Melissa’s Blog

This morning playgroup was at the Santa Ana Zoo. We had fun just walking around and hanging out with our friends. We played in the play area too. Unfortunately due to pre school we didn’t have too much time at the zoo. On our way out we saw yellow buses and the kids said “I want to ride on bus”. So the bus driver let us on the bus. The kids were so excited. They sat on almost every seat and went to the back of the bus. Then it was off to mommy and me pre school. I guess registration was going on at pre school and it was so over crowded today. The kids had fun. Nicole did handprints with paint and then washed her hands almost the entire time. Justin painted, played with trains and trucks, made baskets, and really liked the dump truck in the sand. After nap we just played in the yard for a really long time and just had nice home time. We ran to Costco as I need to make some meals for people tomorrow night.  Tonight the kids were as silly as ever. They jump on the animals on their bumpers on the floor and play tug of war with the bumper. They just make us laugh.

With the time change the kids slept in a little. We ran to South Coast Plaza to do a return. While there we rode on the bunny carousal. The kids loved it! Justin picked out a yellow bunny and Nicole wanted a purple one. We looked at the Easter bunny but there was no way the kids were going to sit on his lap or next to him. We played in the Disney store for a bit. I bought the kids a Donald Duck and Princess cup. They were so cute carrying their little bags around South Coast Plaza. We didn’t take the stroller so I was able to take them on the escalators. I think they would have gone up and down the escalators a million times if I let them. Well nap was pretty non-existent. Nicole didn’t nap and Justin about a half hour. Since it was so nice out we went to the Spectrum. Grandma/pa met us there. We had a lot of fun. We rode the carousal and played in the fountain for a while. The kids didn’t get too wet. We saw a fire engine so the kids went over. They got to sit in it and got hats and stickers. It was cute. We went into the pet store and the kids liked it when the doggies climbed up in the cages. Then we had dinner and came home. Nicole started to get a little cranky. The kids were pretty tired-maybe they should have napped!

This morning we ran to Laguna Hills Mall to look for dishwashers at Sears. The kids had so much fun playing at the mall, riding escalators and elevators, playing/riding on all the toy cars, etc. We saw the Easter Bunny but the kids weren’t interested in sitting in his lap, they just wanted to look. At lease neither of them were screaming. Then we came home and played for a bit before nap. Both kids slept today-that is always nice. After nap we put the kiddos to work. They helped me plant green beans and cucembers. They put the seeds in the holes and were so excited to water and water and water (you get the point). Then we went to the front yard and watched daddy mow the lawn. Justin was a little bit scared of the noise. Nicole liked turning the edger thing on (silly girl). Justin and I swept a bit. Then it was time to wash daddy’s car. The kids of course loved playing with the hose. They watered the grass and palm tree. It was just fun hanging out at home and getting some things done with the kids. They kids were pretty wet. After we played in the back yard and did bubbles. Justin had so much fun blowing bubbles. So now the kids are wet and dirty, so we decided to have spaghetti for dinner and get even more messy! After dinner we ran to Target. The kids were crazy playing with balls in the store. We never go out after dinner so it was just exciting. Then bath time and then crazy time. They were jumping in each other’s cribs for a while and just being nutty. We let them stay up until about 9:15 due to the time change. It was so nice to have it lighter a bit later!

Sunny nice day, so off we went to Huntington Beach. It was such a great day at the beach. There was an event showing off all old cars. And Justin kept saying ‘I ride in this one”. He wanted to ride in all the cars. The kids were so happy to take off their shoes and walk on the sandy beach. There was so much to look at the ocean, volleyball games, seagulls, people, etc. We played in the sand for a while. Daddy kept on getting buckets of water for the kids. Justin wanted to go with daddy to the ocean. Justin put his feet in the water and said “I do it again”. Nicole cried when her feet touched the water. We made a ton of sand castles, played frisbee, and played with catch. It was just a great day at the beach. After we went to a bbq place for lunch and headed home. Justin fell asleep in the car. I was able to transfer him to our bed. And you guessed it Nicole didn’t nap! After nap we played out in the yard for a bit, playing in the play house, sand box, and swinging. Then it was off to do maintenance on mommy car. We took the car for an oil change and car wash. While we waited we went to Home Depot to look at dishwashers. Also went to Lowe’s. The kids had a blast playing outside of Lowe’s running around and jumping. While we were there we ran into Carters. It was getting late so we went to Chick Fil-A for dinner. The kids played in the play area a bit. Justin didn’t want to go down the slide so I had to climb up there to get him-ugh. Nicole was a little cranky from nap but we all survived. Luckily the kids went right to bed tonight.

This morning we went to Carin and Sophi’s for a play date. We had a great time. Justin headed straight for the trains, of course. Nicole played in the play house and was into everything. It was nice as the kids were distracted by all the new toys so there wasn’t any fighting. And it is always nice to chat with other moms. After we took our lunch to Starbucks and sat outside to eat. The weather was so beautiful today. Grandma/pa joined us. Grandma was getting her nails done, so Nicole got to get hers down too. She has pink nails with white polka dots. Nicole was so cute while getting it done. She is pretty proud of her nails, she keeps saying “so pretty”. It was cute. After nap we just played in the backyard for a while. I had a great time making sand castles with the kids and doing bubbles. While dinner was cooking we went for a walk with the doll strollers around the neighborhood. The kids just took their time walking, running down everyone’s driveways, petting dogs, etc. Krista saw us walking so went in to play with Matthew and Ellie for a bit. I am so glad she saw us as I think Nicole was wanting to knock on their door. The kids really liked their cat, Morgan. Ellie held the cat so Nikki could pet him. It was sweet. Our walk home was exciting with more dogs, etc. After dinner, the kids painted for a bit. The kids were calling the white paint dip. Then bath then Nicole gave daddy a pretend haircut and wanted to put dots on his nails (just like hers). The kids were cracking us up tonight playing in their tent-they were having so much fun. It was cute.

We were able to get to the park before music class. There we fed the ducks. The kids had so much fun. Then it was time for music class. It was the best music class ever. We used a big elastic band thing and the kids just had me cracking up the entire time. After class we met Maggie and Aliya at the park. Our music class is at 9:15 and Aliya’s is at 11:15 so we play at the park between classes. We met daddy for lunch. The kids were so excited to see daddy; it was cute. Grandma/pa came over this afternoon. The kids were so happy to play with them. They brought a football and chalk. We played indoors and out. Justin rode his Diego scooter really well and Nicole rode her tricycle. We saw Tigger the neighborhood cat. Then we had friends over for dinner with their baby. The kids loved the baby. Nicole wanted to rock her and play with her, touch her, etc. It was really cute.

This morning we went to Pavillions and did some grocery shopping. The kids pushed their little carts and were as happy as can be. Of course I still need to do more shopping but at least I got a little done. Then we met Maggie and Aliya at a special bird store. The kids saw lots of birds. The both liked the green and yellow birds. There was bird stuff, seed, etc on the floor and my kids say “make a mess”. Then we went to a little park and played for a bit. We took the kiddos to Carl’s Jr for lunch. Justin drank so much milk at lunch. They were too distracted to eat too much, but it was still fun. It took about 45 minutes to get the kids down for a nap but at least they napped. Then I just wanted to hang out at home for the afternoon. Neyha, Krish, and Isha came over. It was nice just letting the kids play in the backyard for a while and talking another mom. The kids loved playing with bubbles. Then we came inside and played for a bit. Bret had to go to work this morning for a 7:00AM meeting so he came home a bit early. We eat dinner and it was bath night for the kiddos. Bret and I are so tired tonight-oh and our dishwasher seems to be broken. It is pretty quiet upstairs so it sounds like the kiddos may be sleeping. Last night Nicole was up until about 10:15ish-ugh.

We had such a good morning. We met some friends at a new park called Settler’s Park. The weather was beautiful and the kids had so much fun. it is so fun to watch all the kids. Then we went to play group at Kelley’s. The kids played so well and outside the whole time. Justin was really into the car race set and both kids were playing on the cubes and slides. Kelley got out bubbles and the kids had a blast. It was fun to watch them play and hang out with my friends. We came home and the kids were so hyper, but luckily they went down for a nap. Of course I put Justin down and he now says “feet hide”. He likes the blanket on his feet but then he kicks it off. I play the game of putting on the blanket then he kicks it off…I think this could go on and on all day. After nap we went to the spectrum. Of course we did a little shopping then the normal spectrum stuff, fountains, carousal, etc. Daddy met us there after work and we ate outside at Champs. The kids were great at dinner. We walked around for a bit and then rode the carousal again. It was a fun night.

We had a fun day! This morning we met Maggie and Aliya at Fashion Island. The kids lucked out that I parked next to the train, so of course we had to ride the train. We played by the fish for a while. The kids were so excited to see the fish. There was an area with a circle and the kids ran around that like crazy and kept saying “I am dizzy mommy”. It was right near a door so when people came out the door the kids just laughed and laughed. We then rode on the carousal. And then we had to go up to every single fountain. There was one fountain the kids were able to play in and the kids loved it. Justin liked it a little more than Nikki and he was really wet. Oh well the more wet and dirty you are it means the more fun you had. We had lunch in the food court and the kids ate so much. I almost had to buy more food for them. And then of course there was a fountain down there so we had to stick our little hands in the water. They had a great time. It was such a beautiful day to go; we had a great time. I thought they would be exhausted and fall asleep on the way home. Boy was I wrong in fact Nicole decided she didn’t need a nap today. Justin slept for 30 minutes and I had a hard time getting him to go to sleep. We then headed to Hicks Canyon Park where we met up with some friends. The kids had a great time, so great we ended up staying for a long time. Nicole said she had sand in her diaper, so off went the diaper. And the diaper stayed off and she didn’t go potty until we got home. Then it was dinner and bath.

This morning we ran to Home Depot. The kids were silly monsters, playing in the front of the store while we waited for daddy to get something. After we went to the Santa Ana Zoo for zoo’s birthday celebration. It was so much fun. Justin loved all the trains that were set up. The model train people were there. He could have looked at the trains all day long. We played in the play area for a while then headed down to see the monkeys. We ran into Paula and Neyha. There was face painting there. The kids decided they wanted their hands painted instead. Justin got yellow stars and Nicole got yellow hearts. The kids got to ride on the train too. There was so much to do that we didn’t even make it into the farm area. The kids had fun just running and playing. We came home and only Justin took a nap. Nicole was wide awake and just wanted to play. After nap I met Vena at Hicks Canyon Park and played for a short time. Then we picked up daddy and headed to Downtown Disney to meet Holly and Jeff. We met them for dinner. The kids weren’t too good in the restaurant. Justin just wanted to ride the tram and explore. We did ride the Disney tram to the parking lot and back to Downtown Disney. The kids loved it. We also went on the escalators. Anyway we had a great time catching up with our friends, walking around, seeing fountains, listening to music, etc. The kids were intently drawing on the way home in the car (pics below). Now we are just exhausted from our busy day and it sounds like the kids are sound asleep.