Melissa’s Blog

We tried to clean up a little this morning, the house is a mess. Sand/toys everywhere! We had to run some errands so we went to Target before story time. The kids were pretty happy sitting in the cart. Found some kick boards for the kids for the pool. And the kiddos got gardening gloves just like mom’s. Then we went over to story time at Hush Baby. The kiddos love the bunny. Nicole was participating really well, clapping, calling out animals for the Old McDonald song. Justin was happy sitting there and taking it all in. When story lady passed out little animals for the kids both kids participated by bopping on the head (just like the bunny). Justin got a yellow dog painted on his hand and Nicole wanted a purple kitty. After story time I took the kiddos out to lunch. I braved In N Out Burger by myself at a busy time-ugh. The kiddos were great for me, staying with me. Both kids ate a lot! We took out milk to go and just sat on a bench watching all the people and cars go by. It was so nice just taking the time with the kids. We went into Michael’s Craft Store for a bit but then it was time to come home. We got home and the kiddos got to watch Barney and Elmo’s World. It was pretty warm today so we met some friends down in Rancho Santa Margarita for fun in the fountains. At first I didn’t think Nicole was going to like the fountains but before I knew it both kids were wet and having a great time. Luckily one of our friends brought toys so the kiddos were all happy. Justin and Nicole found squirt guns that they liked. All of a sudden Nicole came over and told me she wanted a squirty thing like Justin. I told her I am sorry but girls don’t have those but then I went oh you were talking about the squirt gun. They did so well listening to me when I asked them not to squirt people. There were statues there that Justin and Nicole liked. They were of little kids. Nicole held hands and sang the Barney song, I love you, you love me. Nicole and Justin both gave the statues hugs and kisses, so silly. They were both sitting with their backs to the fountain getting all wet. Even though the fountains are a little far away we will definitely have to go back. We had to leave as it was dinner time. We met daddy at Peppino’s for dinner. The kids were crazy on the drive there, they were cracking up over the ABC Word Whammer toy. It was so funny. We got to dinner and they were still crazy. We sat outside and no one else was outside. We ordered spaghetti for the kids and just took off their shirts, so they didn’t get stained. Our waitress told us people were asking if we were in the VIP area (topless eaters). Anyway the kids sat and ate for 5 minutes then were busy running around. But it was fine since we were the only ones outside. Luckily I was able to get a few more bites of spaghetti in them. We went over to the fountain after and let the kids run around on the grass and get some energy out. They are rolling on the grass now, down the hill and running up and down the hill. We got some gelato this evening, yum! We still had crazy kids when we got home but crazy fun! We finally got them to bed. Time for us to go to bed too.

We were up and out the door to Grammy’s for breakfast. Sharon and her daughter were there as well. The kiddos were a little shy at first but before you knew it they were talking up a storm. We had breakfast and the kiddos played with all the toys. They also played upstairs. They liked the office chairs, rolling them around the floor, and spinning them. Nicole found a dolly she loved and Justin found a stuffed animal (Wingnut) he loved. Grammy also gave them a little toy computer which they loved and fought over. The kiddos fell asleep on the way home and got a power nap. The kiddos watched Barney and Elmo’s World. Then we were outside playing for a while. We went to the front yard and made a little mud pit in our planter. Justin loved playing with the hose, of course, and happily helped make the mud pit. Nicole and daddy went in. Nicole loved putting her feet in. But not for long, she had to have Justin wash them off as soon as possible with the hose. Nicole would go in then get out then go in, etc. We decided to do water in the backyard. We got the water table out then the pool. The kiddos had fun playing in the water. Bret made the kiddos a little sno cone with raspberry syrup. We think we are going to go ahead and re-do the back yard, so we started pulling out plants, lot of work, but kind of fun. Then we came in and played. We were in every room of the house playing. The kiddos started to get a bit cranky though. So we thought it was best to eat dinner. While we were making dinner, we got markers out and the kids were happy coloring. After dinner we got the paints out. The kids loved it! Paint everywhere. We actually had to give the kids a bath tonight due to so much paint all over them. Kiddos are sound asleep and time for me to go to bed.

We love weekends. We didn’t do anything too exciting today. The kiddos were so happy daddy was staying home. The kids were in the backyard bright and early this morning. They were running around playing all happy. They like making birthday cakes out of sand. We had breakfast, the kiddos love rice krispies. One of the people quoting our backyard were back out this morning so we just stayed home and played. We went to take the kids cars in to get fixed. All fixed and they are so excited to drive again. On the way home we stopped at Kohls center and and had lunch. We played in Kohls for a while then went to see the fountain. When we got home we played some more. I brought the swimming pool in and filled it with balls. They stood in the pool and I had them close their eyes then I dumped all the balls in. They loved it and cleaned up all the balls so I could do it again. They played in the balls for a while. Then we had to move it to the futon room so the kiddos could jump into the balls from the futon. So fun and cute. Bret had to run to the Mac store at the Spectrum, so we decided to go and if the kids fell asleep no big deal. Well they figured out we were going to the Spectrum, so they stayed awake. We rode the carousal while daddy took his ipod to the store. Of course Nicole had to ride a bunny and Justin an ostrich. They love the carousal! Then we walked around a bit and went into the Mac store, so the kiddos could play with the computers. They fell asleep on the way home, power nap which is a good thing. We didn’t let them sleep too long though. I stopped in Target real fast while the kiddos slept in the car with Bret. We came home and the kiddos got to watch Barney. After Barney the kiddos went and drove their cars. Justin was wild trying to drive over everything, lawns, curbs, etc. He kept on getting stuck. Nicole drove a little bit but then wanted to play. Bret and I tried to get some stuff done outside; Bret had to break down the bbq box/pallet, I did a little gardening. Bret fixed a sprinkler, and moved a bush for me. All this why watching two kids…not an easy task. The kiddos brought their bikes and strollers out to play with. They also wanted to play in the dirt with us. They grabbed their shovels then it was time to play with the hose. Justin was crazy with the hose. We kept on telling him to water the grass only but he liked making mud… Then he wouldn’t share with Nikki, so no more hose for Justin. Before we knew it, it was dinner time so we got a pizza to go. We ate it in the back yard which was nice. The kiddos were so distracted with the outside that they would take a bite then play. Oh well at least they ate. We played outside a while more. It was bath night and the kids were so dirty. After bath we played hard, running around. I went down the hall and they ran to me like crazy people. It was funny. We played tug of war gently with their sheets and they were cracking up. They were giggling all night which was fun. It is 9:00 though and they are still awake and I am tired. Time to go back up there.

Time flew by at home this morning. Before I knew it we need to leave for Fashion Island and I wasn’t ready. We met lots of moms from the mom’s club there. Of course we had to play on the fountain by the carousal while we were waiting for mom’s to show up. Then we rode the carousal. Justin was sad there wasn’t an ostrich to ride but he got over it pretty quickly and happily went on a green horse. Nicole was happy to find a bunny to ride on. They just love the carousal. We went into a store called Babystyle and the kiddos played for a bit. It was hard getting Justin and Nicole out of that store. We were hoping to go in the fountains but it was a little cool. So we played by the fish for a while. The kiddos had a blast. Of course we were so worried someone’s kids was going in. They liked the fish and liked playing all around them too. We went to go on the train but the train isn’t there anymore. So we headed over to the pet store. Of course on the way there we had to stop at the fountains and look at them. This fountain went really high and the kids kept on telling me how high the water was. Then we headed to the pet store. The kiddos went crazy for all the animals. They picked out bunnies they wanted. They both liked the white one. They loved when the dogs climbed up their cages. They couldn’t believe all the dogs, they were just all smiles. After Fashion Island we headed to Grammy’s for lunch. On the way over I asked the kiddos what they were going to do at Grammy’s and Nicole said play with baby and Justin said play with tractor. So thats what they did. They also made a mess with the CD’s and poured blocks everywhere. They had fun. Everytime they hear a plane they say on no plane and run over to Grammy or me. Silly kids! The kids fell asleep on the way home for a bit. There was a ton of traffic, so I decided to get off the freeway and head to Coscto. Then I could take side streets home. So woke kiddos up and went to Costco. They were so happy to be at Costco that it didn’t matter I woke them up. So they ate their way through Costco. Had a blast, plus they love to go in the refigerator section where it is really cold. The samples make it bearable for me to shop there with the kids. We came home, I dropped blue berries everywhere in the garage, the phone was ringing…..Finally got organized again then Bret came home and was able to help bring all the stuff in the house. The kiddos played outside. Sand everywhere. I am surprised it is not in my bed. They had fun outside. We ate dinner and then went out again. I am tired. Below are 2 pics a friend took for me from our last messy, muddy, hands, and toes class.

Justin woke up early so I got him out of his bed and put him in our bed. How can a little guy take up so much room in a king size bed? No room for me. When Nicole woke up she went to the bathroom and then came in our room. This was the first time we were greeted with a child in our room, it was cute. We were out and about early to go to Messy, Muddy, Hands, & Toes. This was the last class. The kids had fun. First we painted wood ducks. The kids really loved this one for some reason. We turned the ducks into magnets and we gladly put them on our fridge. Then the kids put stickers on crowns. They really liked this one too. It was cute watching all the kids wear their crowns. Justin decorated a yellow crown and Nicole a blue one. The last project was chalk on paper. Nicole and Justin showed no interest in this project at all. At the end the instructor gave the kids vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. The kiddos liked putting on the sprinkles and eating the ice cream. We changed out of messy clothes, got gas and went over to Scooter’s Jungle to meet some friends. The kids had a great time. There was a big slide and the kids smiled the whole way down. They went into the bounce house and played with everything. Justin loved being able to get water out of the water fountain by himself. Then the kiddos played with the air hockey. Justin loved hitting the puck. Nicole liked it when it Justin got a goal. I think they would have played air hockey the entire time, they loved it so much. Justin liked playing around with the ping pong paddle and ball too. Nicole loved sitting on the pedal merry go round and hiding in the tree house. She would get on the merry go round horse and say it is raining and run into the tree house, what an imagination. After finally getting the kids out of Scooter’s Jungle, we went to grandma/pa’s. We had lunch there and play time. And the kiddos were still jumping. They jumped off the ottoman onto pillows. I ran to Wal-Mart to get a few things. Hoe great to shop without kids, so easy and I can look at everything. The kids sort of napped, at least got a great rest. Grandpa and Justin went to look at trucks that were working outside the gate at their complex. There was a crane and a cement truck. Nicole got a bowl and a spoon and pretended to cook pudding. She would pretend go to the fridge/freezer to get things like milk, water, etc. We stayed for a while then it was time to come home just in case any one fell asleep on the way home. We came home and played. The kids just wanted to go outside. So they played in the backyard with the sand (made cakes), the rescue pack, swings, etc. We had dinner then played in the front too. They played with dirt and rocks and palm tree fawns. They played really well tonight together, fun to watch. We finally got upstairs and put away laundry. The kids ran around naked with their sheets as capes. They got more hyper as we got upstairs. We read lots of books and off to bed.

Bret and I were up late last night, we will pay for it today. Anyway we decided to go to the Woodbridge lagoon today with Krista, Matthew, and Ellie. We had a blast! The kids just love it there, they were in the water the entire time. A little scary on my own but the kids really listened and they have a healthy fear of water. Nicole got a little ride on the boogie board and was really liking the kick boards. It is probably time to look for kick boards for the kids or some water toys. Justin had a big smile on his face walking into the water. We managed the water slides too. Nicole, the little dare devil, wanted to go down it first. Justin saw how much fun it was and wanted to go too. They just loved it. They did great climbing to the top and I caught them on the way down. The smiles on their faces were priceless. I can’t wait to go again. After we met daddy for lunch. The kids were so happy to see daddy. It was just a great morning. We came home and it was clear the kiddos weren’t napping, so they watched some TV. Just at the end of TV Justin fell asleep. I only let him sleep a little bit but it was so cute watching him sleep on the couch-what a cutie pie. Then we went and took a bath. The kids just love being back in the bath time-although I would think they would be watered out after being at the lagoon. They had so much fun in the bathtub. But then Justin got his thumb in the shower door, ugh. He was pretty miserable, poor little guy. I think it will be ok but we will keep an eye on it. He only complained about it when he was bored, when playing he forgot all about it. The kids and I went to a friend’s house for dinner and play while daddy built the bbq (pic below). The kids always have fun at Vena’s house. Candice and her munch kins were there too. It was so nice hanging out with girl friends. Nicole was a little upset when all the kiddos were getting in their jammies and she found out I didn’t bring hers. Anyway, the kiddos were exhausted-we got them down a little early tonight. I am soon to follow as I am exhausted.

We had to get ready for the cleaners this morning and take Cindy home. Then pack up for the Spectrum too. We also had to drop Nicole’s pee in a cup off at the doctors. Crazy morning but we got out of the house. We met our friends at the Spectrum for play group today. We all met at the fountains by Carters. Justin did not hesitate he went right in the fountains, he smiled the whole time. He just loved it. Nicole liked it too but didn’t get as wet as Justin. Nicole decided to run in and out of Target. I think she liked how the doors opened. Justin and Teagan (Kristen) followed. It was pretty funny. I got a picture of them all being devils. They were having a blast. Then Nicole was going into Carters. I think she wanted to shop. Anyway we got all changed and headed up to ride the train. Of course we had to stop at all the fountains along the way. Justin loved riding the train. I brought our lunch so we ate really quick then rode on the carousal. Of course Justin had to ride the ostrich and Nicole the bunny. Justin said he liked the train better than the carousal and Nicole said she liked the carousal better. It was getting a little hot so we wondered into the book store. The kids had fun sitting there reading books. Of course they wanted Barney books. After the book store we ran into the toy store since it was right there. The kids played in the store for a bit then I just took them for a walk in the stroller around the Spectrum then we came home. We picked up Cindy and came home. The kiddos watched Barney and Elmo’s World. We had to go to Nicole’s doctor’s app’t. Her bladder infection is all better. I got my TB test that I needed to work in the kid’s pre school. We walked over to Ralph’s to get a few things. The kids got to push carts through the store. At the end they gave their carts to other kids, did a great job sharing. We came home and decided to take Cindy for a walk. Of course the kids wanted to walk her. The kids are able to but then the leash gets caught all around Cindy’s legs. We brought out the golf clubs and balls on the green belt. The kiddos had fun. Then daddy came home. We had another paver company out to discuss the back yard and had dinner. The kids played outside pretty much all night. It was such a nice night. I ran to a mom’s night out thing tonight and Bret is outside in the dark putting his new bbq together.

We hate Mondays as we get used to daddy being home then he goes back to work. We were out early to go pick up Cindy, we are dog sitting for a few days. The kiddos were pretty happy to see Cindy. It was fun walking over to Cindy’s house as the kids picked flowers, played with rocks, and just enjoyed being outside. Both kids wanted to hold Cindy’s leash. Nicole was telling Cindy what we were doing. She would say we are walking to our house and going in the front door. We played with Cindy for a bit then it was time to get ready to go to the park. We met Neyha (Krish and Isha) at Blue Gum. It was nice as I feel like I haven’t been to the park for a while. It is sad that the kids won’t see each other for a while as Neyha and family are moving on Wed. It will be fun when we all get together for a visit. Anyway the kiddos had a great time at the park. We weren’t there too long. After we went to the story time at Hush Baby at the District with Neyha. It was really cute and the kids liked it. It was a new story teller with lots of songs. The bunny and face or in case hand painting was still there. Justin got 2 doggies on his hand and Nicole got two lady bugs. Paula and gang showed up as well. So after we went to Chick-Fil-A to grab some lunch. My kiddos were starving. Then all the kids went and played in the play area. They had a really good time. We went into TJ Maxx as well. We were on the corner of Yale and Bryan and the kids fell asleep in the car. So I let them sleep in the car for a bit. So funny how sometimes the shock me and stay awake when I think they will sleep and just fall asleep other times. After they were so excited to see Cindy. Nicole is learning that dogs don’t hug. Justin has a cute smile on his face while petting Cindy. We played at home for awhile. The kiddos decided to throw balls at the ceiling fan. They played with their drawing things, chased the dog, drove the dog crazy, and chased one another. We went over to Jacole’s to play for a bit. Neyha came too. It was nice to just hang out as the kids played really well. When I asked my kiddos what their favorite things to play with there-Justin said trains and Nicole said the bouncy horse thingy. On the way home we stopped at Target. I was pushing it as I knew I would have hungry kids on my hands as it was close to dinner. We shopped and I let the kiddos play a bit in the toy aisles. Justin loved this little bat and ball thing and Nicole was ooing and ahhing over all the baby dolls. I got milk and had to open the milk on the way home to keep the munch kins happy. We got home and had dinner. Then we went on the green belt for a bit. I got the kiddos new golf clubs since there other ones are almost all broken. So we brought balls and golf clubs out and played golf. Nicole was more into playing with Cindy. Then the kiddos wanted to walk her. We came in and the kiddos had a bath. They love their bath and then they played for bit. We read books and off to bed.

Well a week later but we are celebrating father’s day. This morning we got going early and out the door. We went to the pool at Woodbury this morning. The kids had a blast and I am so bummed we didn’t bring a camera. You would think hours at the pool they would nap but no. We first started out in the baby pool. The kids loved the fountains too. Justin especially. There was a big pool that you could walk into (like the beach). Nicole would go from the fountains to the big pool, laughing. Justin would get wet in the fountains and giggle and scream. Nicole liked the baby pool the best. Both kids just had a great time. Both kids walked on their hands in the baby pool (like a wheelbarrow) and said I am swimming. Justin was off with daddy most of the time and Nicole stayed with me. We had a great morning. We came home and had lunch. The kids just read books and relaxed so we thought they would nap. They were pretty mellow. We gave up on naps and let them watch TV for a bit. I felt like I did a 100 loads of laundry today. We had fun building with mega blocks today; we hadn’t used them in so long. We made big towers. Nicole pretended to make a house for princess. Grandma/pa came over for dinner. Bret was busy cooking ribs for hours on the grill. Too bad his new grill hasn’t come yet. The kids were so happy to see grandma/pa. The kiddos played hard. Nicole loved running around with Justin. She was laughing so hard, so cute to watch. Justin rode his tricycle so fast throughout the house and over his sheet. The kids entertained us. It cooled off a bit outside so the kiddos played outside. Bubbles, sand box, hose….all the usual outside fun. Both kids had a little bit of a meltdown before dinner, combo of not napping and hunger. Well the ribs took way longer to cook then we anticipated. Anyway we had great dinner and deserts. The kids were pretty happy after dinner; they sure ate a lot. They jumped on the cushions of the couch on the floor. Then grandpa showed the kiddos how to use their sheets as capes, so the kiddos had fun pretend flying. The kiddos were exhausted and went to bed fairly quickly. Time to put away laundry.

Well Bret had to work late last night. Nicole had to get up to pee, it was a busy night in the Sanders’ household. This morning, I made a gourmet breakfast for everyone, blueberry pancakes, sausage (Nicole really wanted sausage), eggs, and fruit. The kiddos played really well this morning. We got dressed and decided to go to Santa Ana Mall. Daddy stayed home to take a nap to make up for being awake last night. The kids and I had so much fun at the mall. We didn’t take the stroller, so we could go up and down the escalators. The kiddos played in the play area for a bit. They had fun but then noticed all the ride on car things. They rode a fire truck then some pink car. I wanted to go into a couple stores, and the kids did so well. While I was shopping in Pumpkin Patch for the kiddos, they got stickers then got to watch some TV. I should have left them there and gone shopping-ha. They had fun. We went and played in the Disney store too. I bought the kiddos some sun glasses. Nicole wanted Minnie and Justin cars. They look like such cool dudes with their glasses on. Of course I tried to take a great pictures and now what I got was silly faces (still cute though). We came home and had lunch. Then we were determined to get the kids down for a nap, since we are having friends over. So I read a ton of books. I sat in their room and sang songs, told stories….then the rocking began. Justin rocked to sleep so quickly. Nicole took a while but it finally worked. Yeah! I just didn’t want any cranky kiddos tonight. After nap, we played for a bit and got ready for our friends to come over. Krista and Paula and their families came over. We just had a bbq. It was really nice. The kids all played so nicely, no fighting. Sara and Nicole played in the play house together, I heard them giggling. Nicole and Ellie were next to each other at dinner and they were having a conversation about straw cups. Justin was really into his Diego rescue pack. We played in the house for a while then the backyard then the front yard and greenbelt. Nicole and Justin did so well sharing all the toys. The kiddos finally settled down for sleep around 9:30. Have to finish cleaning up and off to bed, I am really tired.