Melissa’s Blog

I can’t believe it is Halloween; I feel like I just got my decorations out. This morning we ran to the grocery store then to playgroup at the park. The kids had so much fun at the park. We went to see saw park and yes they spent a lot of time on the see saw. Here is a cute pic of the kids in their batty shirts:

I am loving play with my new camera. After park Vena and I and the kiddos all went to lunch. It was fun watching the kiddos grab each other’s lunch and Nikki eating Vena’s soup. We came home for a bit and then we were off again to visit grandma/pa. They were so excited to see the kiddos in their costumes, Tierney and Uncle Alan were there too. We had lots of fun but couldn’t stay long as we needed to get home to celebrate Halloween. Here are a few pics:

We came home and Grammy came over. Then Uncle Alan and Aunt Roberta and Tierney came too. We had pizza and hung out for a bit and then it was time to go trick or treating. The kiddos were so funny and didn’t want to put on their costumes for some reason. Justin ended up going as a doctor as it was too hot for the dog costume, Nicole as Abby Cadaby, and Tierney as a pumpkin. The kids had so much fun ringing door bells and saying trick or treat. We visited mostly neighbor’s that we knew. It was such a nice night out. So cute to watch Tierney looking all around. We came home and the kiddos dumped out their candy and got to pick a couple pieces each. The kids stayed up a little late and hopefully they won’t be cranky tomorrow. It was a great evening.

I am exhausted and now need to get into party mode.

Nicole woke up early this morning. UGH! It was fun hanging out with her though. She was so cute this morning. I dropped the kiddos off at pre school. Nicole seemed a little more needy but she was ok with me going. I went to pre school early to watch the costume parade. So cute. Nicole AKA Abby Cadaby was busy turning everyone into pumpkins with her magic wand. The kids did a parade outside and the sang songs inside. They also did a little skit, so cute. It was fun. Here are some pics:

We came home and ate some lunch and played a little. Then we headed to Costco to get party food. The kids were great in Costco. I just have to remember and stop and be patient as they look all around. They got great snacks and wanted to help empty the cart. We came home and decided we would get the pumpkins ready for carving. I loosened all the pumpkin guts and Justin loved putting his hands in it.

It took Nicole a long time-she kept on telling me she didn’t want to get her hands dirty. They were mixing all the pumpkin guts in the bowl but then it was getting messy and my kitchen was a mess. So I grabbed the bowl and kids to the greenbelt we went. They had so much fun. They carried pumpkin guts with spoons, mixed it, put it in their hands, tossed it, nice messy fun. They decided to make witch’s brew and added grass and flowers to the pumpkin guts. The kids pretended to be alligators and attack me. They were loving it and so was I. But I was really happy when daddy pulled up and could come play too. After playing a bit on the greenbelt, we decided to carve pumpkins. We made an easy face on one and used these pegs on the other. The kids were able to hammer in the pegs and we made a cat face. The pegs are sort of like lightbright. It was cute and we had a blast. We came in and Nicole wanted to mow the lawn in the backyard, so the kiddos and daddy played while I made dinner. After dinner we watched the video I took of the day. Justin was cracking watching himself playing with pumpkin guts-it was so funny. After it was bath time and to bed.

This morning we went over to Candice’s for a bit. It was a fun play group but we couldn’t stay for long. We got some cute pics of the kids. Here they are:

Later in the day we ran and did some errands for the kid’s party. We are pretty organized. The kids are driving me crazy the last few days. They just want me to play with them every minute of the day. Which is so sweet but I do have a lot to do. I finally turned on the TV so I could bring stuff in from the car. After we played, I gave them lots of attention. We read a ton of book as well. Justin decided to pretend vaccuum with my Dyson. We played with the pirate ship and puzzles. We did a little gardening as well. But Justin was putting all the good dirt in the recycling bin, so I gave up. We headed to Maggie and Aliya’s for playdate. On the way we ran into Zoe the dog. The kids were so excited, Justin threw the ball to Zoe for a while. So cute to watch and Zoe is such a nice dog. We got to Maggie’s and the kids bounced a bit and played. I used the oven timer so dinner cooked while I was away from home-nice! We came home and had dinner and the kids wanted to show daddy their new shoes (princess and tow mater croc things with fleece inside-cozy). We showed the kids some of their glow in the dark stuff for their party and they loved it. We went upstairs and just read a lot of books and put them to bed. They have been so needy lately. I try to remember they won’t be this young for long and stop and play with them.

Nicole woke up a bit last night and ended up sleeping on the floor with me-ugh. We got up and got ready for pre school. The kids just love it there, and more so today as I was working. We had so much fun, Nicole followed me all around and did whatever I did. I was outside at the beginning and Nicole was playing all my games, parachute, red light-green light, simon says, etc. Justin was inside. Justin came out and then it was circle time. My craft was Halloween stamps. It was so fun watching my kids share. Nicole brought her Zoe puppet and Justin brought his sheep that Auntie Buffi gave him. It was a great morning at pre school. After we came home and the cleaners were still here, so we escaped. The kiddos played at the play area of McDonalds. They had fun! We came home to a clean house (I love it) and some of the kiddos stuff came for their party. Now I am getting excited. The kids built tracks together. I needed a break so the kiddos watched some TV, which they enjoy. Then we went to the grocery store to get some stuff, the kids helped push the carts of course. They are in such I want to help mode, so I am taking advantage of it. We came home and I promised the kids we could paint. So I decided to do it on the greenbelt, less messy. They have taken painting to a whole new level. They started painting their hands but it didn’t stop there-it went all the way up their arms. It was funny but messy. I got a picture of Justin before we cleaned him up and one of Nicole but it was after she cleaned herself off with wipes. I am really liking the new camera.

So we went up to the bath as that was the easiest thing to do. Daddy came home and we made dinner. Then the kiddos went outside in the backyard with their flash lights since it is getting darker earlier. They had fun in their place house. Then I was in the garage and came in with dif’t things on goggles, the nose from my bunny thing for my car..the kids were laughing so hard. They were on daddy and just grabbing daddy. Then I decided to put on my witch costume. They were loving it. Kept on telling me to get in my cage (the bathroom) and they would shut the door. So silly, we went upstairs and they hid in our closet. They were very playful tonight. Nicole and Justin brought all blankets and pillows to the spare room and said mom cry and we will wake up and make you ok. So this went on for a long time. I did love when they came running in the room to give me big hugs. Thankfully they both fell asleep pretty easy tonight.

The kids have been so easily agitated lately. Justin gets behind Nikki and she screams for no apparent reason. It is killing me. Then Justin makes a big track and Nicole gets in his way-ugh. This morning we went to our playball class, so cute. The kids did so well and I video taped it so daddy could see the class. After we ran to the Duck Club to go to the mom’s club Halloween party. It was cute. The kids had fun. I haven’t been to a mom’s club event in so long, I barely knew any of the moms. But it was fun to catch up with the mom’s I do know. After we ate some lunch and ran a couple errands for the kiddos party. We came home and the kids have been fighty all afternoon. We bought some new books at the Halloween party, so I read for a long time just to keep the kiddos from fighting. I couldn’t take it any more so I decided to give the kiddos a bath. Maggie and Aliya came to play after bath. We all went and played outside in the cul de sac. The kiddos all rode bikes. Of course the kiddos all liked each other bikes. We had a great time outside and thankfully my kiddos played really well. We were outside when daddy came home, so they greeted him so nicely. We came in and had dinner. Nicole has been really hungry all day. After dinner we showed daddy the video with play ball. The kiddos loved it so we watched more video. It was so cute to watch. The kiddos were wild tonight and had a hard time going to sleep-ugh. They are still singing the playball song. Now for me to go get ready for the cleaners and play with my new camera.

This morning we met a friend at the Irvine Regional Park. We packed up our bikes and the bike trailer. Lots of stuff to take. We rode around the park, it was really a beautiful ride. The kids did great in the trailer, but they knew they would be richly rewarded with a train ride. After we went on the train. We saw a few more friends there then we went over to the pumpkin patch. The kiddos loved the hay maze, it was cute. Of course they got to go in the bounce house. I think they have been in a bounce house every day for the past 3 days. They loved it. There were pedal John Deere tractors there that the kiddos loved. Surprisingly they were able to pedal it mostly on their own. I, of course, forgot my camera. We played on the pumpkins then went to eat lunch. There were so many bees so we ate lunch in the back of the van. The kids actually loved it. We packed up all our stuff and headed home. Did an errand on the way home. The kiddos got some quiet TV time, Bob the Builder and Elmo’s World. All while daddy was fixing sprinklers and I was cleaning out things, getting rid of old sippy cups, etc. After TV we decided to get more things done around the house. Daddy read books while I vacuumed my car-it was a mess. After the kiddos and daddy helped me wash it. The kiddos were in a fighty mood for the rest of the afternoon. We had both kids melting down. For dinner we had burgers with sesame seed buns and Justin asks why are there rice krispies on my bun. Normally we would have laughed hard but we are tired and are losing patience. The kids played pretty well after dinner, thank goodness. Upstairs they were hiding on us and calling us ghosts. They loved when we came home, they screamed happily loud. Justin fell asleep during stories and Nicole is still talking, hopefully she will fall asleep soon.

This morning we decided that it would be fun to bike to Starbucks and get some bagels. The kids were having so much fun playing at home but we dragged them out anyway. They were really good in the trailer and we ended up having so much fun. We ran into Vena and gang, and saw a couple other people we knew too. We came home and Bret had some work to do, so the kiddos mostly Justin and I planted veggie seeds. We planted cucembers, green beans, carrots, and tomatoes. Of course Justin was more than happy to water them. After we headed to Home Depot. The kids and I played in the Christmas section while daddy got some sprinkler parts and stuff. We came home and had a nice family lunch. After lunch I gave the kiddos a quick shower (Nicole let me blow dry her hair a little) and then the kiddos played so well together. It was so nice. They were outside for a while then came in and played with the beads. They put the beads in the digger parts of their trucks. Then it was off to the Boo Bash in Irvine. It was cute. The kiddos jumped in the bounce house. Justin’s pants were so big that they came off while jumping. They got to go in the fire engine and do spider crafts. They had a blast at the play structure going down the big slide. It is the cutest thing ever watching them play together, you can tell they really love each other. We stopped at the party store on the way home and look for party stuff and had dinner. The kids were starving for dinner and Justin was tired. We came home and Justin went right to sleep but Nicole was up about a half hour, talking and calling for us. I keep forgetting to write that Justin now pees standing up, he is such a big boy!

This morning we had fun playing at home. We built houses with Lincoln Logs, did puzzles, played with a little lamb stuffed animal. It was Nicole’s baby. Daddy tried to find his work phone again but had no luck. Well I decided to reconcile with my parents. I was tired of thinking about the drama and since Alan did it, I felt like I needed to as well. I just don’t have the patience or time for family drama. I am glad it is over but still being very cautious. Bret took the day off today but I was hardly with him, which makes me so sad. In the afternoon we headed to our friend Nikki’s 2 year old birthday party. It was a great party and the kids had a blast. They loved the bounce house and the crafts. They have a little food market that our kids were all over. It was cute. It was nice hanging out with friends as well as the kids played so nicely. Daddy came to the party a little later. The kids wanted daddy to push them down in the bounce house. There was a Dora pinata there. The kids have never done a pinata before. It was one where you pulled all the ribbons, it was so cute watching all the kids pull at the same time. It was even cuter watching all the kids pick up all the toys. The kids were so excited to get their goody bags. They looked through them on the way home and again at home. We read a lot of books and the kids went down pretty easily. Probably all the jumping and excitement of the party tired them out.

Nicole was up a lot last night-ugh. She was happy but up. It was another day at pre school today. So weird to drop the kiddos off still. The kids are so excited to go. Gave me a big hug and kiss and they were on their way playing. I had to go to the eye doctor. I didn’t think I could make it to the gym, so I just rode my bike to the grocery store. Filled up the bike trailer with groceries. Way easier to pull then the kids. I took the bike trailer to pick up the kiddos. We had a picnic lunch outside of pre school with their friends. When I picked them up they told me about the cupcake they got for someone’s birthday. The kids played outside and then we headed home. We pushed the trailer up the freeway over pass so the kids could see all the trucks. They love it when the trucks beep at them. Pulled the bike trailer home and the kids were happy reading books. We got home and the kiddos played for a while, wood blocks, puzzles, etc. I decided to give the kiddos a bath so we could go to a pumpkin patch tonight. The kiddos had a blast in the bath. So cute to watch them. They were in for so long that I decided to do some ironing too. After bath we ran to Costco. The kiddos had so much fun in Costco with the toys, holiday decorations, etc. They brought their skateboard dog and cat too, so cute. After we came home and made dinner. The kids helped a bit. I read a bunch of new books. Daddy came home from work and we had a quick dinner and off to the pumpkin patch. We had a blast and so did the kids. They went on a train, down slides, on a swinging ride, bounce house..the best part of the night was Nicole wanted to ride a pony. She loved it and she was so cute on it. But we didn’t end up getting a great picture. The kiddos seemed so tired tonight but I still hear Nicole talking.

Today is hot! We were thinking about going to Tanaka Farms with pre school, but after debating for the longest time, I decided it was going to be too hot. So we went to the mall. The kiddos were so excited to go to the mall. We had so much fun from running around pulling the skateboard cat and dog, to playing in the play area, rides, etc. We got a few errands done at the same time. I think I rode all the escalators we could find. We had lunch at the mall then headed home after riding more escalators. We got Nicole’s hat we lost at Disney but unfortunately they sent us a different one. Hopefully we can change it when we go back to Disney or maybe she will eventually like this one. She thinks Minnie sent it to her, so cute. We played at home all afternoon, it was fun for a while then I got bored though. We stringed cheerios and made bracelets, we did stamps, we made tracks, we played baby, etc. Maggie and Aliya came over for a bit. Nicole for some reason didn’t want to hug Aliya. We played in the yard for a bit and Nicole was swinging while Justin was hitting balls with his bat and washing my windows. We walked over to Northwood Pizza for dinner. The kids were crazy and pretty much ran there. They did great stopping and waiting for me to cross the street. They just amaze me sometimes how good they are. Ok I am bias. We met lots of friends there too. It was great I just let the kiddos play with the games while I sat and ate. The kiddos didn’t eat much though. But they had fun driving and air hockey. Bret met us over there too. It was nice and then we walked home. It was so warm tonight, it feels like July. The kiddos went to bed after a few books and 5 stories.