Hooray

Yesterday M got himself dressed for school all by himself. Shirt, underpants, pants, socks AND shoes. I was absolutely thrilled. I know it sounds like such a little thing but I have been trying to get him to do it for so long and I just got tired of the nagging everyday so I would just dress him myself. (I know I shouldn't have) I was so very proud of himself. He got to go to The Cookie Company after school and big out a cookie as a reward (I also know that you shouldn't reward kids with sugar but WTH). Anyway, we'll see if it continues but at least he knows he can do it now.

A funny about K. Yesterday she was throwing a fit (she does often) and she wasn't getting the response she wanted so she threw herself on the floor and was crying, without tears of course. She then realized how hard the floor was because we have laminate flooring, got up (completely stopped crying) and ran to the carpeted area and fell to the floor yelling and crying. She is so overly dramatic. Maybe acting will be a good career choice for her. Sure was an Oscar award winning performance.

Well getting ready for work. Will write more tomorrow or Sunday.

Fort Natomas

Another fun day! Today was K's day to go to daycare (once per week) so my friend Dyan and I decided to go to Fort Natomas park and lunch. D (her oldest was at preschool) so it was really easy with just the 2 kids. It was such a nice day today too. 68 degrees or so. The kids had a lot much fun pretending they were being chased by monsters. We stayed about an hour and a half then went to Olive Garden for lunch because we both like the Soup and Salad lunch they have there (and the bread). The kids were excellent during lunch.

Tonight before bed, I asked M what his favorite part of the day was. He said "playing at the park with M, and Dyan, oh and you too mom." Why am I alway last? LOL.

It really is starting to get easier having 2 kids. When we got home the kids played outside for about 45 minutes. I can see them from my window and M watches K really well. It was a good break for me. After they came in, I was busy preparing dinner and K (her majesty) wanted yogurt so I gave her some. She was fussy and frustrated (no nap at daycare) and wanted me to feed her but I didn't have time so M did it for me. It was so cute. He said "I'm being really careful Mom." Then he said, "K it's all gone now, are you full now that you've had your yogurt?" He used the cutest little Mommy voice. I took pictures this time.

Cute picture that Dyan took of us on the swings. They are fun no matter how old you are, aren't they?

Dyan took this also. They held hands on the way down. Look at the static electricity in their hair.

Being chased by monsters!

I love this one of the two of them.

I COULD NOT narrow these down. I love all three of them. I like how he's holding his mouth in this one. Why do we do that?

Mr. Serious now. He kept her pretty clean.

I love how she is looking at him in this one. He had to switch arms because his right arm got tired.

Goodnight.
Melissa

Update

There are some truly talented people on this Photography website I frequent (www.twopeasinabucket.com) and I posted the picture of K (brushing her teeth) and asked if anyone wanted to play and make this look really vintage for me and here is what they came up with. I love it.

Just jabber

I'm feeling so much better today! My energy AND appetite is back! M had preschool this morning so K and I just hung around the house. On the way to school this morning M was eating some new healthier dry cereal that I got the other day (by Kashi) and he said "mom, this cereal makes you grow big and strong and makes you POOP." I think Brian must have told him that unless he came up with that on his own. So funny.

After we picked M up from school we played outside and did some chores while K napped. This evening I let the kids help make pizza. They enjoyed it very much. All was going well until K decided she wanted to scrape the cheese we had already put on off the pizza and eat it and wouldn't take no for an answer! M wasn't happy about that either. Wouldn't you know it, she didn't eat one bite of pizza either and she didn't get anything else to eat. I'm so tired of these picky eaters. From now on, if I prepare something they should like and they don't eat it (or at least try it), they don't get anything else or any snacks. She pushed the plate away and said, "don't like it". "Banana, please". I said "I guess you're all done" and immediately got her out of her seat.

I took a lot of pictures today around the house. Here's a cute one of K. Excuse the ugly background.

Couldn't resist taking one of her little feet while she was laying on the floor today. Just look at those curled up toes.

K must have the cleanest teeth of anyone I know. She brushes them several times a day and actually does a pretty good job. I tried experimenting with Photoshop a little and added texture to this photo and adjusted the color to make it look a little vintage. I'm not very good at that yet though. I still like the shot.

Joe Cool with the sunglasses. He refused to smile.

Save some cheese for the pizza, would ya!! Here they are,
my little helpers.

K eventually started throwing the cheese on the pizza
but M was very careful.

Off to bed. Melissa

Thank you Brian

I've been so sick since Thursday night so I haven't had the energy to blog. Kyla woke up at midnight on Thursday and while I was dealing with her I started vomiting and was sick all night and didn't really start feeling better until today. Body achy, headache, stomachache, nausea... the works. No energy at all. I owe a huge thanks to my wonderful husband for not only listening to me moan and groan about not feeling well but for watching the kids and doing EVERYTHING for 3 days!! He let me sleep the entire time and rest... thank goodness because I was so weak and tired. He kept telling me "I got this" and to go upstairs and sleep until I felt better.

The other very nice thing that he did was let me go to the outlets with Dyan this morning (even though he has had the kids all weekend by himself) and not only watch our 2 kids but had Dyan bring M (her little girl) over and he watched her also. He said "what's 1 more, if I'm going to watch our 2". He watched all 3 of the kids, played and had fed them lunch (grilled cheese's and strawberries) by the time we got home at 12:45. I don't know of many hubby's that would babysit someone else's kids as well as our own. I love that we give each other free time and there are never any arguments about it. He always says "did you like to hang out with your friends or just be alone before you had kids... well, that doesn't change just because you had them". He encourages me to get out and do things I enjoy even if it means he has to stay home with the kids. I'm very lucky. Thank you Brian for a very relaxing morning of shopping and girl time. (I didn't spend too much)

We took Roscoe and the kids to the Dog Park which just opened near us and went out for dinner tonight. Now that I feel better, I'm starving. It was so nice here today.

This morning M said "mom, when I'm bigger I'm going to drive YOU to Starbuck's and get you a coffee". He can be the sweetest. He was kind of crabby the rest of the day and actually had to have a few time outs. I think M will be very sensitive and kind and will probably make a wonderful husband to a very lucky girl someday. He's also very bright and is into making up his own songs and singing them to us. They are so cute, I wish I would have written down the words.

K can almost sing the entire ABC's... she loves music and to sing. She sings This Old Man all the time. I'm not sure where she learned it. She also loves Twinkle, Twinkle. I think she'll be very outspoken and social. Athletic. I do thinks she'll be a challenge as a teenager.

A few pictures so it's not all words.

M and I finger painting

At a park in San Francisco... brrr, it was so cold.

Just playing, learning Manual Mode some more.

More finger painting photos. Rainy day.

Goodnight for now... Melissa

Hangin' out around the house

Well I have been a little under the weather for the last few days (Brian too). We decided to take Nyquil last night because we both had coughs and bad sore throats. Wow, talk about a hang over!! I have just had the blahs all day today. Zero energy... nada. I did muster up enough to take the kids to Funtastic again. It's just so easy... you can actually SIT and WATCH them play. There were about 20 kids there and they had a blast. I was a little worried because after about 10 minutes K went to the door and said "wanna go" over and over but we worked past it. Booked M's 4th birthday party for there. As soon as I got home though I was beat and begged M to let me rest for 1 hour. Thank you Scooby Doo also. M did the cutest thing tonight. He fed K her yogurt at dinner (I forgot to take a picture... gasp). She can do it herself but it is so messy so I asked him to help. He has been VERY good lately. He's my right hand man and helps me a lot with K. Tonight while they were eating dinner told K that he loved her.

Last night I was talking to Brian because I've been talking about taking the kids to Build A Bear and we were talking about how pricey it is. I told him my friend from work takes both her grandkids and has to spend about $50 each. He said "what". Then I proceeded to tell him that that included an outfit. Then he said (completely seriously) "for the kids". I'm so glad he has dingy moments too. He still teases me about the time (7 years ago) that we went to Arco Arena and I went to the snack bar to get a beer and the sign read "2 Beer Limit". I nervously waited in line and placed my order because I only wanted one!! When I got back to my seat and told him he laughed hysterically. He said LIMIT Melissa and explained it to me. Duh.

A few pics from around the house (taken over the last week or so)

I couldn't resist this. I was changing sheets so decided to put him in the pillow case.

It took him a while but he finally got his head out but couldn't get his arms out. I got this cute face and then he fell over.

Don't ya just love sidewalk chalk? I wish I could sit like that.

Helping Mommy get ready.

She does this with the pretend tongs all the time. She thinks they're headphones.

Blowing bubbles.

My friend Michelle sent me an e-mail the other day and it had the signs on it and explained personality characteristics for each sign. I couldn't believe how right on it was for my kids. Especially K. Here it is...


K - ARIES - The Daredevil (Mar 21 - April 19) Energetic. Adventurous and spontaneous. Confident and enthusiastic. Fun. Loves a challenge. EXTREMELY impatient. Sometimes selfish. Short fuse. (Easily angered.) Lively, passionate, and sharp wit. Outgoing. Lose interest quickly - easily bored. Egotistical. Courageous and assertive. Tends to be physical and athletic.

M - TAURUS - The Enduring One (April 20 - May 20) Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance. Solid beings that are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts. Take pride in their beauty. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice. Loving and kind. Loves hard - passionate. Express themselves emotionally. Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined. Indulge themselves often. Very generous.

More snow play.

It's been a few days since I've blogged. I've just been so busy with work and my in-laws were in town and we worked on our floor all weekend. We're almost done with the flooring, we're done with all of the common areas. Now we just have baseboards and finish work to do... then we'll start on the craft room and the kids playroom. We're going to paint that room first though.

Something cute that M said... he was outside with me on Saturday and I was pulling weeds and I had my arm out to reach for a weed and he said "that's a really good stretch mom". Where does he gets these things from? Maybe they do stretching exercises at school or something.

Brian and I are absolutely exhausted today. Feels like we have a newborn again. We played musical beds last night. We went to bed last night right on schedule at 10:00 pm. Around 1 am K woke up crying so Brian took her downstairs to try to get her to sleep again. She fell right asleep but when he put her in her crib she cried and tried to climb out (oh yeah, she can get out now so we're going to be shopping for big girl beds soon). So no crying it out for her. Then he brought her to our room, I sent him to the couch (so at least one of us could get some sleep). She was so restless and wouldn't hold still and I had tried everything (I even went to the guest bed for a while but I was afraid she would fall out of my tall bed). At approx 3:30 I went to get Brian and told him that he had to relieve me for a while because I was miserably tired. So, I stayed on the couch (freezing to death I might ad) while he went upstairs with her. At 4:00 we're both up now because she threw up and had terrible gas. Brian stripped the bed and let me sleep a little longer on the couch because I had to get up and take M to school. K never fell back asleep so basically she was up since 1 am. Bet you could guess what her mood has been all day today. She's asleep right now thank goodness. Please let tonight be better.

We went to the snow again yesterday with our friends Monte and Dyan and their 2 kiddos. We left K at daycare because she absolutely hates the snow. It was a beautifully warm day. Almost too warm for sweatshirts. Had a picnic lunch up there and the kids played and had a blast. What a good day we all had. Of course, here are a few pictures.

D and M on the sled together. D's 5 years old and so brave. See how he's just on his knees. They laughed the whole way down this time. The 2nd time they went though, M cried because he had to put his hand down to keep them from turning over and he didn't have gloves on because we couldn't find any.

M and I. Laughing hysterically.

Daddy's turn... the powdery (is that a word?) snow kept shooting up and hitting M in the face.

Where did he go?

The anticipation... M kept his eyes closed.

Here are a few of my favorite things right now...


C.O. Bigelow Mentha Cinnamint Lip Shine. I'm using this all the time on my lips. 3 for $15 at Bath and Body works. Feels great.

NESTLÉ® ABUELITA® Chocolate

For generations, Nestle® Chocolate Abuelita® has been an essential part of the Hispanic kitchen. Its delicious and frothy touch, gives an exquisite “calor de hogar” taste. Use it to bring authentic taste to your more traditional dishes, like “mole”. And for those times when you have little time and big cravings, enjoy Abuelita Instantáneo any time of the year.

Brian turned me on to this stuff. I get the one on the far right and it's just in and big block and you melt it in milk on the stovetop and it is the yummiest hot chocolate ever! Has kind of a spicy flavor. Brian's mom used to make this for them when they were growing up. Try it, you'll be hooked.


And my 3rd favorite thing right now... www.etsy.com. I've haven't bought anything from there yet but I look there all the time for inspiration and unique gift ideas. It's kind of like ebay but things aren't up for auction... they are just up for purchase and all items are handmade. You can find anything from pottery, artwork, handmade cards and crafts, purses, camera and diaper bags, handmade jewelry, bows and hair things for babies, clothing and so much more. Give it a look.

Well, that's all for now.... Melissa

Happy Valentine's Day

Today, M had a party at his school so because I was off and K went to daycare I was able to go in and help with the party. First they exchanged valentine's, then they enjoyed heart-shaped pizza, jello with marshmallows, apples and caramel dip, craisins, cookies and cupcakes. Boy, was M on a sugar rush for the rest of the day. On our way out of school M said "I like it when you come and see me at school, mom".

Every so often they do like each other. K is trying to get away here though.

A really cute picture of M exchanging valentine's with a little girl at school.

And with the boys...

Enjoying their Valentine's Day party. I couldn't believe how good all of the kids were and how quiet it was in the room. They wore the most adorable hats that they made last week and had cute heart-shaped placemats that they stamped with all kinds of different shaped cookie-cutters (with paint).

M eating the sprinkles off of the chocolate cupcakes. Mommy helped him eat that yummy treat!

K also had a party today at her daycare. I don't have any pictures from the party yet but here she is looking through her valentine's and goodie bag when we got home.

Do you think she likes it! I dare you to try to take a lick! Sharing is not one of her good qualities.

I too exhausted to write more tonight! I've been so busy with work and the kids. I had to drive back to my hometown to go to a funeral yesterday (my Aunt Arminta- my dad's sister). I loved her very much and she will surely be missed. I haven't really seen Brian in a week and a half... he was out of town for work, then worked his regular shifts and then I had to go out of town. We're going on a date on Saturday (out to dinner) and he won't tell me where we're going yet. I can't wait.

Will write more later... hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day.

Sacramento Zoo

Here are a few pictures from our day at the Sacramento Zoo on Monday. I love working the evening shift because even on the days that I work, we can go and do fun things together. The bummer is that I am absolutely exhausted by the time I get home at night. We had a nice time at the zoo. We have annual passes so we go there very often. It's small but the kids enjoy it. K walked most of the time. She kept us up and running that's for sure. We lost M for a second!! Brian and I were sitting and watching the lemur's and M had been resting in the stroller and I went to talk to him and he was GONE. He wasn't in the stroller and I didn't see him get out. Your heart absolutely goes in your throat for that split-second. I looked around and I saw him a little ways away. He got a little talking too about that!

An action shot of M jumping off the mushroom.

I wasn't really happy with any of my pictures. A lot of them were in patchy sun/shade which is never good for me. There is definately a learning curve to shooting in Manual Mode. I guess I just have to practice and study more. I'm looking into a photography class online.

Funtastic!

This morning the kids and I went to the Funtastic Play Center. It's kind of like a really big, much cleaner McDonald's Playland. It's totally kid friendly and safe and has a cafe for a hot cup of joe in side. The kiddos had so much fun climbing and jumping and playing with all of the other children there. M was sweating he was playing so hard. We were there about 2 1/2 hours. K enjoyed it for about 2 hours and the last 30 minutes were filled with "wanna go" over and over and very loudly. I had packed a wonderful lunch to eat there but they wouldn't let us bring food in (didn't know that) so we drove around in search of cranky's (cranes for those of you who don't have kids... Thomas the Train) to park and watch while we ate our lunch in the car. I wasn't about to make a mess in the house if we didn't have to and I had been talking about our "picnic". We found a "cranky" near our house and watched him work while we at our lunch.

Brian has been gone all week! The kids have been pretty good and we've been doing a lot of fun things but I am definately ready for him to get home. I miss his companionship. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be a single parent. I do feel like I'm a single parent 1/3 of the time (when Brian's at work) and 1/3 of the time I'm at work. I think he is really enjoying himself in San Diego... I'm so jealous. He went out to a big Mardi Gras celebration last night. Thank goodness he'll be home soon.

My favorite things from today...

1. An unsolicited "because I love you" from M today. Just doesn't happen as much as it used to. He's growing up so fast.

2. Laughing at K walking around with 2 "fies" in her mouth this morning (pacifiers).

3. Being able to drink a HOT cup of coffee and relax at a table with a magazine while the kids played at Funtastic. I felt like an adult again. It was short lived though. They kept wanting me to play with them.

4. Watching Tom and Jerry in my bed with the kids tonight before putting them to bed. Laughing out loud. Sometimes M holds my hand while we watch it.

5. The BIG bear hug K gives me every morning when I go in to get her out of her crib. She will hold on to me and cuddle me until I put her down.


Least Favorite things from today...

1. As I'm on the computer this morning I hear Mason yell "mom, you have to come and see this". I'm half asleep on the computer and I grumpily say "what"... thinking it's a toy commercial. Mason says "Roscoe POOPED in your room". That got me up and running! Thank god, just a little and it was on his blanket!! What's up with that. He's only done that one other time.

2. As with everyday... dinnertime. I don't know what it is with my children. Even if I give them what they like "toddler food". They don't eat and they whine the entire time. The second you sit down and try to eat your food they NEED or WANT something or they drop something on the floor or whatever. Then you finally get to sit down and eat your cold food and they are all done. K will repeat "all done" until you get her down. Not peaceful or relaxing. They are usually quite cranky by that time of the day and I swear my kids just don't have an appetite. I think I could just forget to feed them all day and they wouldn't say a thing.

I don't think I have anything else. Today was a pretty nice day.


Here are a few pictures from our day. Still trying to learn how to shoot in Manual Mode. Most of the pictures didn't turn out well (should have just used Auto Mode) but if I don't practice, I'll never learn, right? The lighting was terrible and M and K were on the move the entire time.

There's lots of soft things to jump and play on.

They have a room to color in. K kept going in and out of there and coloring. After each time she would sing "clean up, clean up" and put all of her colors and paper away. Do you think she'll stay that way? Doubt it.

M and his new friend. They had a blast together.

Arts and Crafts

This morning Brian got home from work and I had a MOMS Club event to go to at the clubhouse. It was a Valentine's Card making party. I decided to just take M and K stayed home with her dad. We had a great time, M made 3 different cards with stickers, doilies, those foamy things and crayons. He was so into it. I'm so bummed though. I took my camera (of course), snapped some wonderful pictures of him decorating the cards and eating red cookies and then I got home and my memory card was still in my computer!!! Why would my camera still act like it's taking pictures with no card in it? Bummed! Called my friend Dyan and she has a few pictures with Mason in them that she will e-mail to me. I surely won't do that again!

I've been working on doing more organized projects at home that we can all do together. I went to Michael's and found a few fun craft projects for us to do at home. K has painted with water but never with actual paints so I thought this would be really fun for her. These are Valentine's Day gifts that have a little clothes-pin thingy that you put pictures in. I'm not going to say who they're for yet. We did these last night.

I love the colors M chose.

K enjoyed it. She sure used a lot of paint!! She only wanted to use this reddish color and she used the entire tub of it. She had a huge fit when I said we were done. She cried and said "more color".

Serious business.

Not bad for a 1 year old! She got a little on the tablecloth, her chair and her shirt. (washable of course). All in all I thought it would be much worse. M didn't get any paint anywhere. That's just his personality.