Melissa’s Blog

We woke up and saw it was going to be such a beautiful day. So we gave the kiddos a much overdue bath. Nicole had so much fun playing with Tierney this morning. We decided what a great day to go to the beach. We dropped T off in Newport Beach with her mom and dad-I miss her already. Then we grabbed some sandwiches and headed to Huntington Beach. After lunch the kids rode their bikes on the boardwalk. I just walked as right now I can still keep up with them and dad rode his trikke. After riding we went on the beach. We went to dog beach, so the kiddos could see all the dogs. It was fun. The kids had so much fun putting their feet in the water and running to and from waves. Needless to say the kiddos were soaked. They were so cute playing and loved watching and petting all the dogs too. We were all dying for water after, it was really warm and dry out. We stopped and got water and gas and headed home. The kiddos played by themselves for a bit then watched Diego on dad’s laptop. After we went to the grocery store. Finally we have food again in the store. I was really tired though and loosing patience with them at the store. They want to help me so much. It is nice but things take a bit longer. So even though I went to the grocery store, I didn’t get home until 5:30, so we went out for dinner. We came home and we all had some ice cream. Wow the kids are the best kids ever when ice cream is involved. They were a little scared of the Santa Ana winds tonight but they are sound asleep now. Nicole gave me a baby to sleep with and said it was Tierney. Justin was calling his teddy bear Tierney too.

Bret was up early this morning as he is on call and got called, plus he had some work to do at 7:00AM. Justin woke up early this morning and usually he will go back to sleep but didn’t. I took a shower and started straightening my hair for tonight. Half way through straightening Justin was fussy and said his ear hurt. Then he started crying and crying. He finally said his ear hurt. So kids in jammies we headed to the Woodbury clinic. They took us pretty quickly and Nicole was making everyone laugh. One lady said Nicole had made her day. It was confirmed Justin has an ear infection. We got home and gave him some Tylenol.He just slept and slept. Bret and Nicole went to Starbucks, got a bagel, and went to Target to pick up Justin’s medicine. She had fun out with daddy and Justin just slept on me. While Justin slept Nicole helped me to make lunch. So much safer to cook with only one child. Dad put together the kids little market. Justin was still sleeping, so I played store with Nicole. Justin seemed a little better when he woke up, but I didn’t want to chance anything so Nicole and I went alone to Alan’s event for presidency of Orange County Trial Association. The kids watched lots of TV today. It wasn’t fair just to let Justin watch and not Nicole. TV made Justin happy so we went with it. I was able to get all ready for tonight while the kids watched. Bret even helped to straighten my hair. It was so fun to just go with Nicole, we talked so much on the way down to the Balboa Bay Club. Dad and Justin played a bit, played games and trains. Nicole loved being at the event tonight. She said she was Cinderella going to the ball. Nicole helped take care of Tierney. Tierney was a little overwhelmed and tired. After some fussing T took a nap and was in a better mood at the event. Nicole loved all the circles all on the ground and went running and running around. I brought a ton of toys and snacks and I didn’t need to use any. She was an angel. It was a really nice event. Finally at 8:30 I decided to take Nicole home. She didn’t seem tired at all and fell asleep on the way home. Justin was still awake when I got home and he was in a good mood. He had a great time being with daddy and I had a great time with Nicole. I went back to the event to pick up Tierney, so Alan and Roberta didn’t have to worry about her. T was great for me, fell asleep on the way home. Nicole and Justin were so excited to see her this morning. My little girl all dressed up:

Nicole woke up last night with bad dreams, the first one she was saying someone threw sand in my eyes, and the second Snoopy was ice skating-she was saying dogs don’t ice skate. And Justin ended up in our bed last night-it was a weird night. The kiddos and I met some friends at Disney today. We had a great day. Kept me distracted not to be thinking about my friend and nephew. We went on a lot of rides today; the circus train a few times, Dumbo, carousal, Nemo,  T cups & Autopia. Justin saw the Autopis and he coulfd have stayed there all day. Luckily the three of us could fit in a car. Justin drove first then they let us switch and Nicole got to drive too. They are crazy drivers. We decided to head over to CA Adventure. We went into the Bug’s land for the first time. We rode on the caterpillar train twice. Shortest, slowest ride ever but the kids loved it. They got to smell things too and the watermelon sprayed us and they thought it was the best thing ever. Then we went on the bumper cars. My friends helped watch one kid while I took one on the ride. The kids had so much fun. We went to watch the Clubhouse show. In the middle of it Nicole had to pee so badly but she didn’t want to stop and go, finally we ran quickly. They were dancing to the show, so cute. Nicole said her favorite part of the day was the show and Justin said the cars. It was funny when we got back to the car, Nicole was talking to me and said why did you say oh bummer. And I said when did I say that? And she said over at It’s A Small World. That was hours before she asked….I was bummed as it was closed. We came home and the kiddos just watched some TV, I wanted them to rest. Then tonight Paula and I have decided to babysit each others kids so we can go out with our hubbies. Tonight we dropped off our kids for two hours at Paula’s. Nicole ran up to me and said bye so fast, as she was so happy to be there. I got a big hug from Justin but then he ran upstairs to her play room to play with trains. We just stayed at home for a bit, we rarely just get our house to ourselves then we went for dinner. We came to pick the kiddos up and they had a blast. It worked out really well. When we came to get them they didn’t even come to the door, they were busy playing Hungry Hungry Hippo. They had a busy long day-I just wanted to get them to bed. I am exhausted.

It was pre school day, the kids just love it there. I was working there as well. It is great to be there watching how my kiddos interact. We played trains when we first got there. I was blue mom so I was supposed to be outside but it was so foggy so we stayed in for a bit. We made a huge track and the kids loved it. We did go out in the fog for a few minutes and all the kids loved it. At circle time, Nicole and Justin sat apart. Justin was happy Cami was there. And Nicole sat in between two boys and put her arm around one. The next circle time, I was amaazed Nicole and Justin actually sat up in the front row. I have never seen them do this. I just love watching my kids share. Nicole brought a car and Justin a plane. Both kids waited so patiently for their turn. Justin said his clues a little quiet and was actually wanting to pick his nose (sorry Justin when you read this when you are older, but it is true). The kids made snow cones-I think this was their first snow cone. After snack we went outside and all the kiddos were so happy to be out. Nicole and Justin pretty much rode bikes with the trailers. This is the first time I have seen N&J pull someone in the trailer while on the bike. After pre school N&J just played with some of their friends outside. I had fun talking to the moms. So cute to watch Nicole is really interacting with other girls, Justin was following along as well. Justin was the only boy. When Justin got a hold of my keys thats all he wanted. We came home and had a late lunch. The kiddos brought a bunch of toys up into the castle and played really well.They watched Thomas then we had play group here as the person was unable to host. A few people came and the kids played really well. I found out though one of my friends was just diagnosed, I am devastated. It is curable luckily but she has a tough year ahead of her. After dinner, the kiddos wanted daddy to play trains. Upstairs we read lots of books, I think I literally read 25 books today. The kids were tired and are sleeping 🙂

We just played at home this morning. Both kids were playing with their little laptops then moved onto babies. They both are so aware of what each other are doing and follow one another. We had a little play date here. The kids seemed to have a great time. Some of the kids were afraid of Kota the dinasour. The kids played really well together and had lunch. It was nice hanging out with my mom friends. One is trying pregnant again (Vena) so I am so excited! Nicole gave away her old doll crib and high chair since she got new ones for Christmas, I was so proud of her. She handled is so well. After everyone left my kiddos played upstairs in their room which they are calling “their castle”. They had to bring toys into the castle, so this is what it looks like up there:

What a mess. I gave the kiddos a bath. Good news they have the cleaniest trains, they gave them a bath too. Then we watched Thomas and Curious George. We met Paula and kiddos at castle park. All the kiddos rode their bikes together, looked like the cutest biker gang. The kids all played at the park together as well. My kids just love Paula’s kids, it is so cute. We came home and dad was coming home too. The kids jumped in his car, bikes in trunk and got a ride home, they were thrilled. We had dinner then I had to run to Target and dad needed to get a tux/suit for an event on Sat. So I took the kiddos with me. Nicole loved carrying my new Coach purse I got for Christmas. They wanted to bring their flashlights since it was dark out, so cute. When we got home we went upstairs and the kiddos played in their castler. Then we read books, brushed teeth, told stories, and off to sleep they went.

This morning the kids headed back to pre school. Such a stress for me getting them out the door and having to clean up for the cleaners as well. They were so excited to be going back to school. I stayed with them for a little while just to make sure they were ok since they hadn’t been for a couple weeks. They finally told me to leave! I went to the gym, then headed out to look for shoes. Justin needed formal shoes and I wanted a new pair too. The kids said they had so much fun at pre school. We stayed outside and played for a bit. We came home and had lunch, guess snack wasn’t that great, as they are usually not hungry after pre school. Grammy called and said she was home then Grammy called and said her car wouldn’t start. We headed over there to drive Grammy around for her errands. She packed and got ready to go to Canada. The kiddos played and daddy met us at Grammy’s. We all went to dinner which was nice. It was almost like we didn’t have a care in the world, even though we were all thinking about Henry. Todd called and luckily the cancer isn’t in Henry’s brain. Todd just mentioned Henry was cranky and who would blame him. Meghan is able to go to the hospital and play with her brother. After dinner the kiddos seemed tired so I took them home. I told stories on the way home and sang songs. We read books and the kids are sleeping. Grammy leaves tomorrow morning for Canada.

This morning we had Staci babysit. I had an app’t with the endocrinologist and I wanted Bret to come with me. This doctor is amazing, he is really helping me. The kids had a great time with Staci. They went to castle park and rode their bikes in the culdasac. It was so weird coming home and seeing my kiddos outside without me. But I am glad they love Staci and had so much fun. I also ran to the gym. I felt so bad for being gone and wanted to spend time with the kiddos. So we played Candyland and just spent some time together. I let them watch TV for a bit so I could figure out the rest of my day. We went to do an errand and then to the grocery store. Justin wanted to ride in the car cart at the grocery store while Nicole wanted to push her baby in her doll stroller. It took forever in the grocery store, with the kids going to the bathroom, etc. Oh well we got what we needed. When we got home, the kids really wanted to drive their cars. They love them. I didn’t want them to ride too long as it was cold. We came in and the kiddos helped me make dinner. After dinner it was bath time. Nicole wanted her baby doll to take a bath with her. After bath the kids wanted flying burrito (dad wraps them in a towel like a burrito-holds onto the towel and flies them around). They love it but they are getting way too big for it. We read lots of books.

Update on Henry-he has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Thankfully this is the most minor of all leukemia. He still has a long road ahead of him. Henry starts chemo tomorrow, poor little guy. Grammy should be back in California tomorrow.

I write this because we just found out our nephew Henry has been diagnosed with Leukemia. We are so sad and just waiting to hear more info. We were so excited to go to Canada in April. We will still be going but it won’t be the same if Henry is ill. We are keeping positive thoughts and just wish we could be there. Grammy is leaving NZ hopefully today and heading to Canada. So we have counted our blessings and hugged our kids a million times. we played games with the kiddos, Candy Land and the fishing game then we played outside for a bit today. The kids drove their cars, rode bikes and scooters while Bret and I worked in the garage a bit. Someday we will have the garage in order. But nothing seems as important as Henry today. Bret helped his mom make plane reservations to come home. The kiddos watched Thomas and Curious George. Nicole was loving seeing Rosie the train on Thomas. After we headed to the Spectrum. We did the usual stuff, carasoul and train ride. The skating rink was still open. Nicole wants to skate so badly. We went into the Mac store and the kiddos played on the computers and went to the pet store too. On the way home we stopped at Orchard Park and the kiddos had fun playing. Justin was loving the swing. Nicole was pretending to be a train conductor. I had to sit in the caboose (which I barely fit) and eat cake (made out of sand). After dinner, the kiddos just climbed on us. It was fun to hear them giggle and be so playful. They also put on slippery socks (no writing on the bottom) and ice skated around the downstairs. They went right to sleep tonight and we actually got them down by 8:00. Todd called tonight and Henry will have a bone marrow bioposy tomorrow, so hopefully we will know more tomorrow.

This morning we started off slow. I don’t even think we ate breakfast until 9:30ish. We were upstairs for a long time. The kids were busy putting coins into their banks. I moved the megablocks upstairs and the kids finally noticed them, so they built big towers and castles for princesses. We ran to Costco as we remembered the kids need passports for Canada. We shopped a bit too and the kids loved the samples. It was getting close to lunch, so we just had lunch at Costco (hot dogs). After we went to Lakeshore Learning Center for the craft and to get a few things for the easel. The kids made the cutest snowmen. Justin’s is full of glue, he loves to squeeze glue out. Nicole rested and Justin and I went out to drive his car. But Nicole didn’t want to miss out on the fun, so her and daddy came out. The kids love driving their cars on the greenbelt, daddy has them race. They love it, big smiles on their face. The rain forced us to come inside, so the kids used the easel. We got dry erase markers and they call the eraser-spongebob. Then I gave the kiddos the bath. Nicole brought a baby in and it was so cute watching her talk to it. She would dunk it and hold her under water-at least she told the baby to hold her breath. Everytime the baby got water in her face, Nicole needed a towel to wipe it. Justin cleaned his train and Nicole washed the baby. I think I had to warm up the tub three times as they took such a long bath. After bath, we decided to have some alone time. Daddy and Justin headed over to Northwood Pizza to play games. Justin was so excited and waited all day to play games. Nicole and I stayed home. She wanted to make cupcakes. We had so much fun doing this, so easy with one kid. While the cupcakes were cooking, I filled up the kitchen sink with water and bubbles. We had so much fun playing in it, water everywhere. Then grandma/pa came over to give the kiddos paper for the easel. We then headed to meet Justin and daddy for pizza. Grandma/pa came too. When we got home, we had cupcakes-the kiddos hung out with grandma/pa for a bit then upstairs to read books and bed.

Well it has been a year since I started blogging, I can’t believe how fast a year has gone by. Bret and I are getting older…I remember when my parents were 40 and I thought that was old and we are almost there. The kids are doing great, amazing us all the time. I feel very lucky as I married the love of my life and I have two healthy happy kids. This year I am looking forward to our 10 year anniversary. My only resolution like every year is to lose weight.

I went to the Spectrum to work out. The kids did so well in the kid’s club. After we got the kiddos skateboard dog/kitty out of the car and the kids pulled them around. Nicole pretended her dog had to poop, she even asked for a bag. We didn’t stay at the spectrum too long as it was cold. Then we played at home for a while. I was pretending to be Shamu and Nicole was pretending to feed me fish. I even got fish for doing tricks. Justin played with trains. Cindy just sat next to me and slept. I think Cindy goes home today. I miss our dog so much but don’t think I am ready for another one. But it was fun to watch the kids play with the dog. We played at home for a bit then Justin really wanted to go to the mall and get on the train we couldn’t go on yesterday. He so wanted to go, so off to Laguna Hills Mall. They both loved the tractor train. It was cute, then we walked the mall a bit. On the way home, Nicole liked the car in front of me. When I told her it was a VW bug, she told me it was a car. It is so gloomy out, we came home and just watched some TV. I needed a break! Daddy came home early which was a nice surprise. We played games, Don’t Spill The Beans and Candyland. After dinner daddy put their new easel together. They were so excited. They only got to draw with crayons and markers for a few minutes as it was getting close to going upstairs. Nicole wanted her Minnie Bank, so got Justin’s Mickey one down too. Got a bunch of change and the kiddos had so much fun filling their banks, so cute. Doing story time I mentioned the pizza place (Northwood pizza) and Justin immediately said we haven’t been to the pizza place in a while. He loves that place. The kiddos went right to bed, but I hear Nicole coughing.