Melissa’s Blog

Gloomy/cool day and it makes me blah. This morning I was working at school. It was a little crazy at school since Ms. Donna wasn’t there. I was green mom for a change and helped the kids make Easter bags for the egg hunt. They decorated them with stickers and markers. I tried to call people back that are interested in the school during the class since there was an extra teacher there. So cute watching the kids share. Justin got a little shy when they asked him to play the trumpet. It was so sweet though. He even went tickle tickle to Ms. Lana. Nicole shared the Snow White book she borrowed from school.

We had snack, not a healthy snack-I hate that. Then the kids went out for the egg hunt. It was cute. There were so many eggs and I can’t believe how fast they were picked up. We watched Keyon for a bit after school. The kids were so excited. We stopped at the library to return books. The kids were running around and having fun as we walked to the library. We looked at books for a while. Justin played on the computer. Nikki read books to Keyon, so adorable. We checked out books and came home. The kids all played really well together. I made lunch then Keyon had to go home. The kids brought plants home that they planted at school (I think bean plants). The kids were a little fighty, ugh. We ran to the grocery store where they were great. They love helping but getting them to go can be difficult. When we got home it was bath time. The kids wanted me to take a shower with them, so I did. It was interesting as the kids were really  interested in mommy’s parts. No more showering with the kids. After we read all the library books and dad came home. Nikki and dad ran out to get some dinner while Justin and I played Geotrax. After dinner the kiddos played Wii with daddy (Mario cart). Then we headed upstairs where we played hide n seek. Then we just read books and off to bed. Justin wanted me to read to him in his bed with a flashlight and Nicole didn’t want me to leave, so sweet.

We dropped daddy off at work with his bike. He still managed to forget his biking clothes so we ended up back at his work again later in the day. It was kind of gloomy out this morning, so play group moved here instead of the park. The cleaners were coming a little later than usual so it worked out ok. The kids brought the princess table down stairs and had a tea party then they pretended to play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Nikki was Dopey and Justin was happy. They pretended to go to the mine (train table) and find diamonds (various parts of the train stuff, tracks, etc). The cleaners came and we ate lunch quickly. Then we headed out. We went to a class called Kids Can Cook. The kids loved it. They made matza pizzas, rice krispie egg nests, dirt cups with pudding and gummy worms, lettuce chicken things, fruit kebabs, and frog (avocado) dip. The teachers asked if I wanted Nicole and Justin together for the kindergarten readiness program. I had just assumed they would be together. We are going to separate them. The good news is the two classrooms are right next to each other and they do combined activities so the kids will see each other. I was a little worried about Nicole but she took a huge liking to Ms. Sarah. Nicole went over with Ms. Sarah to see her classroom and she told me she didn’t need me. I was so proud and sad at the same time. Nicole told me all about the classroom and showed me around. Justin will be with Ms. Marla. Man, these kiddos are growing up too fast. We stopped at dad’s work to drop off his clothes. The kids really wanted to go see the inside of daddy’s work. He is supposed to sign in the kiddos but he snuck one in at a time. The kids loved being able to go into daddy’s work. Nicole said she met someone and got to pet her pretend dog. We then went to Sweet Shade Park for a free cheerleader class for Nikki. She seemed to like it. Justin was outside playing at the park with his friend during the class. Nikki liked the class and liked showing daddy what she learned, but I think she had more fun at the park just playing. The kids were on the swings a lot showing that they can pump. They climbed on all the climbing stuff and just had a great time. I caught up with some of my mommy friends. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store to get some milk then came home and had dinner. The kids weren’t too hungry for dinner, ate too many snacks at their cooking class I guess. Or they were too excited to play wii. We went upstairs and got the kiddos ready for bed. I ended up reading to Justin by flashlight in his bed while dad read to Nicole. Both went to bed pretty easily tonight. I got some eggs filled for preschool tomorrow.

Dad gets to work from home today. It is another beautiful day in Southern CA. I dropped the kiddos off at school this morning. Nicole didn’t want to go-she said she wanted me to work. When we got there I read her Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs and she was just fine. Justin just ran outside when we got there and was happy to be there. The kids had a great time at school. While they were at school I attempted to go for a run. It didn’t go so well though. I did some picture editing as well and before I knew it, it was time to pick up the kiddos. The kiddos brought in baby pics of themselves and they all had to guess who everyone was. The kids made birds’ nests today. Justin brought home some grass he had planted in a cup. He loved it and couldn’t wait to get home to cut the hair. Him and his sister gave the grass a trim with scissors, it was great. After lunch Justin took a bath. Nicole hung out with daddy while Justin was in the bath. I got the house ready for the cleaners too. We left to go to grandma/pa’s for Passover dinner. We had a nice time. The kids were silly as ever. I am tired and I am goign to spend time with hubby.

Such a beautiful day out today. We decided to head to “pirate” park this morning. The kids had a great time playing. It was pretty relaxing for dad and I too. I love listening to the kids play together and talk to one another. We played hide n seek too. When we got home we ate lunch in our backyard. It was so nice. We also discovered not only are there black widows but brown widows too. I am a bit freaked out. After lunch the kids played in a sprinkler. Hard to believe in March that they are able to play in the sprinkler. They had a blast. The grass got to wet in the backyard that we had to move the sprinkler up front. I did a lot of gardening as well. I just hedged recently and will need to do it again soon, spring has sprung. The kids and I went to a birthday party for someone in their pre school class. It was really fun. Dad stayed home and worked on projects. He is in the midst of re-staining/replacing wood on the jacuzzi steps. The party was at the park. The kids swung, played on the play structure, bubbles, played with friends, and an egg hunt. It is so weird that the kids are so independent and don’t need me anymore at parties. I was able to talk to some moms. We ended up staying much later than expected as the kids were having so much fun. When we got home we played and tried to clean up a bit. The kids played Wii for a bit. We went out to dinner and the kids got to run around a bit on the grass. We played duck duck goose. Zoe the dog was on the greenbelt, so we talked to Andree and played for a bit. I didn’t think it was possible but the kids went right to bed. Justin has been loving me reading in his bed with a flashlight. Nikki wanted to talk about how Zoe got some tinfoil that must have had some leftovers in it and we had a hard time prying it out of Zoe’s mouth. Nikki also asked me what happens if we got locked in a store, silly girl. She loves figuring out life.

Tierney’s birthday party today! The kids had to miss soccer but they still have plenty of weeks of soccer. T’s party was at Ferrel’s at the Mission Viejo Mall. It was really nice. I ate so much. Got some really great shots so have to work on my gift for T. I have to decide on whether I want to make a poster collage or a photo book. Nicole and Justin got clown sundeas. The cone was the clown hats. Our kids started taking the ice cream and spooning it into their cones. Nicole was a little sad she got ice cream on her new outfit.  I can’t believe T is 2, I feel like she was just born yesterday. So great to celebrate with her and friends/family. I hope she remembers it. The kids loved the goody bags. After the party we walked around the mall for a bit, played at the toy store. I was able to run into a store for me too. The kids were getting a little bratty wanting things in the toy store. We did buy them a toy trumpet, hoping to encourage the music gene. Nikki was a little cranky most of the day. We played outside for a bit. The kids raced the remote control cars until a wheel came off. Justin’s training wheels are getting kind of little bent, so we decided to try to take off the training wheels. Not sure if this was a good idea. The kids were a little weary but started to do ok. We only went around a couple of times. It is rough on our backs. Bret and I had to get something notarized so we headed out. A friend of mine does it so thankfully she has kids, so she turned on the Disney channel for the kiddos. They were loving it. When we got home the kids colored and said they were hungry. It turns out they weren’t really hungry, none of us were. Gave the kiddos a bath and just read books. Nikki was complaining about her tummy hurting, maybe that explains the crankiness. Either way the kiddos both fell asleep really fast tonight.

Some pics from today:

All is well in the Sanders’ household. Justin is all better. I kind of mentioned missing pre school yesterday so decided the kids would miss it. It was kind of fun playing hookey. Although I could have used the break. I can’t count the times we were woken up last night. I could barely get out of bed this morning, thank goodness for coffee. Anyway I was eager to get out, so we went to the Irvine Regional Park for the Easter Eggstravaganza. We had our first Easter egg hunt of the season. The kiddos had a great time. They got lots of candy! The kids were really interested in the Easter bunny but wouldn’t sit on his lap-he was a ig guy. I tried to take some pics of the kiddos. They were bust bugging each other and climbing the tree.

They played some carnival type of games. One game was a bean  bag through a hole and the other was rings on the bunny. They got blow up tigers, as you will see int he pic below. They loved putting their heads through all the picture spots:

These pics were taken while the kiddos were waiting to go in the bounce house:

So if egg hunts, bounce houses weren’t enough I then let the kiddos ride the ponies. They were so excited to ride Rocky.

We stopped and got some lunch on the way home then headed to Target to get a few things. When we got home the kiddos played so nicely together. They were pretending to be chefs cooking, etc. Justin even went so far to say he needed to close the restaruant since it was a mess, ha ha ha. They pretended to feed Nicole’s doll named Amy. The kids watched a little TV. Then we went outside.  The kids had fun squirting with the water toys outside. Two of us would be inside with the slider shut and the one outside would put a ton of water on the door. The little things that occupy them. We walked around the neighborhood selling a few more candy bars. Dad drove up so Justin went home with dad while Nikki and I visited with a few neighbors. While we made dinner the kids played Wii. The time went by fast tonight. Nikki and I played doll house while Justin and dad made a ramp for his cars. Cars everywhere. We read a few books and off to sleep they went. Bret and I are tired.

Who even remembers what happened last night. Justin had a rough night early on. I think around 11:00 I was reading him a book by flashlight. One book and he was out again. I woke up with Nicole yelling for me and found dad not in our bed. Dad slept with Justin for a bit and I slept with Nicole for a bit. Nicole doesn’t leave much room for me. Anyway Justin seems to be much better today. I haven’t needed to give him any tylenol or anything. We decided to take it easy. Although I wasn’t sure if he would feel yucky later so I did some errands. We stopped at the recycling center and the kids recycled their first cans/bottles. They had to take each can/bottle out one by one. They were loving it. They made $5.73. They were really happy and proud of themselves. Of course they wanted to spend the money right away. I had to go to the grocery store though. We went and got a few necessities. I am an old softy I let them go to Toys R Us and pick out something. Nicole picked out a Chipmunk Fur Real animal and Justin picked out a car that has interchangeable parts. I tried to teach them the value of money but you can’t get much for $5.73. We came home and had lunch. Justin hasn’t been too hungry today but seems much better. I let the kiddos relax in front of the TV for a bit. After we played, I tried to bring out everything the kids hadn’t seen in a while. We did artsy things, Geotrax, Don’t Spill the Beans, etc. We also played out in the yard for a bit. I watered plants and Nikki helped with some of the gardening. I swung the kids a bit until Justin got cold and went inside. We were happily playing Geotrax until dad came in. The minute dad walks in the kids want to play Wii. I played a little as well. After dinner we went outside for a bit while the kids played with the remote control cars. We came in and went upstairs. Dad and the kids played hide n seek. Then read some books and off to bed. Hopefully everyone sleeps tonight. Justin is feeling much better but I think I am going to keep him home from school tomorrow. Nicole won’t go to school without her brother. We will take it easy one more day. It may kill me-I need to get out! HA

Last night Nikki woke up looking for her fairy animal then wanted covers on…then wanted the covers on again…then had to pee. Justin woke up feeling much better today. He cracks us up as he is such a funny guy when he isn’t feeling well. He did complain that he was cold but that was due to cold milk and apple juice probably. We decided to play it safe and dad stayed home with Justin while Nikki and I went to pre school. It was so strange for me without having Justin. I missed him so much. Dad and him had fun. They ran an errand and took some pics too. Pics are from a cell phone so the quality isn’t great.

Nikki and I had fun at school. I was finally snack mom, so Nikki wanted to wear an apron too. She even put on a chef’s hat! She did great without Justin. My table was in charge of dying Easter eggs. The kids loved it. They even ate them at snack time. I made a fruit rainbow, it was so cute. Of course I didn’t have my camera to take pics of it. When we got home Justin was feeling well. The kids watched Sid the Science Kid then we played. We played Memory, finally the kiddos decided they were hungry. After lunch I gave the kiddos a bath. Justin started getting so cold in the bath, even though the water was really warm. I got him out and wrapped him up. Now he is doing much better but I did give him Tylenol. I snuggled him in my bed and let him watch Thomas. By the end of Thomas he was his crazy little guy again. Nicole took a bath next and she wanted all the toys she could think of in the tub even my kitchen tools. I gave her the basting brush and she decided it was a toothbrush. The kids were wild and started cleaning everything. This was their hope of getting pennies. But the cleaning got out of hand. The kitchen floor was so wet. They were giggling and laughing. We played with toys in the futon room and puzzles. Dad came home and we went and got dinner to go. After we all went outside. Dad and Nikki mowed the lawn, it really needed mowing. Justin and I swept out the garage. Justin found the new remote control cars daddy got; he was so excited. They charged them up and raced them for a bit. We went upstairs and read a few books then it was off to bed.

Bret counted Nicole woke up 5 times last night. She needed her blankets on, pee, etc. I had coffee this morning. Nicole woke up this morning and was crying. She was complaining about her ear which probably explains why she was up so much. I wish she told us her ear hurt last night. Luckily we got her back to sleep this morning and she did sleep in. This morning I played Memory with Justin, over and over again. When Nicole woke up, I read the kiddos lots of books. I was falling asleep reading. Nicole had breakfast and Justin had breakfast #2. Justin was really cuddly this morning. I love when he comes up to me and says “I love you mommy”. The kids played a bit this morning. They have also been so needy, Justin has wanted me to hold him then Nikki comes and cuddles. I tried to get everyone to take a nap. We all went into my bed. The kids read books for a bit then I tried to get them to sleep. When that didn’t happen I turned on the TV and I ended up napping. The problem is every time I fell asleep the kids would wake me up. We went out to Costco to get snacks for school tomorrow. The kids wanted to watch all the TV’s. We shopped we watched TV we shopped, etc. Nikki started complaining about her ear again. We also split some pizza for lunch. We got home and the kiddos just wanted to rest so I turned on George for them. I brought in all the groceries and got some things done around here. Of course after getting back from Costco the pre school called and wants me to bring in eggs tomorrow for the kids to dye, to the grocery store we go. Nicole went outside and decided to clean the windows. Bless her heart as my windows are dirtier than ever. She sprayed them with water and a spray bottle but then took the broom to the windows. Justin was just needy and say on my lap. I brought out toys and played on the couch with him. Nikki came in and we all played Mr. Potato Head and army men. Andree and Zoe stopped by so we went outside to play, the kids threw some balls for Zoe. Dad came home and the kids played Wii with him. After dinner I ran out to the grocery store. When I got home we read the kiddos books and got them down a little earlier. Hope everyone is better in the morning. Now to put together fruit rainbows for pre school snack for tomorrow.

Justin slept a lot last night and did end up in our room. I tried to enjoy the snuggly time since when he is older he won’t want to snuggle. When Justin saw himself in the mirror this morning he said “my haircut looks good in the mirror”, so cute. Justin was in a great mood this morning so we decided to go to pre school. I was working so we figured we would call dad if Justin wasn’t happy. The kids brought their new backpacks from the hotel with their disc shooter to share. We had fun at school; the kids wanted me to be blue mom. A birthday was celebrated at school today. I was glad both kids got picked as candles. I always feel bad when one doesn’t. Justin seemed a little tired after school. We came home and rested a bit. He didn’t eat too much at lunch but that made Nikki happy as she got to eat his noodles. I decided to let the kids rest and watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. I finally got Justin to go to sleep. He slept on me for a while, what a snuggly guy. I brought him to our bed and laid down with him a bit. Then Nikki and I played doll house. She loves doll house and I had fun playing for a while. We also played baby together. I love spending alone time with the kiddos, it is a rare thing. Nicole is better behaved for the rest of the day when she gets alone time. Justin slept for a while. Nicole and I started dinner then Justin came down. He was slowly waking up so I read lots of books to the kiddos. Dad came home and everyone played Wii while I made dinner. I made German apple pancake and everyone decided my dinner was apple pie. It was amusing. The good news is the kids loved it. Justin finally ate so hopefully he is feeling much better. After dinner we played a bit and headed upstairs. I took a nice relaxing shower. Dad read books and we spent lots of time visiting with the kiddos. It is 9:00 and Justin is still awake, ugh. I read him some books using the flashlight, I will be going back up in a bit.