great though as dad never has a chance to go with us and we basically had the place to ourselves. They had some different games as well. After the kids got to play a bit we went over to the mall. Of course it was for them too as there was a play area there. Dad stayed with the kids in the play area while I ran around to do some shopping. I didn’t find anything though. Then we all went to the food court for lunch. This mall had little kid tables so we all sat there, it was cute. We let the kids buy something at the mall from Palm Springs. Nikki picked out a baby Belle and Justin shocked us by picking a car (sarcasm). We came back to the hotel for a bit and the kiddos watched TV. Lots of Sponge Bob on here. Since we did everything for the kids and myself it was dad’s turn. We let him take a nap while the kids and I went down to the pool. The water was cold so we only stayed in the pool for a short bit. Dad met us down there just as we were heading to the jacuzzi. We went to the main street and walked around a bit. Then went to a Mexican place for daddy. It was a great place apparently, my quesadilla was really good. So great that Nikki will eat burritos with daddy. The kids got mock strawberry daquiries and pina coladas. They loved them. So fun when they try things for the first time. There was a band at the restaurant so we went and watched. Nikki didn’t hesitate to get up and dance. She loved everyone watching her. I danced with Justin for a bit then him and Nikki started dancing. The older people dining were just smiling at J&N. Nikki didn’t want to leave but Justin wanted to come back to the hotel. The kids played Wii for a bit then it was off to bed.

A great day at the Children’s Museum. The kids loved that place. We had fun watching them but by the end we were done. The best thing there was the little pizza place. The kids could cook us pizza’s and serve us. It was really cute but they had to do it over and over again. There was a VW Bug the kids could paint. I thought that would be the highlight but surprisingly it wasn’t. There was a pound and a vet area that Nicole loved. And Justin loved all the things that balls would go into (like his marble toy). I didn’t think we would  be at the museum all day but we were. We did leave for lunch. We went to lunch at a place called The River, like the Spectrum. We had a great bbq lunch there. After lunch we went back to the museum for longer than we expected. The kids painted the bug again, we went upstairs to do the dress up area, but really the kids wanted to go back to the making pizza area. Here are some pics from our time in Palm Springs:

It was so hard getting the munch kins out of the museum as they were having a great time. We knew they would want hotel time so we planned to eat dinner in the room. We went in the jacuzzi tonight and had a great time together. We were all laughing and playing. I think we were in it for over an hour but it wasn’t too warm. It was freezing when we got out though. Hyper kids when we got back to the room. They had some fun but it was getting late. I don’t think we got them to bed until about 9:15.

We are in Palm Springs and it is hot, hot, hot. On the way here we stopped in Redlands so dad could get his burrito from his favorite place. We were showing the kids parts of the school but they didn’t care too much. Bret and I are sounding more and more like old people, for ex, when we were at Redlands we didn’t have this or that. The campus has changed so much and even has a coffee shop. Barely a computer center now as everyone has their own computer. The kids are loving it. They love being in the hotel. I think they had the most fun running up and down the hallways and on the lights in the lobby. We have done lots of swimming. The hotel has a cool kid area w/sand and a little pool. Also there are floaties that you can lay on. This was meant for Justin. He got on it and just relaxed-I think he could have taken a nap there he was so relaxed. Nikki was so wiggly and movey on hers. She loved tipping it over. It was pretty funny. This morning we went to the living desert and zoo. We didn’t have much time there as we thought they were open until 5. But we did run through Africa and saw Cheetahs, Giraffes, Zebras, Meercats, Ostrich, etc. We were sweaty and hot. The kids loved the misters there. Nicole was soaked by the time she was done with the mister. They had cute little jeep type strollers the kids got to ride in but it was really hard to push. We rested a bit then headed back to the pool. We wanted to get the kids to bed at a decent time so we played by the pool and had dinner in the hotel room. Dad discovered a Wii downstairs so we played with that a bit. The kids played bowling and tennis. They are loving being able to control the ice, get it when they want, etc. They have been jumping from one bed to another. It has been great so far. I am a bit tired, every time the air conditioning clicked on last night, it woke me up. Off to bed.

Just another typical day for us. I dragged the kids to Target before heading to school. We had a fun picnic outside of preschool. Just nice and relaxing. I hope to do lots and lots of picnics there. One mom and her child joined us today, so maybe more will follow. I read the kids a couple books then said goodbye to them. The kids got purple shirts from school and were so excited about them. It is the little things that make them happy. At school the kids did science, cleaned pennies with vinegar and salt. I ran to the grocery store and came home. So nice to be in the house alone. So quiet-I could barely get motivated to do anything. After school we went to Heritage Park. It is completely redone and is really nice. The kids played with some friends really nicely. I caught up with some friends I haven’t seen in a while. We ended up at the park for a long time since the kids were playing so nicely and having a great time. It was a perfect afternoon, weather, company, etc. The kids are still playing with the sorry game. And when it started to get dark we used some glow sticks and went for a walk. It was fun, although they were fighting over one particular glow stick. Nikki was a little cranky tonight and all over mommy. She sounds like she may be getting a little cold. I guess I can expect this a lot with them back in school. Hopefully she will get a good nights sleep. Justin has a caterpillar from grandma/pa’s house and he is trying to figure out how he can keep it. He calls it caterpillary and he can say it way better than I can.

Well Nikki woke up in the middle of the night saying she “needed water badly”. Justin was pretty restless in his bed. So I slept in Justin’s bed with him and on Nikki’s floor. Justin puts his foot right up to my leg and moves it  back and forth. He feels comfortable and go right to bed. This morning dad and I were downstairs before the kiddos. We heard the kiddos get up and then heard Justin say “follow the coffee smell”. We stayed home this morning as I am trying not to pull the kids in a bunch of directions. The kids took a bath, Nicole didn’t want a bubble bath and Justin did. Why do they always want different things? We borrowed the game Sorry from pre school. The kids were so excited to play it. It was fun! Of course we had to eat lunch and go. So the kids ate and played. We were all set to go then Nikki got hurt getting int he car. We were in a hurry to get to school on time. It was sad to drop the kiddos off, I missed them. I came home and visited with Bret for a bit, so nice to be together. Then I ran to the mall for a bit. Nicole asked me to come back to school early. I got the best greeting. I was the first mom there. I did some work in the office and then we were running to soccer. Nikki did amazing in soccer. She kept up with a 6 1/2 yr old. The older girl was monopolizing the mall and I was worried how Nicole would react. Nicole was a trooper. She ran and ran. It was fun watching her be all competitive. I was a proud mom. I got to spend time with Justin while we watched Nikki. After dinner the kids wanted to play Sorry again. I went for a walk with a friend. We went upstairs. I showed Justin that his traffic light was a bank too. All the coins in the house are now in it. The kids played well together, played with Mickey/Minnie animals. Nicole tucked them in to bed. Nicole was hard to get to settle down tonight. The kids were all laughing about their private parts. Bret and I were trying to not laugh but we couldn’t help ourselves.