Melissa’s Blog

I hate Mondays as it means Bret had to go to work, we love weekends and they go by so fast. This morning we just stayed home and played. The kids didn’t eat breakfast until after 9:00. The kids are pretending they are Chip (Justin) and Dale (Nicole). We all colored with markers for a bit. I got to babysit Nicole’s baby. We played store for a while, just a quiet morning at home. Nicole woke up and was a little cranky this morning but she got over it, thank goodness. She said she was tired since she woke up in the middle of the night. Justin ended up in our bed at 5 this morning. The kids played outside and pretended to clean my windows and use their squirt bottles. We spent a lot of time playing with trains and building tracks. After lunch the kids decided to play pile up on mommy. It was cute. We went to the toy store to get a couple gifts for friends. The kids had a great time playing with the train table and the Little Einsteins stuff. They are really into Little Einsteins these days. We also went to the grocery store. The kids went in the car carts but were still up and down. It made shopping go slow but the kids did pretty well. They wanted to watch TV so I let them watch one Curious George. Then we went out and did the water table. I am not sure if they love playing with water or just love wearing their bathing suits. Justin was so proud of himself for showing me he can put on his own bathing suit. They played with balls, Dan the diver, little pony in the water table. They also squirted with their squirty toys, squirt bottles, and washed my windows. The kids wanted to stay naked after. They played with these foam letter, foam letters everywhere. They threw them up like it was a party. What a mess! We cleaned up-dad came home a little early as he had a dentist app’t. Dad played Memory with the kiddos while I cleaned up the house a bit getting ready for the cleaners. We went outside and the kids drove their cars for a while. Dinner wasn’t much as it didn’t seem like any of us were too hungry. After dinner the kiddos were wild. We played duck duck goose in the house and ran around the downstairs. The kids wanted us to catch them, they were laughing and giggling, it was cute but tiring. Then we played hide n seek. Another fun game. I enjoyed finding great hiding places and getting a few minutes of peace before any one found me. We went upstairs a little early as we were out of hiding places downstairs. We read a ton of books tonight and the kids are sleeping.

Well mother’s day isn’t really different than any other day. I guess it was different as I got to help clean windows. Nicole and I ended up going to the grocery store while dad and Justin went to Home Depot, both in their jammies still. Both of us are realizing how easy it is to shop with one kid. Dad managed to get everything plus more he needed and Nicole helped me shop. We came home and decided to clean the windows, it was so much fun maybe an annual tradiion if I am lucky (sarcasm). I sort of volunteered to help. We only did the upstairs and it really looks nice. Reminded me though that I want new baseboards upstairs. The kids wanted to help too. The kids played with Diego rescue pack and Dora backpack then we played in the tent room. Justin was asking where the trampoline today-we let a friend borrow it. We did a bit of spring cleaning. After lunch we gave the kiddos a bath. Nicole did not want to get in the bath, she did not want to take off new jamies. The kids stayed in their jammies until bath time. Justin and dad after bath went to lay down and read books while Nicole and I polished our nails together. It was definitely a great mom/daughter moment on mother’s day. We had plans to go to Bret’s moms for dinner. On the way we stopped at TeWinkle Park. The kids played a little then it was too hot for Nicole’s feet and the shoes we had don’t have backs so they kept falling off. So we decided to take a nice walk around the park. We saw all the water falls and the ducks. We even crossed over the water using the stones, the kids really liked that. We headed over to Grammy’s. The kids played while dad did some work around her house. The kids rode their trikes for a while too. They had a great time in her front yard riding their trikes. We had fun at Grammy’s. Nicole was getting a little cranky. We got in the car and Justin announced he was hungry. I am not sure how he could be hungry as we were all full. Nicole almost had a fit over jammies so we realized we better read books and put them to bed.

I woke up this morning before everyone and got some time before anyone else woke up. We got out of the house early. I went to go take some family photos for a friend. The kids did great while I took pics. It was a really pretty park. We didn’t spend that much time at the park though as we wanted to get to the open house at the Brea fire dep’t. It was an awesome event. The kids loved it. There were tractors to play on, street sweepers, trolley, police cars to go in, the fire engines, etc. The fire dep’t even set a couch on fire. Poor Justin had to go potty but he didn’t want to stop looking at everything, so after doing the potty dance for a while I finally made him go. There was food and the kids got their first snow cones. They rang the bell in the trolley, got behind the driver’s seats of everything…it was very cool. We were gone for a long time this morning. The kids were pretty fighty when we got home, so we let them watch TV. I was having computer issues and dad was trying to help me out. After TV the kiddos played for a while. They were wacking things with golf clubs and still getting on each other’s nerves. So we decided to go to see saw park. It was a great day for the park. The kids had fun. But so many big kids were on the see saw so the kids didn’t get much time on it. They played on the play structure and with their sand toys. They kept on bringing us buckets of sand (cake) and the shovels were the candles. We swung them on the swings for a while. Then we walked to the grocery store to get a few things. We stopped and got dinner and came home. We just got pick up stix for dinner and the kids loved the boxes everything came in. Justin especially it was pretty funny. After dinner the kids went outside and played. They played with their frisbees they got from the fireman and in their play house. I brought the remote control Scootaloo (My Little Pony) outside and the remote control car. It was a whole new toy outside, the kids had fun. We went upstairs and the kiddos played with money. Justin went down to get all his cars so he could build a drive thru. The kids ran around naked for a bit and got a little wild. Then we read some books and off to bed. Here are some pictures from our morning:

Bret got me some flowers and a card for my birthday. The card says you are not old until the fat lady sings…..then you open it and the old fat lady sings. The kids thought it was great. The thought of going to Disney again didn’t sound too fun. But we hung around this morning at home then heaeded to Disney. Again it was hot. We took the BOB stroller so we just walked from the parking garage. Well Justin wasnted to go on the Autopia and Nicole Pooh and just my luck they were on opposite sides of the park. We went to Pooh first and went on it twice. The kids saw Pooh and Eeyore and had big smiles on their face. Nicole loves to see Chip and Dale. But she got to see them yesterday. In front of the fire house, there was a band and Chip and Dale were dancing. On our way over to the Autopia, there was a little parade we watched. Both kids drove on teh Autopia. Nicole was a little crazier then Justin. I was just glad we got to do what both kids wanted. Then we headed on the monorail to Downtown DIisney. The kids love the monorail, what a pain with the BOB stroller. But I was glad I took the stroller for all the walking I did and to block the sun. We walked back over to the car and by now it was 1:00 and I had really hungry kids. We just went to McDonalds, I know yuck. But the kids loved it. Justin had to pee a zillion times since he drank so much. On our way home we stopped at the jewlers to pick up my mom necklace. The kids didn’t mind going since they get cookies there. They also cleaned my ring for me and it is beautiful. I love how sparkly it is. We came home and it was bath time. Justin was in the bath tub by himself and was loving it. The kids needed a bath after all that sunscreen on them. Dad came home early from work which was a nice surprise. The kiddos watched some TV while I tried to get caught up around here and get dinner prepared. Now I would normally not cook on my birthday but considering we had such a fattening lunch, I thought I better cook something a little healthy. Also because I wanted to go for ice-cream tonight to celebrate. The kids just played, they were having fun in the backyard. Unfortunately their fun is beating everything with gold clubs-they call it hammering. After dinner we went to pick up our family photo, so cute then headed to Dairy Queen. The kids got cones and they were thrilled. It was nice family time and fun to get ice-cream together. The kids went to bed a little late but are sound asleep now. I am glad my birthday is over-I had a great day just don’t like getting older.

Happy Birthday to grandpa. The kids went to pre school. It was so nice since I wasn’t working. So nice to have some time to myself. I ran to Kohls as I am need of some clothes then went to the grocery store. I needed to buy something for Ms. Donna for teacher appreciation week. I ended up getting her a gift card to a restaurant. I came home packed up for Disney and watched some TV. My parents came with me to pick up the kiddos. The kids were excited and surprised to see grandma/pa. Then we headed to Disney as grandpa got in free for his birthday. It was hot! We had fun though. The kids love it. It wasn’t too crowded either so we got on lots of rides. However we didn’t get a chance to do the Autopia or Winnie The Pooh but I told the kiddos we could do it tomorrow. I wanted to go back to get my Disney dollars for my birthday. We made it onto the Jungle Cruise, we haven’t done that ride very much. Nicole is afraid of the hippos because the driver shoots off a gun and makes a loud noise. But she did great. It was a great day but tiring being in the sun all day. We came home and just got In N Out Burger for dinner. The kids were more excited to eat grandpa’s big cupcake. Then I had to hurry off to a board meeting for the pre school. It went a little longer than I thought as I didn’t get home until almost 10:00. I left dad with some hyper kids so he let them stay up a bit and read lots of books.

The kids woke up last night, Nicole had to pee and Justin just showed up in our room early this morning. Luckily you put him right in our bed and he goes back to sleep. Nicole was sad when she woke up and had no animals in bed, have to make sure that doesn’t happen again. We stayed at home this morning and played. Nicole kept on being mean to Justin though and ended up getting a time out. I tried to get organized around her, catch up on some e-mails, and stuff. Grammy came over to babysit while I went to the dentist for a cleaning. The kids had a great time with Grammy. They were building birthday cakes out of Lincoln Logs when I got home. They had way more fun than me. I have another fractured tooth, I am so annoyed. The kids had lunch then helped me make a cake for grandpa’s birthday. They love to bake-the kids picked out the cake mix and frosting, they liked the ones with sprinkles the best. While the cake was in the oven they watched TV, Curious George. After TV we ran to Tareget to get a few thing, unfortunately I forgot about other things we neede so have to go back soon. We ran over to the library for craft and story time. The kids just really love the craft but sat very quietly through the story. We met some friends there too. The craft was a picture frame the kids decorated, I will probably give to grandma/pa for grandpa’s b-day and mother’s day. We played outside at the library for a bit then headed home. At home Nicole wanted to wear her new bathing suit and we went on the greenbelt and did bubbles. Dad came home as well and we blew bubbles while the kids popped them. They also started getting tree bark and sending it to the ocean. But they were so happy. We didn’t let them do it too much. We came inside and had dinner. The kids were crazy after dinner. We called grandma/pa to make plans for grandpa’s birthday. The kids loved talking on the phone. I was able to frost grandpa’s big cupcake. I think they were playing hide n seek on the phone. We went upstairs and played a bit. The kids took all the beanie babies and little animals and dumped them in their room. They ended up on their beds, with no room for the kiddos. We read a lot of books and off to bed. Nicole layed all her animals out on her pillow so there was no room for her. When I was saying goodnight to Justin he got all giggly. He tried to lick me like baby Jaguar from Diego. But then I pretended to lick him and he was just laughing. And every time he sat up I blew him down like the big bad wolf, he was loving. It is these little moments that I just love. Nicole wanted me to do it all to her too and of course I did and she was so giggly.

Life is back to normal. The kiddos went back to pre school today. Of course I had to work. It was fun to watch the kiddos be back at pre school. I loved listening to them talk about their trip. Ms. Donna did some elephant sitting on you song and the kids loved it, it was really cute. Nicole has been singing it since we got home. The kids loved the sharing time as usual. Both kids gave their clues nice and loud. I love when the kids come up to me while working and give me great big hugs, Justin was a cuddly boy. They also did the beanie bag dance, the kids loved it. You just followed what the music said to do with your bean bag, so cute. The kids glued ice cream invitations for dad’s desert night with me. There was play do which all the kids loved. Outside was so fun doing the parachute and listening to all the kids giggle. After pre school we played outside with some friends then headed home. At home we had lunch then we just played. I decided to give the kiddos a bath and get that out of the way. Nicole wanted to wear her ballerina outfit, leotard and skirt so I got her to put her hair up too, so cute. I wish she would let me put her hair up more often. The kiddos watched Curious George and had a snack. We went outside to play. We were on the greenbelt playing catch, kicking the ball, etc. Then Paula and kiddos came over. We brought out the cars, bikes, and scooters. The kids all had fun together. We also got the rocket launcher thing out and the kids all took turns. Daddy came home, he rode his bike to work. Dad came inside to start dinner while we all stayed outside. I decided to take the kiddos to a story time at the library. The guy was really great and pretty animated. J&N sat in the front and I saw Nicole participating. We ran into a few friends there as well. We didn’t get home until 7:45 so it took the kiddos a little while to unwind. I still here them chatting away. Nicole wanted to sleep with her pink dog and the little house. Now I hear Justin saying “Nicole is waking me up”

We had a nice day at home. I needed it. I am still a bit sore but I slept pretty well last night. My feet hurt a little bit and I swear the kids kept on stepping on them, ugh. The kiddos were in their jammies until after lunch today. We played at home all morning; for the most part the kids played pretty well. It was hard keeping everything clean though as the cleaners came. I love having a clean house. We also had the bug people out to spray for everything; mostly I called as I saw a black widow and freaked. While the cleaners were here, the kiddos and I played downstairs. When they came downstairs we ran to do a few errands. We went to take my mom necklace in to be repaired then just ran to the grocery store. The kids did great helping me pick out some food, putting in the cart, etc. When we got home the kiddos watched Curious George. Then we played some more. But we needed to get out of the house. So we got outside and there was Zoe. The kids threw the ball for her and were so happy to see her. Then we went for a bike ride around the neighborhood. The kids did great on their bikes and had fun. Nicole told the neighbors that they got the bikes for Christmas. We saw Cindy and dropped something off at a neighbor’s house. We went around the entire neighborhood. When we got home the kiddos said they were sweaty and went inside. They went looking for their Leapsters and it didn’t take long for them to find them. So they played upstairs for a bit while dad and I dealt with dinner. Justin loved daddy’s tacos-he was taking huge bites. Glad daddy has someone to eat Mexican food with. After dinner the kids used daddy as a jungle gym, climbing all over him. We picked our sharing for tomorrow and wrote clues. Nicole is taking the pink dog and its little house-Justin is taking his green airplane. Then the kids practiced their sharing. We went upstairs to start getting ready for bed. I tortured Nicole making her try on some clothes, new ones and ones from last year. I am trying to figure out what I need to buy for her. She was a trooper though. We read books.  Nicole was getting a little cranky; she seemed tired. Kiddos are sleeping and I am going to relax.

This morning I was up at 5:20AM getting ready for the half marathon. We left at 6:00AM. I was so nervous. It was tough running, we were doing 13 min miles or so for a bit. At mile 6 I started to get a bit tired. I walked a bit, I think we were the slowest runners there. Mile 10-12 I walked as I wanted to be able to run the last mile. It was difficult, but I did it! And never plan to run another half marathon. So cool the kids and Bret were waiting at the finish line for me. I was dying though.

The kids wanted my water and everything, they didn’t understand how much I needed it. I was so hot that I even let Bret dump water over my head not once but twice. This is worth mentioning as I have never let Bret do this before. We had fun at the event. They had a trackless train, bounce house, free food and drinks, little petting zoo, etc. We walked over to the Spectrum too and the kids played in the turtle fountain. We didn’t have bathing suits though, Justin got soaked but Nicole didn’t. Bret and I sat around just watching the kids. We came home and the kids took a bath. Justin stayed in the bath for a long time. I showered and Bret needed a little nap (he got up at 5:30 with me). Justin, Nicole, and I had a late lunch/snack. The kids played with their kitchen/grocery store. Then we met some friends at the park. We haven’t seen Victoria, Todd, and family in so long so it was nice to catch up. We also ran into some other friends. Blue Gum is the best park, I just sat there and rested while the kids played. Dad did chase them and play for a bit. The kids had a great time. It was getting late and I hadn’t even thought about dinner so we got some food to go. The kids pushed the bus and Spencer train around for a while. Then we headed upstairs. Thankfully the kids went right to sleep. I am so tired and my feet are sore.

We spent most of the day at home today. It was nie to get some things done. We went through some toys and got rid of some, cleaned up the back yard, gardened, mowed the lawn, etc. The kids played with daddy for a while. He built them a track and they played trains. Outside the kids helped me garden by digging. They were on the see saw on the grass, they were going so high laughing. They went in their swings for a while. After lunch the kiddos watched Little Einsteins, their new favorite show. Bret and I worked in the garage a bit. While getting ready for Canada we just threw everything in the garage, so now we need to shift things around to get both cars back in the garage. After TV we just played with the kids. We went out to the front and Justin drove his car. Nicole played with us then started riding a scooter. We went over to the Nike store in South Coast Plaza to pick up my registration stuff for the half marathon, now I am nervous. We also ran to a few stores in the mall. While we were over there we went to visit Grammy, give her her mail and suitcases back. The kids had fun playing at her house. Then we all went to Soupplantation for dinner. It was nice but after dinner lately the kids have been so hyper. The ride home they were really loud, happy loud but still loud. They are loving singing the theme song to Little Einsteins. We came home and the kiddos played out in the back for a while. For some reason Nicole wasn’t listening at all. We went upstairs, got them ready for bed, read books, and they went to bed pretty quickly. I need to follow soon and go to bed as I need to wake up by 5:30AM.