Melissa’s Blog

Happy Birthday Tierney!

Justin woke up early this morning. I took advantage and went in to his room to get some cuddle time. We just laid in his bed and talked. Then he played cars while I showered. This morning I tried to get lots of things done. The kids played well together. I did feel bad telling them I couldn’t play. We went to a fine motor skills class. It was cute. Justin loved the snap blocks. Nicole loved the container of rice that had puzzle pieces in it, the kids kept their eyes closed and picked out the puzzle pieces. It was fun to play with them doing this different activities. After we went to Chick Fil A with some friends. They were having a free promotion. The kids were so excited. They actually ate and then played a bit. It got pretty crowded so we got out of there. We got to babysit Tierney today and on her birthday so that was pretty cool. We had fun with her and the kids shared their toys. They also picked out toys for her to play with and we rushed to pick up toys that weren’t appropriate for her. Grandma/pa came over as well. T was a busy little thing, walking with the stroller, crawling all over and up and down the stairs, throwing things at me and pulling my hair. She is lucky she is so cute 🙂 She had fun swinging in the swing and started to fall asleep. Nicole and Justin couldn’t wait to help her open her gifts and blow out her candles. Alan and Roberta came by and we had a little cake for Tierney. We ran out to the pizza place before I had to leave for a pre school meeting. The kids were so excited to play games, driving games for Justin. Nicole was interested in watching the karate studio, so we sat there for a bit and watched. I think she may want to try karate. After dinner I had to go to a pre school meeting. Bret put the kids to sleep again….I miss my cuddle time with the kids. Bret worked on setting up the Wii.

I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog. We spent Tuesday night in Big Bear. Getting ready for our adventure wasn’t too bad. I didn’t find myself stressing too much. I just over packed a bit but that was ok since we could throw it all in the back of the car. On the way to the mountains we stopped in Redlands. We got out and walked around a bit trying to show the kids were we went to college and met, etc. They didn’t really care but we weren’t surprised since they are kids and only had snow on the brain. We stopped for lunch before going up the mountain. The highlight for Bret he got his burrito. I felt a little car sick going up the mountains with all the turns, but thankfully it didn’t seem to bother the kiddos. So weird when we started to see snow. We got to the hotel and put our snow clothes on and off we went. We trudged around in the snow and tried sledding (little bumpy hill). The kids and us were loving it. The snow was a little icy, not so much the powdery stuff we had hoped for. Our friend let us borrow her time share and it was awesome. It was a two bedroom. The kids were thrilled to have their own room. They also slept in a twin bed without any rails. These munch kins are growing up! We were able to open our back door and the kids could be out there playing in the snow. We found a great hill to go sledding. It was only about 10 minutes away and we look back and Justin is sleeping. Luckily he is not a cranky kid when he wakes up. The kids were all smiles going down. Justin was a little more cautious and started halfway down the hill where Nicole and I were going up as far as we could walk. We got some great pics and had a great Sander’s family adventure. Here are a few pics:

After having so much fun sledding we headed back to the hotel. The kids wanted to stay in the hotel for the night. So we turned on a movie and I ran to the store to get some dinner. Such a small town feeling when going to the grocery store. I couldn’t believe all the stuff the store was out of.  The kids seemed so tired after the movie, so we headed to their room to read books. Of course Justin fell asleep so fast but Nicole was up for a while. In the morning the kids watched a little TV and we went to the other room and watched TV. We had a thought that this is how it will be in 10 years. The kids played some more in the snow in the back yard area. Such a great time but really really cold. The car had ice all over it. We decided to pack up and head home. I was so car sick on the way down the mountain. We stopped in Redlands for another burrito. It was nice to get away but at the same time so nice to come home. We came home to a clean house. But then the kids and I were off for a class called pint size picasso. The kids did a ton of cool crafts. They were just quickly going from table to table trying to do their crafts really fast. We came home and the kids wanted to play with us. Dad mowed the lawn with Nicole while Justin and I played hockey in the backyard. This consists of using golf clubs and a basketball. Then Justin and I cleaned out my car on the inside. We just took it easy and stayed at home. Nicole now has pirate sheets on her mattress on the floor. The kids got all hyper and jumped on the mattress. I went out to Bunco while dad put the kids to bed. It was so nice to get out but I was so tired.

Love winter time in CA. The weather was fantastic today. This morning Dad and Justin went and got daddy car an oil change and wash. Nicole and I took down Valentine decorations, did laundry, cleaned out mommy car, packed up a little for our trip, and gave Nikki’s babies check ups. Nicole pretended she was the doctor and I was the mommy. We had so much to do today so it took us a while to figure out how to do it. The good news is daddy had the day off. We went in two separate directions. Dad and Justin went to get sandwiches at our favorite place and meet us at Tewinkle Park. Nicole and I went to get the rest of her prescription then meet up to have a picnic in the park. We had a great time at the park. The kids were finding squirrels and loved climbing on the rocks. We played at the play structure for a bit then wandered around the park. The kids put their feet in the stream and showed daddy everything we did yesterday. We fed the ducks and there were some turtles sitting in the sun. It was great just being together and enjoying us as a family. We had to head over to Grammy’s as we left our video camera there. Grammy also needed Bret’s help with a few things around the house. The kids played. Justin rode the trike and we played frisbee outside. We needed to pick up Nicole’s new bed so Grammy babysat while we did that. Nikki was so excited. Grammy had some sheets for her and she had her choice and picked pirates. She said she liked them cause they were bad. Hopefully she will change to princess. The kids watched Arthur and Clifford then we headed to dinner. We went to Soupplantation for dinner. We had two cars since the bed was in mine and I couldn’t fit both kids in the car. Nicole and I got gas then needed to head to a friend’s house to get snow clothes. Nicole wanted her new bed in the house so badly. So sad that she no longer wants her cute Dora bed. I love that girly bed. We just put her mattress on the floor tonight as we want to paint the trim on the bed a bit. The kids went to bed a little late and Bret and I are getting ready for the mountains tomorrow.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Let me back up to yesterday (Sat). I don’t even remember what we did in the morning. I know we were busy running around. We headed over to Grammy’s and had lunch with her. She took care of the kids while Bret and I went out on a Zeppelin. I may have already mentioned Bret has made a list of things he wants to do, riding a blimp and going to the Grammy’s are on the list right now. The Zeppelin ride was incredible. I never ever thought I would ride in a blimp type thing before. It was much bigger than I thought. The owners were there and were so great talking about the airship. It costs $12 million dollars to buy and they have a mortgage on it. It was made in Germany and got it over here in a cargo ship. It went about 35-40mph around Long Beach to Pales Verdes, along the coast. It was so beautiful, we were even able to hang our heads out of the windows. We took lots of pictures and videos, just an amazing experience. So glad to share this with my hunny bunny. There are only so many pics I can upload so here is just a preview:

Nicole and Justin stayed with Grammy. They watched the Muppet Movie but Justin fell asleep during it. He woke up coughing and spit up a bunch of phlegm. Then went back to sleep. He was so unhappy and out of it when we got back to Grammy’s. He just wanted to be held, so cute and cuddly but I hated he was miserable too. All of a sudden he snapped out of it and was his happy little self again. Maybe he was just sluggy or just really wanted to be held. Nicole had a great time with Grammy. She helped Grammy make cookies and ice cream cookie sandwiches. She also helped Grammy whenever she could. We had dinner at Grammy’s and decided to spend the night. The kids were pretty hyper last night and I don’t even think they got into their “travel” beds until 9:00. The kids were so happy to run down and say goodnight to Sharon. Nicole came out just saying she wanted to hug us one more time. She knew what she was doing as she climbed onto Grammy to give her a hug-just stalling but it worked. The kids were so happy to go to bed late that tonight they mentioned they wanted to go to bed at 9:00. This morning we went to Denny’s for Valentine’s breakfast. Kind of cool as we rarely go out for breakfast. Grammy has been having so many issues with her internet that Bret decided to hard wire everything. So the kids and I played. They were so happy out in the front of Grammy’s house. They climbed her tree a bit:

The kids had fun putting little rocks all over the tree and using their shoes to get the rocks up on the tree. It was fun to watch. Nicole was wanting to help daddy do some ethernet wiring, she was helping for a bit but it was a beautiful day so I took the kiddos to Tewinkle Park. We had a great time; the kids played on the play structure, loved the swings there, etc. We also went walking around the park and saw squirrels and ducks. They were pretending the squirrels were chipmunks. There was a little stream I let them put their feet in and go across. They loved it. It was a little slippery and Nicole slipped but she just laughed it off, wet and all. When we got back to Grammy’s dad had finished. We went to the play room AKA the office and the kids played. Grammy has this board game thing that Justin just loves, so we played that over and over again. They played with all the Fisher Price little people play sets. The imagination is incredible, Nicole made an animal hospital and a park for the animals. I wanted to go outside so I grabbed some water and cups and let the kiddos dump water off the balcony into the front yard and back yard, pool. They loved it and they were so happy to fill up their cups on their own. On the way home from Grammy’s we stopped to look at a bed for Nicole. She seemed to really like it so we just need to empty the van and go get it. Glad we finally found something. It was nice to get home. We just ate dinner and played some more. Justin wanted to race cars and play Memory while Nikki and I played doll house. Now just catching up on things at home.

Last night wasn’t so bad in the Sanders’ household. Both kids only woke up once. We were off to pre school this morning and I was snack mom. The kiddos were so excited I was snack mom. I got to make Valentine cookies with the kids. It was pretty fun but a little stressful being yellow mom. I wanted to hurry with what I had to do so I could go watch the kiddos hand out Valentine’s cards. So cute Justin shared his doggie rattle stuffed animal. Nicole shared a little photo album I had with the kid’s baby pics. The kids put stickers on bags to hold their Valentine’s, so cute watching the kids pass them out. I thought Nikki and Justin would be more excited to look at their Valentines but they really weren’t. The kids didn’t get much time outside this morning though as it was a busy day at school. After school we played out front of the school for a while; it is such a beautiful day. We came home and I was starving. Nicole and Justin pretended to have a picnic with their pretend food. I made lunch. Poor Nikki the medicine she is on is making her poop really soft. She tried to hold it but couldn’t make it to the potty. She was so upset but it happens. I read her some books to her on the potty. I let the kiddos watch some Curious George before heading to the Spectrum. We stopped at our pre school friend’s house who is sick and dropped off a get well card from the class and his Valentine’s. Nicole wanted to go to the door by herself. She was so happy to give it to her friend. Then we met Carin, Sofi, and Mylee at the Spectrum. We had lots of fun. The kids wanted to go on the ferris wheel but it was closed. We stopped in the pet store and saw the cutest kittens ever. We headed to Target and the kids found a toy someone lost and they were just having a great time. Sofi and Nikki got along great today. They played by the fountain and ran around together. Justin joined in too but I felt bad for him being the only boy so we went to Dave and Busters to play games. Dad met us there. We all went on the carousal then headed to dinner. It was nice having dinner with some friends but still hard to have a conversation. We came home and the kids were pretty wired. We let them have a lollipop since Sofi got a ice cream for her birthday. When we got home Andree left us the coolest teddy bear bread ever. I had to take a picture:

We looked through the kids Valentines and headed upstairs. The kids wanted to play but I wanted them to go to bed. We read books and got ready to go to Grammy’s tomorrow.  Got to go finish laundry and relax.

Nicole was up a bit last night. We gave her motrin this morning and soon after she was back to her normal happy self-it was nice. We decided to go to the doctor today and she has an ear infection. She was very brave at the doctors. We were referred to an ear, nose, throat guy since her ear infections are re-occurring. Our peditrican said this is common though. After we went to the grocery store as I needed snack for pre school tomorrow plus to get Nikki’s prescription. I let the kiddos rest for a bit when we got home but then it was bath time. Both enjoyed their nice hot bath today. Poor kiddos when they got out they were so cold. I had to wrap them in blankets. Nikki was shivering. Her ear started bothering her again. I am hoping after getting the antibiotic into her twice today she will be better tomorrow. Justin wanted to race cars so much that he put a remote in each one of his hands and was racing by himself. I got the hint and raced a bit with him. We read books for a really long time this afternoon. So long in fact I was ready to fall asleep. The kiddos finished signing their Valentine cards for school tomorrow. Nikki’s is a little hard to read but thats ok. I made Nicole her favorite dinner mac and cheese. We took it easy tonight. She played her Leapster a bit while Justin and I played Memory. He kicked my butt. We went upstairs and the kids played soccer with a beach ball and then we read some more books. Both went to sleep pretty quickly.

Nicole woke up quite a bit last night due to her ear hurting. She was so cuddly and sweet. I would sleep with her for a bit then head back to my bed. When she called for me again I would go sleep with her and this went on most of the night. She says it still hurts today, however, distracted it doesn’t seem to bother her. I worked at school today. I decided to chance taking her and if she wasn’t happy I would call Bret. At first she sat by Marshmallow the bunny’s cage for a bit. It didn’t take long for her to start playing. She shared Dale today while Justin shared a Cars Christmas book. The kids made Valentine’s today, so cute with their picture on them. They also made volcano’s erupt. The kids all loved this. It was a fun day at school today. We came home and the kids played a bit then I just let them watch TV. Let them rest for a while. After TV I ran out to try to get a Valentine’s present for Bret. Unfortunately all the stores are out of the Wii so I give up. I told Bret what it was and it is up to him to get it. We came home and I just played with the kiddos. I raced cars with Justin then played doll house with Nicole. Both kids were really patient why I did things which each one. Then we just laid down and read lots of books. Daddy came home. We ran out and grabbed some dinner then we wanted to go look at a new computer for me. This computer has seen better days, however, I am having trouble finding one I like better. I know crazy. The kids had fun playing in Best Buy. When we got home we just went straight upstairs. Dad read lots of books to the kids. We managed to get downstairs before 8:00. Justin of course fell fast asleep. We were in visiting with Nikki talking to her and all of a sudden we realized she was almost asleep.

Anyway this is my facebook status for tonight:

I didn’t think it was possible but my husband managed to trump my Valentine’s gift. Somehow he managed to book a blimp ride and I can’t even find a Wii. Looking forward to our zeppelion ride on Sat, http://www.airshipventures.com/

Everyone slept last night. This morning we decided to run to grandma/pa’s house to surprise grandma for her birthday. The kids were so excited to surprise her. We had breakfast with them and played for a bit. We headed out and went to a play date at Christy’s. We helped celebrate Sienna’s 2nd birthday. The kids had a great time playing with the new toys. The TV was on so of course they wanted to watch TV. Nicole played doll house, thank goodness she found someone to play doll house with her. The kids played pin the tail on the dog, so cute. I love watching the kiddos play games. I have been looking for dad’s Valentine’s gift and called a few stores on the way home. Everyone seems to be out of stock, ugh. Bret may have to get it himself. When we got home the kids needed a rest so I let them watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. Nicole was complaining about her ear a bit. I started cooking for tonight. The kids and I played a bit then grandma/pa came over. The kids played with them and I printed a bunch of paperwork for pre school. The kids had a great time. Alan and family came over as well. We had a nice dinner but Nicole was feeling under the weather. She was complaining about her ear a lot. She barely ate dinner. Luckily the Tylenol kicked in and she was happy again. She wanted to cuddle with me while I was cooking. I wish I could have cuddled more. I did put her on the counter and she helped me. She helped me put together the salad. I am so full. It seemed like grandma had a nice birthday which was great. The kids seemed so tired tonight. Justin was asleep so fast tonight that I didn’t even get to visit him. Nicole is having more difficult falling asleep. I sat with her for a while but she just likes to talk. It was nice for a while but I need some quiet time before going to bed too.

Today was Bret’s first day working from home. He gets to work from home on Mondays. The kids did well leaving him alone for the most part. There was no pre school today due to Presidents Day. We played at home for a bit. The kids decided to play stinky ball. This was Justin getting a hockey stick and Nicole using a magic wand and they just passed the ball back and forth. We also turned on some music so the kids were busy dancing around. Justin was into playing Simon Says, so cute. Justin and I raced cars; we decided to buy the smaller race set to get a new car. Then we should have a good race. One car is just so slow now. We decided to go to story time at the library. We ended up there for a while, just reading lots of books. All of a sudden it was lunch time. We called dad and he met us for lunch. It was nice. Then the kiddos and I went to Target. The kids were so good that we ended up there for a while. But then we had to go to the grocery store. I was so sick of shopping but the kids were troopers. We came home and the kiddos played. Then we had to take a bath. Justin went first. He was just relaxing in the tub having fun. Nicole was busy playing with her animals. She also talked to Grandma on the phone for a bit to plan for grandma’s birthday tomorrow. Then Nicole took a bath and dad came home. Nikki was pretending to be a dog in the bath. Normally I wouldn’t mind but I felt like I was in a rush to start dinner. The kids watched TV while we made dinner and dad finished up taxes. After dinner dad and Justin played Memory and Nicole did her magnet story pages. I had to leave to go to my photography class. Not a very exciting class tonight.

Justin woke up last night and came into our bed for a while. He then told us his bed was more comfortable. Justin woke up as good as new this morning. I was worried he was getting sick but he is doing great today. We played upstairs for a bit. I heard Nicole playing and she bumped her dolls head then told the doll she needed to go to the hospital. HA Of course when we came down Justin wanted to play Memory. We took it easy this morning. Bret and I decided to go for a jog. We need to get in shape if we are going to run a 10K in May. The kids did really well in the stroller and played on their Leapsters for a bit. We jogged past the kiddos elementary school so we decided to check it out. The kids in jammies and all played on the play structure. Luckily we had a blanket with us to dry off the slides, etc. We didn’t get home until before lunch. The kids with dad’s help discovered some website where they can make things: www.starfall.com They were loving it, making dancing gingerbread and pumpkins. After lunch we played out front. We brought the remote control car/jeep out. Then the kiddos drove their cars. I started to garden and Nicole helped me so much. She loved filling her bucket up with the weeds and dumping it for me. I can’t believe how many weeds I still need to pull. We came in and played a little. Then gave the kiddos a break by watching Little Einsteins. We bribed the kids to get in the car with gummy tools from the party yesterday. We ran over to the mall as we are trying to look for a new bed for Nikki. The mall was all about playing for the kids, trying on glasses, riding on those stupid quarter rides, playing in the Disney…unhappy we wouldn’t buy them anything. We tried to teach a lesson in buying things today. Both kids wanted flip flops so we wanted them to chose. They wanted a little train ride but learned to pick the flip flops as they will last longer than a 2 minute train ride. They were so happy with their flip flops, so cute. We met Grammy for dinner tonight. The kids were crazy though. They couldn’t sit still and wanted to do shows and loud shows. We came home and headed upstairs. Luckily the tricks we use to get them to bed still work. We walk away and say I bet they won’t put on their jammies, then when we are out of the room, they put them on. We read lots of books and the kids went to bed without much of a struggle. Now to go watch Superbowl commercials.