Melissa’s Blog

So I woke up twice last night to wake Justin up to pee. He got up but no pee. He pee’d sometime during the night but I think only once. He just doesn’t wake up on his own yet. As long as he is not to wet or miserable I guess I am ok with doing lots of laundry. Happy Labor Day. Bret was off today. We met my family down at Laguna Beach. Alan and Roberta stayed down there last night so we went down there to see them and soak up some CA sunshine. It was pretty cold at first. The kids didn’t care how cold it was, they wanted their bathing suits on. They had a great time running around on the beach then we headed up to the pool. The pool and jacuzzi were so  nice and warm. The kiddos had a great time. T was so cute playing in the sand. After we went to Ruby’s with grandma/pa. It was the Auto diner so there were some cool old cars there. It was a nice morning. When we got home the kids really wanted to watch the Incredibles again. We let them. Bret worked on fixing a headlight on his car while I worked on the hedges. After we headed to a friend’s pool for a labor day bbq/get together. We had a great time. It wasn’t as warm as I had hoped. The kids were in the pool for a bit but then in the jacuzzi. They were running around a bit, chasing their friends too. It was cute to watch. We enjoyed hanging out with the adults. I was a little worried with the pool so we kept a close eye on the kiddos while talking to the adults. The kids got all warm and then Justin says he wants to take a shower at the pool. I was surprised he got undressed and wanted to take a shower. It is exciting to take a shower outside. When we got home, Cindy was acting like her old self. She was all happy and hyper. Nikki and I took her on a walk around the neighborhood. It was nice hanging out with Nicole. She loved hanging onto the leash. We read books and off to bed the kiddos went.

Well Justin did pretty well with no diaper last night. I woke him up before I went to bed, he was so tired but still went potty. I thought he was dry all night until I went to fix his bed tonight. The sheet thing I put down was a little wet which is weird as his jammies were dry. Anyway I thought he was dry all night so we gave him a new car this morning. Oh well he still was brave as he made the first step to get rid of diapers. I will be doing lots of laundry but he will get it soon. Seemed like a crazy busy day. We invited our neighbors over for lunch but didn’t hear from them until this morning as to whether they could come over or not. They said yes and we went running around. Dad worked on getting Nikki’s new ceiling fan installed while the kids and I ran to the grocery store. Then I got home and cleaned as fast as I could with Michael Buble playing. Michael Blueberry as the kids call him. Justin entertained himself while I cleaned and Nikki was busy helping daddy with the fan. I brought Cindy the dog back to her house for a bit. She went potty in the her house so I had to clean that up, ewww. We had a really nice time with the neighbors. Their little baby fell asleep on me. Nikki was so into the baby. She didn’t even want to eat lunch as she wanted to watch the baby. Nikki ran next door with Bernice to change the baby’s diaper and get a bottle. It is so cute to watch Nikki be so helpful. She even rocked the baby in her car seat a bit. After the neighbor’s left I went back and got Cindy. Then I played with the kiddos while dad worked on the fan some more. The kids and I played games, Cariboo, Don’t Break the Ice, and bowling. They had a blast with bowling. Justin used his cars instead of the ball. It was a fun afternoon with the kiddos. We went out and played too. The kids painted with water their playhouse and anywhere they could in the backyard. They helped me cut the hedge by the front door. The kids got their scissors and helped cut. It was cute. They also helped sweep and pick up all the garden waste. It was fun hanging out with them. They are such good kids but I am bias. We decided to go to the Spectrum tonight. Since it was getting late we just ate in the food court then walked around a bit. The kids went on the carousal. Still the usual animal, Nikki wanted the bunny and Justin wanted the ostrich. Dad was a little sad thinking about that someday the kids won’t want to ride the carousal as they get bigger. They didn’t even care if we rode with them or not. We sat on the bench. Nikki and I went in the pet store while dad and J headed to Dave and Busters to play game. Justin found two car games he loved. He is so funny screaming and getting so excited while he plays. We were all just laughing. Nikki loved the game where the horse moves with the ball. She took it pretty well when she didn’t win. She beat me though when I played with her. It was a fun night. We didn’t get them to bed until late. We were out having too much fun.

We are still enjoying a family fun weekend. But you take the good and the not so good. Dad had to work early this morning but luckily was home. I had to go get a blood test. The place I went to is so screwed up that I was there for an hour and a half waiting and waiting. I hate when people waste my time. I was so hungry when I got home too so that is probably why I was cranky. We took it easy and stayed at home. Justin has been playing with cars and trains and really entertaining himself. It amazes me how he really plays with the majority of his toys. Nikki dressed up as Snow White and is just still holding on to Boo. I really needed to go to the grocery store. I dragged the kiddos while dad finished working. The kids and I took our time and browsed a few stores then went to the grocery store. The kids liked all the samples in the store. I let them get a caramel apple too. They also got to pick something out of the kid’s club basket. Both picked juice boxes. Then we did some water balloons. They had so much fun trying to get daddy. It was fun to watch and a perfect day as it was nice and hot. After we went outside and did a colored sand craft. It was nice just hanging out as a family and having fun together. After getting the mail we got the Incredible movie, so of course the kids couldn’t wait to watch it. They both loved the movie, there was one part Justin didn’t like but the scene quickly changed. After the movie the kids pretended to be the characters, Nicole was Violet and Justin was Dash. Love watching them play when they are being sweet and nice to one another. At dinner, Nikki even gave Justin part of her biscuit. Then we decided to be crazy…we went swimming. The kids thought it was great to swim as it was getting dark. We had a great time at the pool together. So nice not putting on the sunscreen, etc. It is these little family things that I live for. I feel so lucky to have two healthy kids and an incredible husband. We read some books and the kids were fast asleep. Justin didn’t want to sleep with a diaper on, so I put some waterproof pad on his bed. I am ready in the middle of the night if I have to change him/bed. I hope this works. I know he can do it but he is a deep sleeper. We are still dog sitting Cindy. She follows me everywhere, I sometimes feel bad as I am really busy. She has really aged, it is really sad. She can’t see that well anymore and doesn’t really want to go on walks. Having Cindy here makes me think a lot about Tracey. Tracey will always have a special place in my heart. Every time I think about her I just have to smile; she was such a crazy fun dog!

Nikki was so helpful this morning, she was willing to help me with anything. She loves making others happy. She got some pennies and I also played princess with her. We take the princess dolls and go to the park, etc. Justin was busy upstairs in Nikki’s room filling up her tea set things with water. Surprisingly he was pretty neat about it but had to get the water off her dresser. Some friends who we haven’t seen for so long were able to come over. Her kids had a good time playing, I think they are 2 and 3. Nikki loved hanging out with the 2 yr old and helping her mom. Her mom even gave her a quarter for helping (we told her about our penny thing). Justin built a great Geo Trax track himself. Him and Noah played with it for a while. I was really impressed with Justin’s track. We cleaned up and had lunch. Dad only worked a half day today, woo hoo. Off to Disney we went. We had a great day but I am sooooo tired. The kids were tired too. Bret and I split the kids up a little as Nicole didn’t want to go on some rides that Justin wanted to and vice versa. I think one of the best parts of the day were when we all went on the roller coaster in toon town. They loved it. Nikki was happy screaming the entire time and both immediately screamed do it again. We did it again. This time the kids went in front of us, all by themselves. I think they would have gone 10 more times if we let them but I had enough. The kiddos played in Chip and Dales tree house. So cute. There wasn’t much in there but the kids still had a great time. We ate dinner near this princess thing and all of a sudden they announced story time with the princess. Of course we had to see it. After the first story with Snow White dad and Justin went to ride on small world. Then Cinderella came out and told a story. Nikki just loved it! Another highlight was Nikki finally got her Boo doll she has been wanting. The kiddos turned in their pennies they earned. Justin got a cool Tow Mater car. We were almost ready to go but Nikki reminded me we didn’t get on the Pooh ride. So Justin and dad went on the jungle cruise while Nikki and I fought the crowds and went on the ride. It was very sweet to be with just Nikki. Here are some pics from our day:

Nikki told daddy it was a special day in her life because she got so much alone time with mommy. I will remember this always too. That girl knows how to make me smile. Off to bed…………

I didn’t sleep well last night, ugh. Nothing that coffee doesn’t fix. Dad worked from home today. The kids played nicely for awhile this morning while I got caught up on some things. The kids pretended it was snowing in the backyard. They put on hats, gloves, scarves, etc and went out into the cold. They are still playing the Incredibles. I decided we needed to do something but what was the question, so I gave them a bubble bath. I can’t remember the last time I gave them a bath. Mostly I have been showering them at the pool after swimming. They played for a long time in the bath and loved the bubbles. After bath and lunch. The kids dressed up. Justin as a race car driver and Nikki as a cheerleader AKA Eleanor from the chipmunks. I love her hair in pig tails. I had trouble getting pics as they were too busy being goofy.

We played Candy Land Pooh and Friends version. We borrowed it from pre school. Then T came over. T was sound asleep, so I let her sleep on me for a while. She was so snuggly but it got hot! N&J watched Martha Speaks while T slept. T was mellow for a while. T sat and listened while I read Nicole and Justin some books. We basically just played the afternoon at home. After T left we went out front, plus it was a little cooler. Justin drove his car-I was about to vacuum out my car  but then we ran into a bunch of neighbors. So we played instead. Then Nikki finally got her skateboard kitty back from a friend who borrowed it. She was so excited. Justin got his skateboard dog and they played. They held the leashes behind their cars. We finally decided to go grab dinner at the Marketplace. We ate outside, so nice. After dinner we just played. We went over to the frog fountain but the kids just wanted to go up on the escalator to the movie theater over and over and over again. The kids were hyper when we got home. They played outside for  a little bit and we didn’t even get upstairs until 8:30.

Well if we were sending the kiddos to kinder, they would be starting tomorrow. I don’t want them to ever start. This morning we were out early. The kids had a dentist app’t, just a check up. We got out of the house but I needed gas, so we were a little late for the app’t. Nikki was really scared at the dentist. I am not sure if it was to get attention or if it was legitimate. Justin was as brave as can be. He got right into the chair and was happily watching Curious George. He went first. Both kids got great check ups but we need to brush a little longer. The kids didn’t want to leave the office. I read Nikki some books while Justin played on the train table. After we ran to Costco to pick up some pics. The kids watched the movie Up for a little bit. Then we went to pre school again. The kids played really well but you could tell they wanted someone to play with them too. I sat out of the office and tried to interact with them while I worked. I can’t believe how much work this has been but it is getting done, slowly. We came home and the kids were so excited to see Cindy. We stayed at home and played for a bit then headed to Blue Gum. We met dome friends there but N&J really played with each other. They had a great time at the park and didn’t want to leave. When we got home we grabbed the mail. The kiddos received letters from their new pre school teacher. They were so excited to get mail and stickers. It was really cute. Nikki used the stickers and markers to make her teacher a little something. After dinner Nikki and I took Cindy for a little walk. Dad stayed at home with Justin while he went in the jacuzzi. I went for a walk with a friend. The kids were watching part of the Incredibles when I got home. I can’t believe how much the kids love being Dash and Violet from the Incredibles, and we still haven’t seen the movie. We went upstairs and brushed teeth for a longer time. We just cuddled with the kids tonight, so nice.