Got nothin'

Heading out on a road trip tomorrow afternoon to my mom's. Hope the drive goes smoothly.

Melissa

Brian update

I heard from Brian this morning. Poor guy, he's been really roughing it at the Holiday Inn in Chico, CA!!! What?? He's been gone for 2 days and hasn't fought any fire yet!! Yes, I'm jealous that he's vacationing... probably relaxing by the pool right now. Just kidding. He said, he's been on the phone a lot with the Incident Command Center. He'll start 24 hours on tomorrow morning and said he wouldn't be surprised if they moved him to the Shasta-Trinity Fire. It's really burning up there.

Well, I'm waiting for Mike (Brian's Dad) to bring the kids home and really enjoying some free time.
Mel

Fires

Brian was sent this morning to the Butte Lightning Complex Fires. He is expected to be there at least a week. The engine he's on is predicted to be on fires for the next 6 weeks. I think he was a little excited this morning to be going. He really loves what he does. Thankfull, Brian's parents are watching the kids today in Minden, NV so I can work but I'll have to call in for tomorrow because they are going back to Southern California. Things become so tricky once you have kids with childcare issues. I'm going to get out of town this week and visit Diina (my friend from Nursing School) in Clovis and my family in Coalinga. Sure wish Brian would be here for the 4th of July though.

Off to get ready for work... Melissa

Music

I couldn't go to sleep so I played around with my blog a little (notice the picture) and added music. You can stroll down to the bottom of the page and turn it off (for those of you computer challenged, just push the little pause button) if you don't like it and by all means, please leave me a comment (I love comments) if you think it's annoying or you want me to remove it. I'm not sure about it yet. A little change is good though, huh?

Off to bed, again.
Mel

Lollipops!!

Lollipops... hate em'. Let me explain, I've had 2 huge fits in the last 2 days over lollipops!! Yesterday K had her last swim class and they give lollipops out with a little certificate. Well, M's last day of swim class wasn't until tonight so of course, he saw that she got one and threw a little fit at the pool. Finally, I was just frustrated so I told him to go and ask his teacher if he wanted one but I wasn't going too. Well, she calmly explained to him that he would get his today. The entire way home he kept saying "I'm so sad!!". (over and over in the most whiny, annoying voice ever). I'm not joking, he said it at least 20 times. Finally I said, I'm sad too because you won't stop whining, what would you like me to do? That didn't go over well, he screamed "no you're not". I offered him a "smaller" one at home and he took it but wasn't happy about it.

Then today while M was in school, K and I went to The Club and after I picked her up from Child Care she got a lollipop. She always gets the purple one (thinking it's grape). Well, today I didn't notice until we were in the car but she got the Mystery Flavor and it was blue. (gasp) Let me tell you, she held it in her hand (without taking one lick) and cried for 3o minutes while we went to get M. If looks could kill... I'd be dead. She was so mad at me, she wouldn't even look at me. She never ate it either.

M wore goggles today for his swim lesson and did so well. He is kind of swimming underwater now. He loves it and he really liked his teacher. He'll have a new teacher Monday. K takes a 2 week break and then starts a Level 2 class with M.

So ready for Brian to get home... all was fine until this afternoon. He's been on a 72 hour shift. The kids were fighting, M was trying to hit the dog with the fake fish on his fishing pole (launching it at him). I bought K a My Little Pony at Target today and M kept grabbing it and running from her. He was being a little stinker. I put him on time out and he kept sticking his tongue out at me and scooting to the bottom of the steps and when I came around the corner he would run back up. He lost a few toys and had about a 10 minute time out for that. All of this while I'm trying to prepare dinner, of course. There's a good chance Brian will have to go on one of those fires... I'm just hoping it won't be until Sunday or Monday. I'll have to call in to work those days but what else can I do? Not having any family around here makes things so hard... and lonely at times. Strange that you can be lonely yet never be alone. I almost always have at least one child with me at all times.

Found another food K will eat... baked potatoes. (of course, the carb/sugar girl, huh) She kept saying deeeeelicious while she was eating it. Her definate favorite food right now is pancakes. She'll ask for them every meal.

My first try with a self-timer. K was like "what are you doing." It's a little blurry but at least we're both in there.

K and I did crafts while M was in school.

She's careful.

Not sure when I'll have time to blog again. I work a lot this week.
Melissa

Around the house

Today was a nice day around here with just M. K went to daycare. This morning we went to the movies with M and Dyan (D was at preschool). We saw Rugrats in Paris... definately not the best movie I've seen but it was entertaining. The kids were good for 1 hour and 15 minutes before they started getting bored (I was too). Throughout the summer, Regal Cinemas has free movies for the kids every Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10:00 am. You can't beat that, if they get bored you can just leave and not feel like you wasted any money. After the movies, we all went to lunch. Dyan is going back home for 3 weeks. I'll miss her and probably lose my sanity without her here to talk to. When we got home I was able to watch one of my favorite shows in peace... The Deadliest Catch. I enjoy that show so much, I feel like I low each of the characters. Brian laughs at me and asks me if I'm going to watch Black Gold too. He's not much of a reality TV buff. Afterwards, we did a craft project which I enjoyed also. Before I knew it, it was time to get K. Amazing how fast the clock moves when you only have one or zero kids.

The kids have been very good lately. Yesterday M had a time out though (probably for beating on K) and during the time out he kept yelling at me "I don't like you and I want you to go to work all of the time." Not one of the joyous motherhood moments I had imagined before I had children. By bedtime we were friends again. He told me I was his best friend during his milk and then before I closed his door while he was going to be he said, "mom, you're my girlfriend and I'm your boyfriend." Earlier in the day he had called me his "favorite angel."

My concerns for the kids in regards to their personalities are that I'm afraid M won't come out of his shell and will always be the quiet kid and won't be more outspoken (I know, he's only 4). His personality is difficulty to describe. One on one or with just a few kids around with a teacher he's fine, he talks the swim teachers leg off but when he's in a classroom and called upon he freezes. He always looks a little awkward when I drop him off at school for a few minutes being around the other kids. Thankfully when I pick him up, he's fine and playing with everyone. I think he needs to warm up a little.

And for K, just the opposite, I'm afraid that she'll be perceived as a brat (which she really isn't). She's just very outspoken. If she doesn't want to do something, trust me, you can't talk her into it. During swim class, when she's doesn't want to do it anymore she'll yell, "all done, wanna go home, need a towel." Loudly, over and over and she doesn't care who hears it. She is very hard headed and knows what she wants... very independent. She isn't afraid of new situations. The other day while on our field trip to the zoo with M's class, she had no problems being the only girl (let alone the only 2 year old) playing on this stage thing. One of the other boys must be taking karate classes and was practicing his kicks and she was right there laughing with him and practicing kicks as well. She'll swing those arms and walk into the park and say to everyone, "I'm K."

K making a fashion statement. Notice the BIG GIRL panties. Potty training is going well. She'll always go at least a little when you put her on the potty but she won't always tell you. She'll do anything for candy! Much easier than M was.

M looking in his photo album. (random shot around the house)

The art project we did today (I think I enjoyed it more than him). They are sun-catchers that you paint. They have tons of different ones at Walmart and they are super cheap. He was excited I surprised him with the pirate one.

The finished product (took him about 3 minutes). By the time I set everything up and started on mine, he was done!

Will write more tomorrow. Off to clean and pack lunches (one of my least favorites things to do at night and I'm not sure why).

Congratulations Jim and Sue

Saturday night we had a surprise party for Jim and Sue's 25th wedding anniversary. My mom and I have been working on this for about 6 months and can you believe it went off without a hitch! It was a complete surprise which is amazing because Coalinga is such a small town I thought for sure someone would spill the beans. They thought they were going out to dinner with Gail and Gerard but on the way Gerard said he had to stop by the Parks and Recreation because a keg he had there wasn't working (he owns a liquor store). They walked in and were greeted by 75-85 of their closest friends. Sue said "I thought it was strange that I knew everyone at this party." Dingbat. It was so much fun. The food was delicious, the decorations turned out gorgeous (Gerbera Daisies, black napkins, white tablecloths and lots of balloons) and the DJ played fun music. Classic rock stuff. Everyone was there to have a good time. Brian and I had a sitter watch the kids at my moms house. I took 250 pictures so it was difficult to narrow this post down to a few.

Right after the "surprise". Both of their faces were beet red.

The happy couple after 25 years of marriage. I have to laugh because they always strike this same pose for every picture.

The girls had to get the party started and eventually the boys came out to dance too.

Brian was taking a picture of Carol (my sister) and I and she said something funny so we both couldn't stop laughing for the picture. I love this one though. We have the same noses don't we? I wish we could see each other more because when we do get together it's so much fun. We think alike that's for sure.

We were sitting at the table and my sister made a wise crack about how she could sing this song better than the singer (don't remember which song it was) so I couldn't help myself... I ran over to the DJ and got the cordless microphone for her. Yes, I threw her under the bus with that one but we all laughed so hard.

The Hall.

Couldn't resist. Had to post these beautiful centerpieces. They were just the right size, not to tall to talk over.

Will write more later... off to get M from preschool.
Melissa

Just a funny.

These just crack me up. Click on it to enlarge.
Melissa

K's Swim Lesson

No time to write but here are a few pictures I snapped from K's swim lesson with her Daddy yesterday. She's the star of the class for sure.

I love this first one. They are having so much fun together. Look how big Brian's hand looks holding onto hers.

Blowing bubbles.

Doing the Hokey Pokey... put your left ear in.

Dylan and Brenda's Wedding

Wow, has it been a busy week. Friday night my mom came into town to watch the kids (thank goodness) so we could go to the rehearsal dinner. The dinner was at the Forrester in Camino. Such a beautiful area. Brian was best man for the wedding. He and Dylan have known each other for about 10 years (I think) and worked together for Lake Valley Fire Department in South Lake Tahoe.

We got back into town from the wedding on Sunday and my mom went home. We decided to have an easy day and celebrated Father's Day by hanging out and swimming at The Club. The kids are part fish these days. They enjoy swimming so much and are just worn out after. I worked a 15 hour shift on Monday and an 8 hour shift on Tuesday so I have just been exhausted since (I'm old). As an LVN I worked long shifts like that and went out and partied after, woke up the next day and did it again. No more of that.

Brian and I at the wedding.

I love this one of Brian before the wedding.

I was getting sleepy and couldn't decide between a coffee and a beer so Brian suggested I have both (at the same time). I might add, it's not really the best combination. Yes, we had already had a few cocktails by now. (and a sober driver)

Brian gave the most wonderful speech. He talked about the brotherhood that he and Dylan share and some of the things Dylan has taught him. He really is a natural at public speaking. The audience was captivated.

The other day M said I was a "Bossy-Lady-Mommy" and called Brian a "Macho-Man-Daddy!!" He must be getting these things from the playground at school. This morning when I dropped him off he said, "have a good day, good sport." He sure makes me laugh sometimes. K was quite a pill today... she has been for the past few days. I'm not sure if she's getting her molars or what. She cried all the way to Woodland because she didn't like what she was wearing and said "want jammies on!" She is having these fits now where she gets jumping mad. She'll scream and jump up and down yelling and crying. It really is hard not to laugh at that.

Will write more later. Melissa

Discovery Kingdom

Today M and I met my friend Amy (and her friends and family) at Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. We worked the night shift together at Coalinga Regional Medical Center years ago. (my hometown) We used to have so much fun around there at night too. It was a slow ER so we watched movies, played games and just hung out a lot the time. (Boy, do I miss that ER) I decided to leave K at Willy's because it's just too hard to take both of them somewhere like that by myself (out-numbered) and she is too small for most of the rides anyways. M is becoming quite the little daredevil. He rode a ton of rides and wasn't scared once... all kids rides though. Then I took him on the Whitewater Rafting ride (the circular-tube thing that you go down the rapids on) and he loved it. We got drenched and he was giggling the entire time. After we got off he said "I want to go on that again!!" At bedtime tonight we were laying in bed and talking I asked him what the favorite part of the day was and he said he really liked the train ride. I said "oh, the Thomas the Train Ride" and he said "no the one you ride on to get the the place." WHAT, so I could have saved myself the $$$, paid for the parking and just taken him on the Tram ride? Silly boy.

All of us on the Bertie the Bus ride (Amy is in the black shirt on the right).

The girls and Bugs Bunny.

M is thrilled with Bugs Bunny as you can see (this was forced).

This morning M said "Mom, do your eyes close like this when you yawn?" As he was demonstrating a squinting like motion with his eyes. Then he said, "mine do." Made me laugh.

Swim classes are going well, the Parent-Tot teacher said K is ready for real swim lessons. She's unbelievable. She's jumping in off the side now and can monkey crawl around on the sides. She loves every minute of it too. The only thing that makes me nervous is when she jumps in from the side she barely jumps and almost hits the back of her head on the side of the pool. Of course, she doesn't want to hold my hand or let me help her at all. "I do it myself!!" Today I had to insist she hold on to my hands so I could pull her out further into the water. After class we practiced jumping out further on dry land. M is doing much better also... he's getting more comfortable floating and putting his face underwater. He's enjoying himself more during class also.

M and I had a strange conversation about death and dying on the way to Willy's. He said "why did your daddy die, mommy?" I'm not sure where that came from, and it really threw me for a loop. Then he wanted to know where, when and if I was there. Over and over. I tried to explain the best that I could but he really doesn't understand much at the age of 4. I told him he just wasn't healthy. So then M said "what was he eating?" He probably said that because I always try to explain and coerce him to eat right so he'll "be healthy". After about 5 minutes (I was thankful that the conversation was over) he said "did your Daddy die from a rattlesnake bite?" I'm careful in what I tell him because I've always heard that you don't want to explain too much because they may then become fearful of losing you or dying themselves.

Exhausted

Boy when M does fall asleep during the day he is sure out!! He fell asleep in the playroom today and it took me at least 20 minutes to get him to wake up. Then he moved to the couch and fell asleep again in the strangest position. Waking him up is like waking a grizzly bear because he is so grouchy.

Today we had a lazy day. We were all so tired. The kids were content with just hanging out around the house. Thank goodness. Brian is away on a bachelor party tonight. Bet he's having fun. I'm sure they are all just hanging out playing Scrabble, right?

Today, K pooped twice in about 2 hours and I was teasing her and saying "how many times are you going to poop today, K." Then M said "mom, K's a POOP-MAKING MACHINE." I don't know where he got that from, maybe Brian says it. Sure made me laugh.

Comfy.

I was washing dishes and making dinner and even that wouldn't wake him up.

Almost there. At least he's upright. This is how I feel when they wake me up in the morning!!

I'm hooked on Off The Mark. They have the best cartoons. This one just cracked me up!
Anyone thats been to a bar will get a good laugh.

Our carrots

We planted carrots, cilantro and blueberries a few months ago and yesterday Brian decided to pull out some of our carrots. M had a great time helping and was amazed that we had grown our own carrots. He was pretending he was a bunny while he was eating them. He wants to take some to his school to feed the bunnies there. Most of the carrots were really small but still yummy. I can't wait to plant some more... Brian wants to plant Thyme next.

Our Bunny Rabbit

Yesterday was his last day in the Sky Blue Room so we took flowers to Teachers Angela and Julie. We'll miss them. Sorry about the horrible pictures but it was so dark in there and M wasn't cooperating very well.

We got out the cow Halloween costume (that M wore 2 years ago) to play with and now K refuses to take it off. She wants it on ALL the time and walks around the house saying "moooooo."

M just chillin'

So good

Well, I went to see Sex and The City today and it was excellent. I loved every minute of it... wouldn't change a thing. It was a long movie, like 2 1/2 hours but I didn't want it to end and didn't realize until I got out just how long it was. You didn't have to be a faithful viewer of the show to enjoy it... although I watched my fair share.

After I got home, M and I went for a bike ride. It started out so well. He wasn't having a great time. At one point he saw some Daffodils and said "look at the Affadillo's Mom." We rode by and saw Dyan and the kids and all was going well until we got about 1/3 of a mile from home when he broke into tears and started crying "I want you, Mom" at the top of his lungs. He wanted to stop riding his bike and get on the back of mine (in the baby seat). How was I supposed to get his bike home and I don't think he would even fit. "My legs are tired, Mom" as he's sobbing over and over. We made it home, he rode the entire way but it definately wasn't pleasant.

Swim lessons are going well. Both kids love it. Yesterday it was a little chilly here and the wind was really blowing so Brian said none of the kids in the Parent-Tot class enjoyed it. They were all crying. K was the only one that would jump off the side while straddling a noodle. She'll try anything, that girl. Lately though, she freaks out if she sees a bug. FREAKS OUT. Even if it's a fly, moth... whatever. And if one gets in the car... you're going to hear it, that's for sure.

We didn't have Parent-Tot class today so Brian and K went swimming and I took pictures of M. Here are a few.

Putting his face in... barely.

A little bit of a smile and a little bit of "I'm freezing". He had just gotten out.

K acting so cute. Here she is saying "cheese" to the camera.

Brian and M just talking and cuddling after swim class. (They didn't even know I was taking pictures)

That's all for tonight.

So excited.

Well Brian came home this morning from dropping M off at school and he usually brings me a coffee. This morning he didn't... so I was pouting and whining about how nice a coffee would have been when he told me I could get one on my way. I said "on my way where". He said "Sex and The City starts at 11:15 am and I thought you might want to go!" Do I have the best husband ever? Anyways, I let you all know how it was later and I'm planning to take pictures of M during his swim lessons tonight.

Off to enjoy my morning off.
Melissa

Swim Class

K was very excited for her swim class (she is part fish) but M wasn't so sure. He really wanted me to be in the water with me. I was in the same pool but a little ways down with K. (Parent-Tot Class) We saw one of the teachers from last year and he was talking to M. M was getting embarrassed and I guess to make small talk he said "my Daddy's a firefighter, actually he's a Captain." The teacher said "oh, really", then M proceeded to tell him about his shark swim shoes. It was hilarious. I kind of wish he would have gotten him this year but his current teacher seems great too. When it was time for class to start he just walked onto the step and told the teacher "I'm M". I peeked in on him every now and then and it seemed like he was doing really well. He was monkey-climbing down the side of the pool, used the noodle and floated on his back a little while kicking although he looked a little nervous with this.

K was her crazy self as usual. She loved the water and didn't mind that it was cold. While a lot of the other kids were screaming she was laughing with her loud bear laugh. I dunked her under a few times while we all sang "I'm a Little Teapot" and it didn't bother her a bit. For the first 10 minutes she kept trying to pull my hands off her and saying "let go, I do it." The teacher was cracking up and said she'd never seen anything like it. After class was out she screamed and threw a fit for 30 minutes because she wanted to keep swimming. It was a real joy trying to get her cover up and shoes on as you might imagine. She has NO nervousness in the water or in any given social situation really. She'll walk into a play area swinging her arms around like she owns the place. She's loud, boisterous, independent and fun loving. She has to do everything herself now (get in the car, close the doors, fasten herself in he seat, brush her own teeth, etc) and boy if she can't watch out. When we got home we were rolling around and playing on the floor and she laughed ha, ha, ha, "I'm funny." I want her to stay this small and cute.

M made his bed again today without even being asked. I'm not sure why, but I like it! Well, that's all of now. I'm beat and can't wait for Brian to get home tomorrow.

On our way to swim class.

Alone time with M

Today K went to Willy's and M and I just hung out. We went to Ikea (they have a huge play area for the kids) and free child care for 1 1/2 hours!!! After he played we had lunch at the snack bar. It wasn't bad and so cheap. I told him we could do whatever he wanted today and he asked if we could go on a bike ride. Sounded like a great idea to me, he got a new bike for his birthday. My gosh he has endurance. We rode for at least an hour and he still didn't want to go home!! He kept looking at me and smiling, then he would say "this is fun, mom." Every so often he would say "I like those pink flowers or something and look at that cool door." He really is a good boy.

Tonight they both start swim lessons and I don't think he's very excited about it. We'll see how that goes. More later.

Look at that pose.

Funderland

Yesterday Dyan and I went to Dinner My Way and prepared 6 meals. It really is the way to go. A whole lot more fun than preparing (and cleaning up) at home. We had our coffee/diet coke, the music was playing and we had a good time making most of the same meals. After we were done (we didn't want to go home quite so soon) we went to BJ's for lunch before heading home (and to reality). Amongst other things I made Bacon Wrapped Chicken, Asian Been, Carne Asada and Bruschetta Chicken. Brian and I tried our first meal last night... the Asian Beef and it was delicious. Dyan had Apricot Glazed Pork Chops tonight and said it was yummy. This will definately be a monthly event. It's more cost effective than buying the food from the store and preparing it at home.

The Chefs.

It's so organized, you really could do 6 meals in 1 or 1 1/2 hours but we weren't in any hurry.

This morning I wanted to get the kids out of the house and do something fun while the weather was so nice so we headed off to the zoo. We go very often because of our membership. We had a little change of plans once we got to Land Park and decided to go to Funderland instead. We have never been before. It just has a lot of little rides, the perfect size for toddlers. The kids had so much fun and rode 7 or 8 rides each. M is growing up right before my eyes. We were riding the carousel (the fastest one I've ever been on, my gosh) and I was standing in between him and K. I had my hand on his back and he said "get your hand off me, I don't need it."

Then tonight when we got home for some reason he walked upstairs, went into his room and made his bed... perfectly. I don't know where that came from. He's never done that before and I've never asked him to. When I asked him why he said, "I just thought I could, so I did." Simple as that.

K wasn't too sure about the Octopus ride the first time but kept asking to go on it again. She was fine the second time for a few minutes and then kept repeating "all done, want off."

I had to go with K on this log ride so M had to go by himself. I was a little worried about him because he can be a real chicken but he loved it and was sure proud of himself when he got off. He asked to go again right away.

M and I thought the teacups were fun. He kept saying "faster, faster" but I was afraid K would throw up. She looked pretty dizzy after the ride. Look at that cute smile M had.

We were supposed to share this corn dog (K and I). She ate it like corn on the cob and hardly shared any of it!!

This first time, M went by himself and I rode with K. The second time around I was able to stand on the sidelines. I'm so glad the kids are growing up a little and I am able to JUST WATCH once in a while. They had a blast on this. M was at the controls and kept going up as high as he could.

The kids were very good today, played well with each other and were just a lot of fun to be around. The key is how much sleep M gets. If he goes to bed even one hour late, he is a grouch and miserable the next day. My mom says he's exactly like me... I disagree!!