Melissa’s Blog

This morning we got ready for pre school. The kids love it, I am so happy. And I love it too. It is nice to have a little break. I went to the gym then just came home. I wanted to get stuff done at home. It is still sad when I look back at the empty car seats and it is weird being alone at home. Oh and I get to listen to my radio station in the car. Justin was being cute on the futon cuddling with all the animals.

I picked up the kids from pre school and the pre school teacher, Ms. Donna, said wonderful things about my children. She said they were so sweet and polite. I was a proud mom and Ms. Donna made my day. We came home and the kiddos ate lunch then played a bit. We ran to Home Depot to get some new plants/flowers for our front yard. Of course it took a long time as the kids had to look at all the Christmas stuff. But it was fun watching their faces. We came home and the kiddos took a nice long bath. Paula and kids came over and played for a bit then we headed to Chick Fil A for dinner. It was so cute, the kids made pumpkin lollipop holders and sand art. They played a bit in the play area then had dinner. The cow costume came out at Chick Fil A-Nicole was scared and Justin wasn’t. On the way home Nicole said the cow tried to bit me, I was laughing so hard. We came home and the kids were so happy to see daddy. Nicole hung out with me for a bit then asked me if I would be sad if she went to daddy, so sweet.

This morning I was able to let the kiddos wear their long sleeve Halloween shirts from Grammy. Of course they looked so cute, so outside we went to take pics.

Then we headed off to Play ball class. This class is amazing. I am glad I moved them with the 3-4 year olds. The kids had a fantastic time and it was so cute to watch. They have the kids run around and do what the instructor says then they just do little drills. One was the kids were ducks and when the instructor blew the whistle the kids had to go in the pretend pond or the hippos would get them. Then the kids got sticks and had to hit balls side to side-they were to pretend to be walking the dog. The kids then became crabs and walked on all fours with their belly up. They had to keep a bean bag (crab food) on their bellies. Just real creative drills. Here are some pics.

After play ball we just came and had lunch. Carin came over to hang out. The kiddos played so nicely. Sofi and Nicole were in the kitchen talking up a storm together, so cute to listen to. They were pushing their baby strollers too. Justin was busy with the wagon throwing mega blocks all over the house. Messy but the only harm was a mess. The kiddos played outside together as well. After they left the kiddos got in the bike trailer and off we went. They wanted me to bike them around for a long time. I was tired but they were happy and resting. When we got home it was the kiddos turn to bike. They rode their trikes all around until daddy came home. We got some food to go for a picnic and went to watch trains. Have to do this once or twice more before the time change. We only saw one train though. But we still had family fun. We found a basketball and used it to kick around. The kiddos were laughing and so were we. Justin was exhausted so the kids went to sleep pretty quickly.

The weekend went by so fast. This morning we went over to the Laguna Hills Pumpkin Patch. The kiddos had so much fun. They couldn’t wait to ride all the rides. Justin was so excited to go to the cars first.

After the kids wanted to ride on the train, but then Justin saw the John Deere Electric Tractors. I totally remember them from last year when my kiddos were too small to drive them. Justin drove around for a long time and was such a good driver. It was really cute.

We waited at the train so Nicole could ride in front. She rang and rang the bell. It was really cute. Then the kiddos went on the boats, they liked that they were bumpy. After we just walked around and looked around. The kiddos rode on some of the quarter rides as well. A good time was had by all.

Since the mall was right there, we ate lunch in the mall. The kiddos played on the lights then we did a little shopping. After the mall we ran some errands. We bought these foamy pop gun type things and had a blast using them with the kids when we got home. It was pretty funny. The kiddos played at home for a while, outside in the play house, inside with trains, blocks, etc. The kiddos are definitely not as fighty as they used to be. Nicole was a daddy’s girl today so I got lots of time with Justin. We decided to go for a bike ride. The kiddos love the bike trailer still, so we went to the store to get a few things. They always get rewarded with a trip to the park, so we met some friends there. We came home and one crib and the dresser went to a new home tonight. A little sad but we have pictures. After dinner it was bath then to bed. Justin just loves sleeping with his teddy bear lately, so sweet.

This morning we played at home for a bit. Daddy took the kiddos to Starbucks. The kiddos and dad sat there and drank coffee together. The kids get milk in Starbucks cups, so they think they are so cool. I tried to get organized around here while they were away, so weird to be in the house alone. We played upstairs for a bit before getting ready to go to Chase’s birthday party at Partyopolis. The kiddos had a great time, they love bounce house places. They just love birthdays, cake, etc. It was a great party. I told the kiddos we could make cookies when we got home, so we made cookies. They love adding ingredients in and mixing. Their hands were full of cookie dough. They tried to make balls on the cookie sheet. They played outside for a bit and then trains. I tried to build the spiral track but I did it backwards-ugh. Daddy took a nap and Justin was so cute. He brought daddy big floppy dog and a comforter. Nicole kept hanging out with daddy so the nap wasn’t so successful. We got the kiddos haircut today, getting ready for 3 yr old pics. They both did so well getting their haircut and they both look great. They got balloons for being so good. After the kiddos rode their trikes around the lake. They had so much fun and didn’t realize they needed to yield to other bikers, but oh well. We ate at Ruby’s by the lake and the kiddos were so good at dinner. They both loved squeezing the ketchup and mustard out of the bottles. We came home and emptied the dresser as it is going to a new home tomorrow along with one of their cribs. A little sad however as my babies are growing up. The kiddos are sound asleep right now.

It was great Nicole slept in until about 8:15, so hopefully she will be a happy little girl today. She really needed to sleep. We got the house ready as I am hosting play group today. The kiddos played really well. In fact weren’t too interested in eating breakfast until 9:15ish. Found the gardener and he is going to fix sprinklers so hopefully our backyard will be done soon. The kids played so well this morning while I got ready for play group. They were upstairs most of the time. When they came down stairs all their blankets followed them and they found their old pacifiers. They were loving it. Of course I yelled up there and said what are you doing? and I got making a mess and thats what they did. So silly. We had a great play group today and my kiddos did so well. Most kiddos went upstairs and some of the kids used Nicole’s clothes as dress up, too cute. All the kids played nicely, it was great. After everyone left I fed my kiddos and they played pretend baking cookies. Is it ok that I let them play with the oven while I cleaned up from play group. They have been so nice to each other, asking nicely for toys and sharing so well. So they are baking pies, cookies, hams, canteloupes, plums in the oven, so silly to watch them communicate with one another. We went to the grocery store and the kiddos were so good. They are loving helping me so I try to find things for them to do. They pushed the carts and picked out food to put in it. They love emptying their carts. When you walk in there is a security TV and the kids just love seeing themselves on TV. Oh and on the way to the grocery store the kids saw a Starbucks and said we like going there with daddy. And then Nicole said I like when he says shoot but I don’t like the word heck. We came home and Grammy was here. We sat outside in the yard and the kiddos played really well. The kids made us laugh. They dumped water under Grammy’s legs for some reason. Not sure why but it was silly. Grammy played some catch with them as well. I got some laundry done and Bret finished painting Justin’s bed. We all had dinner. Grammy had to go home to get ready for her trip tomorrow to Canada to see Todd, Lisa, Meghan, and Henry. We went upstairs and got ready for bed. The kiddos cleaned up their room, they took all the blankets out of the drawers. We read books and thankfully they fell asleep pretty quickly.

From the title of this you can tell I went to the dentist. I have 3 fractured teeth-oh my god, this stinks. I dropped the kiddos off at pre school and my time was spent at the dentist. The kids had a blast at pre school. In fact Nicole didn’t want to leave. She kicked and screamed but we had to go. We met my old co-workers, Ken, Len, and Jen for lunch. The kiddos had a blast with Jen. They were running all around playing. The kids were fun hyper. Nicole has decided she wanted a sister and name her Jen. But for now her babies are all Jen. We came home and I gave the kiddos a bath. Then we headed to the pumpkin patch by Irvine Valley College with a friend. The kids loved it, but it was hot. They bounced in the bounce house. All smiles the entire time and making me look at what they call tricks. We went on the rides and just walked around, it was fun. Nicole did melt down near the end. I can understand as we had a busy day. We met dad at Carl’s Jr for dinner, I didn’t have time to make dinner. We came home and I left for a pre school meeting-ugh. I feel like we just had a meeting. Bret said the kiddos did great tonight. Two nights this week away from my family. Forgot to mention, the kiddos saw a flat bed tow truck and couldn’t believe a car was on it. They just didn’t get it. I tried to explain cars break and they need to go to the mechanic but after the millionth time of them asking me why I gave up. It was funny.

What a great day. We met some friends at Disney this morning. I was a little overwhelmed at first doing it by myself, with shuttles, etc but it was great. The kiddos had a blast. We got on lots of rides. We went on Dumbo, circus train, carousal, storybook, jungle cruise, Winnie the Pooh, tiki room, and train that goes around the park. The kiddos loved all the rides, every time one ended the kiddos said “I do it again”. It was hard with the kids using the potty. Twice we had to get out of line and go, just a pain. It was great seeing the kids love Disney. It was a little hot though but we survived. We went through the stores on the way out and the kids loved seeing all the Disney stuff. We did lose Nicole’s favorite pink Dora hat, the second Dora hat we have lost. We just took our time at Disney and took it all in. The kids loved the shuttle ride and the escalators in the parking garage. You would think they would fall asleep on the way home but no. We played at home, trains and watched a little TV. We came home to a nice clean house, so great. We played in the backyard and tried to clean it up a bit, leaves every where. Nicole was inside playing baby. She loves diapering, feeding, and putting her baby to sleep. Justin was so happy to be outside. Dad came home and we all cleaned up the backyard and daddy mowed the lawn. After dinner we played with the string a bead toy-they just love this toy. We also opened up a toy they got last year that was a build a toy thing with tools. They both loved the drill. When we tried to get them to go upstairs, meltdown city. The kiddos were exhausted as we had a big day out.

We have appeared to get back to normal. It was pre school morning plus the cleaners. It was a working day for me at school. I was snack mom and did clay with the things. The only part of snack mom I didn’t like is I miss a lot. I have to get snack ready so I missed sharing time. Nicole shared her princess CD player and Justin shared his teddy bear. The kids had a great time. Nicole for a while wanted me to go everywhere with her but she got over it quickly. The kids made me great pictures, my house is full of drawings and I love it After school we hung out with other moms and some kids. Nicole gave everyone a hug goodbye, so cute. Justin was busy taking off the cover to the sprinklers and filling it with leaves. Justin is doing so well with the potty, YEAH! We came home and the cleaners couldn’t get in our house, so we came home to a messy house. The kiddos ate lunch, it took forever. They would play then eat a little then play. The kiddos watched some TV then gave them a bath. They just love their bath so much, so cute watching them play. I needed a costume for Bunco tonight so Janet met me with all the kids at Costume Castle. She helped me find a cute witches outfit. When I put it on tonight, the kiddos were laughing and running from me saying witch. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to dress up but after seeing the fun the kids had with it-it was well worth it. Bunco was great and I won for most babies.

Last night and today have been so windy. We didn’t even bother going to our play ball class due to the wind. It was miserable out there. So we went to story time at Hush Baby. I feel like we hadn’t been in a while and the kiddos were excited. The kiddos were really participating, so cute. After we ran to Costco. It took forever due to the kids wanting to see the toys, the X-mas lights, the samples, stopping at the potty, etc. They had fun though. We needed so much stuff as our fridge was empty. We came home and the kiddos played in my car while I brought the stuff in-the kiddos love to play in the van. They cleaned up a little and played some more. Then we decorated our leaves for pre school with markers, stickers, and pics of themselves and each other. They really loved doing it-it was fun. We got out the wood blocks and the kiddos played for a while as I needed to get organized. We went in the front yard for a bit just to get out but it was so windy. We finally just played in the backyard and the kids played really well. They loved when we looked into their play house windows, they both happy screamed, so cute. We had dinner and dad played with the kids while I was on the phone. I heard the song Puff The Magic Dragon play over and over 🙂 We went upstairs and did our nightly routine and the kiddos are fast asleep. Got to get ready for pre school and cleaners.

This morning I heard the kids @ 6:00. I went running in there and luckily got them back to bed. This morning we put away a ton of laundry and did two more loads. The kiddos were excited to see all their toys, Justin was busy making train tracks on the floor and Nicole was walking baby. We headed to Target as I needed some stuff. The kiddos were so good. Justin picked out his costume, he is going to be a dog. It is the cutest thing ever. Then we went to the office supply store as I needed envelopes for the kiddos invitations. Dad met us for lunch. I put Justin in his costume to show daddy. Justin was so proud of his costume and he hasn’t even seen himself in it yet. After lunch we were just outside most of the day. I needed to do a ton of gardening and Bret had to paint Justin’s bed. Meanwhile the kiddos drove their cars. We had lots of fun outside. We came in and the kiddos watched Barney. I did more laundry and am just trying to get organized around here. We played at home all afternoon. The kiddos played really well so we were trying to get stuff done. I went through the kids last year winter clothes to see what still fit, they were troopers trying everything on for me. We also made it fun. We went out to the backyard to play. After dinner it was bath time. The kids had so much fun in the bath and then they were crazy. I love when they get that way. It is amazing to see them interact, you can tell Nicole loves Justin so much. She is so affectionate. We didn’t think they would go right to bed but they did-yeah!