Sibling Rivalry

M has claimed the little table in the playroom as the Lego Table.  Well, I found this note taped to the table the other day.  What a stinker.  K got so out of shape about it when she saw me take a picture.  I couldn't help but laugh.

And this one on his bedroom door.

Playing catch-up

Feels like I have a gazillion things to blog about but haven't had the time or energy.  I've been a little under the weather for the past 2 days.  Tired and run-down ... kind of body achy.  Here are a few random photos.

Such a funny picture of M.  They took a bubble bath tonight and played in there for at least 30 minutes.

Where'd they go?  Shhh.

A cute one of K with Lucy.  She's become such a wonderful addition to our family.  The kids loving and playing with her.

Cat vs. Fake Mouse.

Cute Story ... the other day while at Barnes and Noble, K began screaming, "Look what I found, Mommy!  We have to get it for Daddy!"  The Digging-est Dog was Brian's favorite book growing up and we have it somewhere around the house but haven't been able to find it.  I told K no at first and said that we already had it but let me tell you, she wouldn't take no for an answer.  She began sobbing (for real) and said we just had to buy it for Daddy.  Please!!  Of course, I couldn't say no.  The kids signed it, we wrapped it up and gave it to Brian the next morning.  K was so excited, she couldn't stand it.  She is SO SWEET.

Silly Boy

M has become so funny lately.  He loves to make us laugh and does it often.  He decided to put Grandpa's glasses on while he was working on his math flashcards.  He's all business.

His eyes look very big.

While working on a Halloween craft project, M was up to his shenanigans.  He stuck these foamie pieces all over his face like he was Darth Maul (from Star Wars).

Fierce.

Wearing my heels.

And again.  Soccer uniform and all.

M, thanks for always keeping us so entertained.  I love your sense of humor. 

Too tired to write more ... off to bed.

Best Buds

Last weekend (the 11th) we had J (M's good friend from Preschool) over for a play-date after soccer.  The kids were so excited to see each other that J couldn't wait and insisted his mom bring him here (early) instead of us going to pick him up.  It was cute ... his mom texted me around 10 and asked if she could please just bring him over because he was driving her crazy!  It's amazing to see these two together.  You'd never know that they only get to see each other every few months or so.  They just start over right where they left off and share a very special bond.  They laughed and giggled a lot.  We let J stay all day and we took him home after dinner.  He fits in with our family well ... not all play-dates are created equal.  I once had a really rough one and swore I'd never have that kid over again (and haven't).

We went to the pool but the big one was too cold for these sissy-la-la's so we ended up in the toddler pool.  It was a little warmer.  They still had a blast though.

Adorable.

Brian and the kids had a water-balloon fight in the front yard.  We need to do that more often ... good cheap fun.  I can't believe how fast they went through them.

Brian is cheating!

I am so proud of my hubby ... on Saturday he did the Alcatraz Swim.  He's been training for it for the last 5 months and finished in 41 minutes!!  Without a wet-suit.  He said he had a great time and can't wait to do it again.  Hopefully, I'll be able to go next time and take pictures.  Now he's talking about doing a triathlon or something.  Great job, Babe.

I have to complain for a minute.  Lately, I feel like I have a newborn at home.  What is going on with my kids ... getting up several times a night?  Last night between the 2 of them they came in 5 times between midnight and 5 am!!  They want a drink or they want to be tucked in or K's animal fell out of bed or they are thirsty  or potty or K wanted to have her craft project that we had done during the day in her room!!  Are you serious?  It's 12:30 in the AM and you want me to go downstairs and get your tissue paper pumpkin for your bedroom!  Why can't she just pick "Puppy-Doggy" up and put him back in bed with her ... why do I have to do everything?!?  It's no wonder I'm exhausted all day ... every day.

The good new is that my kids have been getting along so well lately.  They have been helping each other and playing together ... I'm seeing the benefit to having my kids so close together.  Yahooo!

Looking forward to our upcoming trip to San Diego.  We're going to visit our friends, Monte and Dyan.  While we're there, we're going to Legoland and Sea World.  The kids are so excited ... especially for the airplane ride.

Mission: Organization

I'm just so sick of the mess around here!!  My goal for the next few weeks is to try to get more organized.  Brian and I worked on the playroom over the weekend and we absolutely love it.  The 2 bookcases cost me $60 from Target and hold the kids toys perfectly.  Now they actually have room to play on the floor.  I can't help the wonder why I didn't do this sooner.  The kids now call their playroom their "toy store" and have cleaned up after themselves (at least for one whole day).

Looks so much better.  I should've taken before pictures.  Brian is going to be angry with me when I tell him I want one more!  (These are already anchored to the wall).  Sorry Babe.

M had soccer practice tonight I was so proud of how well he did.  2 weeks ago I he looked like he was running around the field but not trying to get the ball at all, actually like he was trying to avoid it.  He was almost a ball hog tonight!!  He is so unbelievably fast and really played aggressively.  Not only that but he looked like he was having a blast out there.  He was such a good boy today.  He played with K, sat right down and did 2 pages of homework without complaining, read for 20 minutes before bed, picked up his things when asked too and LISTENED.

K said that Brian and I went to the store and picked she and M out to be our children.  Then you just "brought us home".  M then yelled out from the other room, "No K ... we came out of Mommy!"  I was worried at where the conversation might go but luckily it ended right there.

Girl Time

K is going to take a little break from Gymnastics.  She has been the only child in the class for some time now and doesn't seem like she's having a whole lot of fun with it so the other day I asked her if she wanted to keep going.  She instantly said "yes" and when I asked her why she said, "I like to get Starbuck's after".  What?!?!  I've been paying $45 bucks a month so she can get a $1.10 chocolate milk once a week!!  Maybe we'll start up again if they get more kids.  They told me she was ready for Girls Beginning Gymnastics (rather than Tiny Tots) but all of the classes are in the evenings or on Saturday.  We can't make those because of soccer.

Last Thursday after Gymnastics, K and I wanted to do something different so we went to a Ceramics Studio.  It was a great time.  K kept saying she was an artist.  She must have told me she loved me and that I was her best friend at least 5 times while we were painting.  She is absolutely the sweetest.

She chose to paint a Doggy Piggy Bank and 2 small items.

Ta-Da.

A good one of us together.  I painted a butterfly coffee mug and can't wait to go back to paint something else.  I kind of felt rushed because she was done much earlier.

I took this picture of K today with her finished project (after it had been fired).

 

I took a few pictures of K on her last day of Gymnastics.

She doesn't want coach to help her at all but he tells her that he has to.  Bossy K came out and told him to go "over there".

Cute one.

Kyla's Soccer Tournament

Kyla had a seeding tournament on August 28th and I forgot to post these pictures.  No time to write now.

A cute one of some of the girls on the bench.

This was her after her first water break.  She wanted to stay on the side-lines with me and "watch" the game.  I was surprised she wasn't more into it.  She said nobody would "let her have the ball".

One of the few moments that she was interested.

And shortly after, she fell down and bumped her knee.  Drama.

The team cheer.

On a side note ... M read for 27 minutes tonight before bed and is doing so well.  It's so exciting.

Flattered

I got a nice surprise the other day when I received an e-mail from Blurb asking permission to use one of my photo books for marketing purposes.  It was a Christmas 2007 Book and the first Blurb Book I had ever created.  I was so flattered by the request and of course, said yes.  Here's a copy of the e-mail.


Dear Melissa,

Congratulations on your Blurb book creation, Christmas 2007! We think it is fantastic.

We'd like to know if you would consider giving us approval to reproduce and use your book for our marketing purposes.

Blurb would use a copy of the book for meetings at Blurb headquarters, as visual for our in-house library showcase, with marketing materials and at industry conferences.

Essentially, when our executives are traveling or have meetings in-house they like to have samples of books, like Christmas 2007 that they can show to people as a good quality example of what people can create with BookSmart.

Please note, our Blurb executives will not directly sell the book. Any purchase inquiries that we receive regarding your book will be directed to your book details page and will be available for purchase provided the book is marked “public”.

In exchange for book approval we would like to offer you a gift certificate worth $150.00.

To give your consent please sign and return the attached contract either via fax, JPG or PDF. If this is not of interest please send a quick note letting us know.

We do hope your experiences with Blurb are good. We are constantly making improvements so we can offer an unparalleled product for our users, we understand the passion and time you put into your book creations.

We’d love to hear the story behind your book. Please include in your email a couple of lines of how your book came about.

Best Wishes & Happy Book Making!

The Blurberati
CLICK FULL SCREEN TO ENLARGE

Christmas 2007 by Mommy with love

Make Your Own Book

M's Soccer Tournament

The kids had a soccer tournament last weekend.  They played well and very hard but were playing teams with much older and more experienced players.  It was a seeding tournament ... K played against girls that were 5 and 6 years old.  No competition for a group of 4 year olds (all 1st timers).  M's team also played older teams.  I'm not sure why they didn't match them up better.  Either way, the kids had a great time.  M really enjoyed it.  The games are so much for fun than practices.  Almost makes me want to get on a soccer league.  Almost.  I've never played soccer in my life.  Looks like a blast though.

I was giving the kids a little pep-talk during breakfast the morning before the tournament and told them to just get that ball and get it in the goal.  M looked at me with the cutest face and said, "I'm going to be FIERCE out there, Mom."  Too funny, huh? 

Aren't they cute?  I can't believe how tall K is.

They love making silly faces for photos.

Love this picture of him (minus the Cheetos in his teeth).  I can't help but notice it!

My fierce guy.

Hustle.

He is all muscle and soooo fast.

It starts so early, doesn't it?  Boy crazy already.  He doesn't look like he minds it much.

So proud of M.  Although homework has been an absolute nightmare, I'm trying to be positive.  He had his 1st Math Test today (as far as I know his first real test ever).  Well, he got 31/35 (88 %).  He missed 2 because his 4's were written backwards but the answer was correct.  His handwriting looked somewhat neat as well.  Let's keep it going. 

On another positive note, M's reading is rapidly improving.  I have had to go to the Library often to stock up on books because he is just going through them.  He's realized he can stay up later if he keeps reading.  I think he's ready to advance to a Step 2 Easy Reader.  His teacher is going to start sending books home weekly (Book Buddies) that will be chosen based on his level of reading.  Curious to see what she sends home.  The ones I have been getting are a little too easy.

Today, out of nowhere, K said, "Mom ... I'd love you even if a bad guy shot you in the face!!"  What?!?  Sweet, I guess. 

M has been going through such a Scaredy-Cat phase.  WOW.  He won't go upstairs without someone going with him, is afraid to go into a dark room and even puts his head under the covers when he goes to sleep.  Brian said that it started after watching Scooby-Doo, Mystery Inc.  Let's just say those are no longer on my TIVO.  Thank goodness he still goes to bed without any problems. 

Dreading the winter.  K said, "Mom, I'm so glad it doesn't rain anymore.  I'm sooo scared of the rain."  Well, I informed her that it would start raining again pretty soon.  She told me at least 3 or 4 more times that day that she didn't want it to rain because she would, "have to sleep in my bed!!!!!"  Oh, boy.

More Rafting

We ordered pictures from our rafting trip (from a few weeks ago) and they turned out SO GOOD.  I couldn't help but post tons of pictures.  Not a lot of time to write now because the carpet cleaners are coming tomorrow and I have to pick up the million items on the floor.  I also just realized that K doesn't have school tomorrow.  Sob.  Oh well, I'll get through it.

SO MUCH FUN!!

Oh boy ... here comes another big rapid.

WOW.  My expression is priceless.