Melissa’s Blog

I was up early this morning…I decided to prep the food for tonight. It was kinda nice just having the TV on and being in the kitchen by myself. The kids ate breakfast and we headed over to Grammy’s. We wanted to spend some time with Buffi and Mark. We all went to the swap meet. The first thing we found was one of the animal safety harnesses for Nicole. She was ecstatic. She picked out a dog one and it even barks. I had to hold her leash the entire time. We let Justin pick out a truck. But after getting his truck he just wanted to go home and play with it. We went to Sunday brunch with everyone. The kids ate so much. Justin was full of maple syrup and sticky! On the way home we had to stop at a computer store for daddy to do a return. Then we headed home. We cleaned up a bit to get ready for our friends to come over. I walked Nicole around with her leash while she cleaned up toys for me. It was pretty silly. Justin made a drive thru for his new truck with some sticks. Then they both pretended they were Ms. Donna and asked whose name it was and counted all the people that were in school. It was so cute and it lasted a while, they played so nicely. I guess Justin was playing the teacher, Ms. Donna as he asked who had sharing and Nicole said I do. She sat up next to Justin and gave her clues for her lion. I guess dad was in a food coma as he needed a nap. We had a great time with our friends. We let the kids watch TV a bit so we could be with our friends. Can’t believe Jenny Jen is married and pregnant. It was nice to see Len, Mary and meet their baby Ryan and Ken/Cathy. We had a nice dinner. The kids had a blast helping Jenny Jen open all her presents; I can’t believe how fast they open presents these days. Nicole and Justin walked our friends out to their cars. Then they played so well. Ken and Cathy brought them some lunch bags from Hawaii since they helped take care of Pali. The kids filled them up with their pretend food, played outside, etc. We ended up letting the kids stay up until 8:45 since they were playing so well. I am tired. Time to clean up then relax.

I got up and ran with a friend. It was hard to get up with the weather being so gloomy. Isn’t it so funny how  few days without sunshine and we all go nuts. We just played at home for a bit this morning. The kiddos stayed in their jammies for a while. The kiddos have been really want to play with us all day. Dad played Bingo with the kids. We put a leash on Nicole’s kangaroo backpack and she just loved it. But she wanted the clips like the monkey harness. Justin was holding the leash and Nicole was running. It was funny. I went outside and finished the hedging. Dad had to run to the computer store for a few more computer parts. The kids helped me with the hedging and the gardening. They got their brooms and started sweeping. They loved using the dust pan and little broom. They helped in the garden for a bit. Dad wanted more time with the computer so I took the kiddos to Lakeshore for craft and story time. The kids loved it-it was really cute. The kids made bookmarks and puppets. Of course a ton of glue was used. They sat so well for the storytime too. We had a great time shopping and looking around. After we stopped at the grocery store. The kids helped me so much at the store. We came home and the kids played with some new toys I got them. Nicole loves her magnetic dress up dolls. Justin got some cards and you match shapes and put them on. He liked it but didn’t keep him as amused as the dolls did for Nicole. The kids have been wanting all our attention all day. It makes it so hard to get anything done around here when they are like that. We tried going out in the backyard for a change of scenery. That worked for a little while, but ended up in the front yard. Justin drove his car and Nicole had a snack and sat with dad and I. They had fun with the rocket too but kept fighting over it as well. Grammy, Aunt Buffi, and Uncle Mark came over. The kids were so happy to talk and show new people everything. Dad and I had a night out while they babysat. I am so glad the kids got some time with them as well. And the bonus was we got a night out. We went to Claim Jumper and had a nice dinner then headed to the Spectrum. We just walked around and enjoyed being together. It sounded like everyone had fun while we were gone and I am sure the kids loved it. I can’t wait until they wake up in the morning and they tell me all about it. Time for bed.

I woke up last night and just ended up watching TV. Too bad our Tivo is not full of new shows for me. Dad stayed up late building his new computer. The kids and I played at home this morning. Nicole set up a nice tea party for us. But I was told I couldn’t eat all the “pretend” food-ha ha. The kids played with their kitchen a lot and made me eggs with grapes and soup-yum yum. They also played with trains. I feel like they aren’t using the train table that much. It is pretty gloomy out so far even rained a little bit last night. I showed the kids a huge snail on our window and they were so intrigued-eww. They entertained themselves for a bit while I looked into some summer classes and ice-skating. We went to the bounce house place, Jump N Shout. The kids had a great time. I think the most fun that they had was on the long trampolines. They were so proud at how high they were jumping. They got lots of energy out. It was so nice when we first got there we were the only ones but then it started to get a bit crowded. The kids love riding in the car and hearing all their music. We came home and had lunch. In between all this I got some laundry done. The kiddos took a bath. Since today is so cool out, Nicole chose to wear her Pooh dress. And of course she insisted on wearing tights. Anyway she looks so cute in it. The kids watched a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse then we ran to my haircut place. Since I need to wait one more week for a haircut I went in for a bang trim. The kids sat there and watched while they had a snack. So well behaved. After I dragged them to Target to shop for a wedding gift for Jenny Jen (an old co-worker of mine). I was so amazed at how well the kids did in Target. I had so much to get and they just went with the flow. It helped that they both were in the cart too. They just make me so proud of them when they act so well. Dad was home when we got here, he worked on his computer a bit and the kids finished watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We headed out to Grammy’s. The kids weren’t very shy around Buffi, a little around Mark though. I think they were excited as they knew Buffi had a present for them. The kids were pretty silly tonight, telling stories, playing, etc. They had a great time visiting with their Aunt and Uncle. We left Grammy’s late so the kiddos didn’t get to bed until 8:45. Nicole wanted to sleep in her Pooh dress tonight.

So nice not working at pre school too much lately. Don’t get me wrong I love being with the kiddos but it is nice to get a break. I went to the gym and worked out a bit. I came home and worked on trimming the hedges, almost finished. I took a quick shower then headed to Chick-Fil-A to get some food to bring to the park. After pre school we all went to Orchard Park to have a little going away party for one of our pre school friends. The kids had a blast playing together and eating lunch together. We had a really nice time at the park until Nicole got Justin’s head with sand thing. It was an accident. It was hard to get Nicole to leave the park. We came home and changed, packed up some toys and headed to grandma/pa’s house. We were hoping to see Tierney but she is sick. On the way to grandma/pas we stopped to get the brakes in my car looked at. I did need new brakes and since they could do it today I left my car. Grandma/pa came to pick us up and we hung out at Costco for a bit. The kids basically had snack there. About 45 minutes later and $510.00 I had new brakes. Nicole came with me in the car and we headed to grandma/pas. Justin went with grandma/pa. Nicole and I had fun in the car together; she loves time alone with me as much as I do.  The kids had so much fun playing at grandma/pa’s. They made a tunnel between the ottoman and couch with a blanket and loved hiding underneath it. Justin would stand up under the blanket. They played with cars, stuffed animals, and brought their rolling suitcases full of their toys. Both kids had lots to tell grandma/pa. Nicole brought her baby lion and put the leash from her skatebaord around his neck. She even wanted the lion tied to her bed tonight with the leash. She said the other night he tried to go down the hall.  We had dinner at grandma/pa’s and then some ice cream. Justin said he was too cold for ice-cream, silly guy. But after showing grandma that he messed up her bed he sat down and wanted ice-cream. We left around 7:30 and the kids were pretty tired. They kept on asking me why it was drizzling. WE read one quick story and the kids went right to bed. Bret has been working on re-building his upstairs computer. It is nice to be home.

Well we were lazy slugs this morning. I think the kiddos stayed in their jammies until 11:00ish. I was trying to clean up the backyard a bit. The kids wanted their froggie table out so they ate all their pretend food on it, then I gave them a snack on it which they loved. They helped me clean up the back a bit. Helped me sweep and pick up leaves. We just had a nice relaxing morning at home.  I needed to run some errands, so I decided to bribe the kids. I surprised them and let them play at Chuck E Cheese and in return they would be good during errands. And it absolutely worked. I had the best behaved children. We had fun at Chuck E Cheese, they both loved all the games and little rides. When I said it was time to go they said ok and off we went. I was shocked it was that easy. We did turn in the tickets and the kids each got a lollipop and stickers. Then we headed over to Walmart and got a ton of things. After we got home we went to Blue Gum Park and met some friends over there. The kids had such a great time. Justin went over to the volleyball court to throw the ball over the net; all the kids followed and they were throwing the balls back and forth. Justin and Nicole played in the sand, filled up buckets with water, were monkeys on the mokey bars, went on the swings, etc. All the kids were sliding down the slide together then waiting at the bottom for each other. The kids played so well that Paula and I got to hang out and catch up. Nicole and Justin just love hanging out with Paula’s kids. We came home and daddy was home. The kids pleayed Leapsters while we prepared dinner. After dinner it was bath time. Nicole just puts on her own jammies, it is so great. Justin just wanted to stay naked. They were busy throwing stuff on top of their canopes and bopping them off. The kids also wanted to brush their own teeth. Anyway 20 minutes later and I hear Nicole singing. Time to relax!

I loved having hubby home for 3 days. We had a great weekend. Back to work, back to pre school, back to reality. I dropped the kiddos off at pre school. It was kind of sad for me since we had such a good family day yesterday. I am going to miss my little buggers when they go to school more often. I ran some errands while they were in school. It was kind of nice to do things on my own. The kids were so cute when I picked them up. They didn’t want to leave. Nicole of course changed her outfit. After school one of our friends invited us over to play. We had a great time, nice to chat with other moms and pretty relaxing as the kids are all occupied with all the new toys. We came home to a clean house, I love that. The kids played outside for a bit. But if I hear mommy what should we do again, I may go nuts! They did water outside and I let them play with their umbrellas. They came in and watched some TV, a Little Einsteins and a Mickey Mouse ClubHouse. After TV they were getting a bit cranky so we just spent time together. I took turns playing with each one in my lap, tickling, etc.  Then I became a play structure. I bought the kids some new clothes so they tried them on and wanted to wear them. Finally Nicole liked something I picked out but she wanted to wear the shirt with dif’t shorts then I picked. The kids made some friends, Matthew and Ellie, pictures. So we rode bikes over there. Justin was busy looking at his shadow on his bike and crashed into a trash can. We all decided to go to Castle Park. The kids biked around the park. Then we headed to the play structure. The kids had a great time, Justin was busy biking down this little ramp and biked into the sand. Poor guy fell off the bike twice today but was fine. Both kids were in the swing for bit then played on the play structure. On the bike ride home the kids saw this huge limo and got to pet lots of dogs. Justin loved the big limo and told me he wanted to drive it-I let them look in the window but we couldn’t see much. We got home and the kids drove their cars for a bit. When dad got home Justin so enthusiatically told daddy about the big limo. After dinner dad played Bingo with the kids then had to go do some work. The kids and I headed upstairs and we read a ton of books. The kids used books as stepping stones as well. They had a hard time going to bed tonight-ugh. I got every excuse from the ceiling fan is waking me up, they hear people outside, they have to go potty, etc.

Justin slept in this morning, the latest he has ever slept. Guess all that running with the kite did in fact tire him out. Dad played Bingo with the kiddos this morning and then the kids played with Play Do. So cute they made bagels out of the play do and out them in their lunch boxes. The imagination just amazes me. Bret had been wanting to go to the beach, so we decided to go. I am so glad Bret suggested it as we went to Balboa and had a great time. We parked so we could take the ferry to the other side. We had a picnic lunch then headed to the beach. Nicole and I were playing in the sand for a while making sand castles and finding shells. Once Justin saw the water thats all he wanted to do. Daddy and Justin went down to the water. It was so cute to watch. Justin excitingly squeled everytime the water got him. Nicole and I went to the water too. Nicole loved it as well. They both sat in the sand and let the water go all over them. The best part was after the wave when the water pushes back out, both kids loved it. It was such a fun time at the beach. Dad dug a hole and buried Nicole. You could only see her head, shoulders, and arms. She loved it, I wish I brought my camera. She asked to go in the hole over and over again and she covered daddy too. Justin and I were building sand castles watching the waves. We put a sand castle by the water and watched the waves destroy it. We went over to the grassy area to get all cleaned off. We all just layed down and relaxed. We watched all the planes with banners, helicopters, kites, etc. Justin was so cuddly with me; I just loved every minute of it. Nicole was all over daddy and pretending to sleep. We surprised the kids and stopped to get some ice-cream. They were so cute with their cones. After we went over to the fun zone. We spent some time in the arcade then wacthed the jumpy thing that the kids love. The kids loved taking the ferry back to the car. Guess ice-cream and the beach made the kids starving-luckily I had the rest of their sandwiches to eat on the way home. I was afraid the kiddos were going to fall asleep on the way home. So I was telling stories of them while they were babies. Nicole was loving it! We told the kids how dad lost a shoe one time walking Tracey in Foster City. It got really muddy (we called it moon sand) and his foot was buried. When he pulled his foot out he lost his shoe. The kids wanted to hear this silly story over and over again. When we got home the kids played with money and put them in bottles. Justin poured all the money all over the floor and Nicole was nice enough to help him pick it up. We gave the kids a well needed bath. After dinner the kids played in the backyard. They brought their umbrellas out there and had a great time. Also played with water. Both kids were exhausted tonight and went right to bed. I got the house cleaned up for the cleaners and just kicked back watching TV.

Today staying at home sounded kind of nice to me. The kids played their leapsters for a bit. Of course then they ask what do we do now? Dad built a spiral track for Justin and also added the tracks that makes the train light go on and makes it beep, etc. We needed to run a few errands this morning. So we went to Costco before it got crazy then The Great Indoors. We came home and the kids mostly played outside. Dad drew a track out of chalk and the kids drove their cars in it. Dad also added a gas station. Dad is being the fun guy today! I, on the other hand, vacummed the cars and cleaned potties. After lunch the kids took all the cushions off the couch and jumped up and down. They colored and did stickers. I guess the stickers reminded them of maps, so they got on the couch (with no cushions) and pretended they were on a bus and a plane. They tell me they are going to Canada. Finally Nicole looked at me and said how do we get to Canada? Justin says a plane takes us faster, so cute to listen to them. We all went outside in the backyard. So while the kiddos were playing, cleaning my windows, sweeping, etc I hedged the shrubs. The kids loved to sweep up my leaves and Justin helped me pick up all the leaves. Dad and Justin went to an RV place. Dad is interestd in renting an RV. Nicole and I stayed here and got ready for the Great Park. We met dad and Justin there with kites. It was so much fun but a little stressful as kites were getting tangled. It took a while but Nicole got her kite up and as high as it could go. Both the kids kites I think were made to dive bomb or something. You would get it up and then it would circle around, doing tricks or something. Well Nicole has a fish kite which she insists is a bird, who is going to argue with her. She does wonder why it only has one eye. Justin has a turtle and his kite was not a good one. It dive bombed a lot but Justin said thats ok he is hungry. Justin went running around with his kite. He ran so much. Both were so cute when their kites were flying. It was a nice windy afternoon. We decided to go out for dinner. We went over to the Spectrum to Cheesecake Factory, one of my favorite restaurants. Since my car was still parked at the great park we thought we would try to get on the balloon. But the wait was too long. So we came home and headed upstairs. Got into jammies and brushed teeth. Since the kiddos were up late last night we made sure they were in bed by 8:00. Nicole had to show us all the way she sleeps. I got to snuggle with Justin. He was saying sandy helper and we figured out it is handy helper from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. They both crack up when they say this. We are so impressed by Nicole’s memory. She hears something once and I am always shocked she remembers it. Here is a picture of Nicole and Tierney that I took the other day. Nicole loves to hold T.

Yeah it is Saturday! I woke up and went running this morning with a friend, almost 4 miles. After running I watched the kids for a bit while daddy did some work (side work for a friend). We all went to the grocery store. The kids got some balloons and were so excited. When we got home the kids had a snack. I made them apples with peanut butter and teddy grahams (teddy teeter totters). Then made teddy sandwiches with peanut butter, they loved it. Then I made the cheesecake and had a glass of wine. It was fun to make an adult dessert. The kids played outside for a bit and played really well. So they were so good I let them watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. They love that show and it is fun to watch them interact with it, dance, etc. After lunch we played, read a new Little Einsteins book, finally got the kids dressed. A nice lazy day for us. Nicole wanted to play Bingo with me while dad and Justin were outside. Then she pretended I ws her rocket ship and she used my arms as the seatbelt. We went out front to see what dad and Justin were up to. I brought out chalk and the kids loved drawing on the driveway. The sound of chalk will always bother me. They hadn’t done chalk in a long time. We also went to run an errand. We went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to look at new dishes. All the kids wanted to do was see the beds. The kids did get distracted and played with the pot holders, made puppets. There were pigs, alligators, dogs etc one pot holders that the kids just loved. I couldn’t believe how much fun it was to get on the display beds. Who knows if they were allowed but they sure loved it. When we got home we got ready to go to a friends for dinner. Another couple was there and it was fun. Nicole fell in love with one of those animal harnesses-I think she wore it all night. She loved the clips in front and the leash. I guess I should mention too that the kiddos wore their bathing suits there. Justin loved the little play structure and the cozy coupe car. He found a great little parking spot for it too. Nicole was so upset to leave the monkey harness behind. The kids were pretty hyper when we got home. They didn’t settle down until after 8:30. But thats ok as it was a fun night.

Yeah it is Friday. The kids slept in a bit this morning. We just played at home this morning. We did the pretend grocery store then packed up our pretend lunches and had a pretend picnic. I tried to clean up a bit too to get ready for a play group. The kids were constantly calling for me during play group. Overall the kids had fun but were pretty needy. One of Nicole’s friends did dress up, so that got Nicole all into dress up it was so cute. It was nice to catch up with my mom friends. The kids wanted to walk their friends out to their cars. Justin went to get the mail and Nicole decided to meltdown. She was so mad she wanted to get the mail too. She just cried and cried. I know she was hungry too as it was lunch time, so I am sure that didn’t help. After lunch we went and did an errand. Justin got this cool helicopter that shoots balls out; it is an awesome toy. He was really excited about it. The kids had to take a bath since we were going on 3 days without a bath. I let them use bath crayons which they hadn’t used in a while and they loved it. They were drawing all over the tub. After bath Justin stayed naked for a while and Nicole had to change her outfit again. We played Bingo and then dad came home. Dad joined in and played some games. While we were making dinner the kids played in the backyard and I did some gardening too. It was time to pull out the majority of the carrots and green beans, the tomato plants have officially taken over. After dinner we decided to go for a walk and the kids wanted to take their brooms with them. We ended up at the little park (Carrotwood park) across Eastwood. The kids had so much fun. They made sand pie and a bucket of pie, according to Nicole. They climbed and went down slides. They really needed to get out. Justin has been injuring himself all afternoon and evening. He bumped his head on the glass table, hit his foot on the play trash truck, and fell on the street. Pooe little guy. We went upstairs and got ready for bed. We read lots of books. Nicole told me I was a bad mommy because I didn’t let them watch TV. I guess this won’t be the first time I hear this. My mistake I asked her if she would rather play games or watch TV-I should have known she would say watch TV.