Our ballerino. Is that a word?

A few weeks ago I bought a tutu and was planning to take K to get some pictures in it. Well, every time I tried to put it on her she would yell, "don't like it, take it off." So I haven't tried to get any pictures.

Yesterday I was sitting at the computer when M came shooting out of his room with the tutu on over his clothes. He was jumping into the air, spinning and dancing around. Luckily, I had my camera right here on the shelf. I snapped a few pictures. The pictures are HORRIBLE in quality but really funny. It was dark in the room and I had no time to change the settings. Brian and I laughed so hard.

Is he going to kill me when I show these to his girlfriend in about 12 years? I told him that yesterday and he said, "no, you're my girlfriend, Mom!"

Like I said, the picture quality is awful.

Hard to see with this picture but he is up and off the ground. Too funny.

More dancing.

I also have to say that M has been exceptionally good over the last few days. He's been very sweet and nice. Listening well.

Off to get ready for work. Bummer.

Random

Today on the way to school M suggested we go out and dig up dinosaur bones. I told him I wouldn't have any idea of where to look to for them. He said, "Mom, you just look for the sign that says dinosaur bones and that's where you look." He can be such a crack up. He was such an angel today. They both were really. She tolerates no nap so much better than he did at that age.

I think K may be getting her molars. She is drooling constantly and if she doesn't have her fingers in her mouth she is gnawing on one of M's toys which is not going over real well as you might imagine. We went to story-time at Barnes and Noble this morning. She was very into the singing part but not so much into the stories yet. She's a little too young.

Here's a story for you. Today what I thought was my house alarm system (ADT) started going off. Off course, it was right during K's naptime so she didn't nap. It would go off randomly... every 3 minutes to 30 minutes. It was driving me crazy and I was becoming very frustrated so I called ADT and asked for someone to come out ASAP. Well, she told me se could have someone come out tomorrow. I asked her how she would like to hear her alarm go off every 5 minutes and just how should I get my kids to sleep tonight with the noise. I didn't get anywhere with her. She wanted to charge me $300 for 30 minutes of labor. After not getting anywhere with her, I asked to speak to her superior and she had someone come out right away. The funny part of the story is that when he got here he just couldn't figure it out either. He troubleshooted the alarm system and said there wasn't anything going on with it. Finally the alarm went off again and guess what it was??? My SMOKE DETECTOR!!!! HELLO!! I couldn't have felt more like a dummy. He said it fooled him as well because it just echoed through my house and really sounded like the security alarm. It was the one in the high ceiling of my loft area. Turns out it was a good thing this happened because when Comcast came out a few weeks ago to activate our phone system they disconnected the phone connection for the alarm and if something were to have happened nobody would have been called. He was a super nice guy... fixed that too (even though it should have been Comcast) and didn't make me feel like the complete idiot I am.

Off to bed, I can't believe it's 11:15 pm already. I do this to myself every night!

Miscellaneous Monday

Brian's parents came up for the weekend to help us install the flooring in the playroom. I had no idea what a huge project we were undertaking when we decided to do it ourselves. We started the project last November! I'm just guessing it's around 1800 square feet of flooring and baseboards (our entire downstairs). We just have one room to go. We still have my scrapbooking room which is very small but has a closet that will be difficult to do.

Mason and Grandpa leaving for a bike ride.

Brian and Kyla.

The playroom. Yeah, it's all done. We really need a rug now or the kids will have to start wearing knee pads.

The other day I was in Walmart with the kids and there was a lady that was about 5'0 and at least 350 pounds. M said, "Mom, look at her BBBIIIIIGGG .... muscles." (she had a sleeveless shirt on) My heart was pounding... I could see him looking at her and I wasn't sure what he was going to say! It wasn't too bad but I sure got the heck out of that aisle in a hurry!

Today we were in McDonald's playland and there were 2 older kids (probably 7 and 9) playing in this area with tons of balls (I know, giant cesspool). K ran in there and said, "hi guys, I play with you now?" I don't think they knew what to do or say. My outgoing girl.

That's all I have tonight.
Melissa

All about M day

Today I took K to daycare so I could hang out and have some quality time with M. We started our day off by going to the Halloween Superstore. Halloween sure makes you feel like a kid again. We had a blast in there... we played with the masks, I chased him around the store with a fake amputated leg, we pushed the buttons on all the scary decorations, we fought each other with the swords. I'm surprised we didn't get kicked out. He loves that stuff. K would have been scared to death. All that fun cost me $1. We got him a pair of dracula teeth. We had pizza for lunch before heading on over to the California State Railroad Museum. He's been there lots of times and I have only been there once so I let him lead and show me around. He loved that (being in control). He told me which ones were diesel and which ones were steam engines. He wore his "sharp" teeth and would walk by people and show them and make scary arms. Most of the ones he "scared" were elderly volunteers at the museum and got a real kick out of it. He talked me out of an ice cream cone when we were done and then we headed home for a little down time before we had to pick K up.

I'm going to vent a little (OK tons). Bear with me. M has been quite a challenge since he got home from vacation. Even before he left he was quite difficult. I don't know what happened when he turned 4! Everything is fine as long as he gets what he wants, when he wants it and he gets his way. He constantly pesters me for snacks and to play with him. I can't get anything done around here. K plays very well by herself and will just hang out in the playroom... I almost don't know she's here. He insists that I play with him. If I'm busy or I just don't feel like it... forget it. I'm talking yelling, screaming, jumping-around-having-a-fit, sticking out his tongue, name calling ... you name it. And, boy is he persistent. God forbid I actually want to watch something on TV. He'll nag and nag and never leave me alone. After a really fun day and evening tonight I wanted to watch Project Runway (not the entire episode). K was playing in the playroom, dinner was done and we had just finished playing outside. He just wouldn't have it. He kept standing in front of the TV, looked at me like he was going to turn it off, jumped on the couch, whined that "he never gets to watch anything and nobody ever plays with him", just made me it miserable that I couldn't hear it anyways. I honestly had to stop for a minute and count to ten. I don't know what to do. Talking to him about his behavior, time-outs, taking toys away, rewards systems, bribes, etc. are not working! What do I do? I hate to say it but the only time they are both good is when they are watching TV. I see how easy would be to abuse that. I don't like being the frustrated, angry and tearful mommy he is making me be. I especially hate that I can't ever spend any time playing with K. He won't have it. Not to mention, I don't want her to start behaving like he is and he's not exactly nice to her either... if he's is a bad mood that's it. I don't want to make it sound like he's always like this or a mean boy but I'm seeing this behavior more than ever. He has a lot of wonderful qualities too but I'm not going to talk about those now. Mommy guilt here for talking negatively about him but I just need to vent. Is this normal 4 year old behavior? Seriously though ... if anyone has any advice, please let me know. Leave me a comment or an e-mail.

His "sharp" teeth.

I found this egg made of plaster or something that contained pretend (duh) dinosaur fossils. They gave you a scraper tool and a brush and you dig the bones out and put them together to make a dinosaur. I found this at the dollar store. We enjoyed this very much but the tools they gave us weren't touching it. We ended up using a meat tenderizer to break it up a little.

Future archaeologist at work.

Here's our triceratops. M was disappointed it wasn't a T-Rex. I like how well you can see the details of his hands in this picture.

A peaceful moment tonight. Snack time. I made them smiley faces.

While I was reading to M tonight he said, "I still don't like you a little". He gave me huge love while I tucked him in though. I'm hoping we'll get along better tomorrow.

Melissa

UPDATE: I just watched an Oprah that featured a mother that almost died after childbirth and shortly after had to have both of her arms and legs amputated. I want everyone to know that I am thankful for the health of my family and thankful that I have active and rambunctious children. My life is truly blessed. I'm aware of this although sometimes I need a little reminder.

Back to reality

We had a wonderful weekend but it's back to reality today. Brian is at work and I'm home with the kids. I really think getting away together (alone, without kids) is so important for a relationship. It was nice to be able to have a conversation and enjoy an entire meal without our helpers!! We worked on getting to know each other again. Would you believe I forgot my camera!! It happens to the best of us.

On Friday night we got into town about 6:30 pm. Brian had class in Concord and didn't get out until 1:30 or so. We had dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant called Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. Wow, the best meal I've had a in a long time and we had a fun table. That night we partied like rock stars until about 2:30 am. I played all night on $10.00 and we found a casino with a live band that was very entertaining.

Saturday we went out to Virginia City. We looked around in all the little stores and just hung out on a bench for a while. We'd been there before but we figure everyone needs to go there about every 10 years or so. We had a very nice (and cheap) dinner at Limerick's Pub inside Fitzgeralds Casino. $12.95 Prime Rib dinner! It was yummy and the ambiance was nice too. After dinner we saw the headliner, Lisa Lampanelli at the Silver Legacy Casino. She's a regular on the Howard Stern Show, Jay Leno, many of the Comedy Central Roasts and working on an HBO Special. Absolutely hilarious. One things for sure, if you're easily offended by racial jokes or jokes about gender... do not go. She was just brutal on the people in the front rows and anyone walking in late. Thank goodness we were out of the danger zone in Row 5. We got great seats on the day of the event.

Sunday morning we slept in late... finally got moving and out the room at 11:00 or so. We headed home by way of Truckee. For any of you that haven't been to Truckee, it's a very charming little town with a lot of cute shops to browse in (too expensive for my blood). We enjoyed a delicious lunch and left for home. I stopped by a furniture store just to look on the way home and ended up buying a much needed bedroom set. Our bedroom has such potential and I just want to make it the retreat I know it's capable of being. The furniture we've been using is ready for retirement ... I purchased it 16 years ago for my first apartment. We are sharing 6 small drawers!! Let's just say sometimes our clothing ends up staying in suitcases for a long time because we have nowhere to put it. It'll be delivered in 6 - 8 weeks and I can't wait.

Monday morning Brian and I went for a long walk to the coffee shop and back. I worked Monday evening and he picked the kids up. They met me for dinner on my break at work. They sure made me feel good when they saw me. The both screamed my name and immediately ran to me. I don't think they took their hands off me for a while. I know M didn't . They had an absolute blast in Coalinga. Between my sister and my mom they were kept busy the entire time. I'm so glad it went well (so they'll do it again). M liked the Walking with Dinosaurs show. It was so loud he kept his ears covered the entire time but I guess he still liked it because he's been talking about it since. He said they had a T-Rex and he watched plants "growed." He swindled Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim out of a Dinosaur Sword and a Dinosaur Book at the show and a new Scooby Doo movie at Target. Sue said he just gave her "those eyes" and that was it. She's easy... just ask Lacie.

The housekeepers were here today and they brought their 1 year old daughter along (don't get me started on that). Well, while they were packing up he (the husband of my housekeeper) left the front door open and Leticia (the housekeeper) was still cleaning in the kitchen. The baby was toddling around downstairs and K was watching her from the top of the stairs. She began screaming, "door open, Baby" over and over at least 5 or 6 times until Leticia ran over and closed the door. She sounded panicked and worried that the baby was going to run out. How smart is she to even put it together that the baby may get hurt if she runs outside. We were so amazed.

M told me out of the blue today that I was his girlfriend. When I asked him if he had one at school, he said "no silly, you're my girlfriend." I'm sure he'll get a kick out of reading this in 10 years!

Anytime we're outside M talks K into riding in the Cozy Coupe while he pushes her as fast as he can (sometimes he stops and sometimes he doesn't). Today he was trying to run me down while I was taking pictures! She laughs the entire time... doesn't have a care in the world. Fearless.
(click on the picture to enlarge... her face is too funny)

She was trying to get me out of harms way by yelling "beep, beep, honk, honk." Look at his devilish grin.

Our craft project from today. Yes, I know it's a little early for a turkey but whatever. M was such a grump that I didn't get any pictures of him. I think he's behind on sleep from his vacation.

That's all for tonight.
Melissa

Our weekend getaway

The kids are going to stay with my family for the weekend (a long weekend) and I couldn't be more excited to get my sanity back and spend some quality time alone with Brian. My mom is picking the kids up today and she will watch them for 2 nights and my sister will watch them for 2 nights!! My mom happens to be in the area anyways because she's visiting Frank in the Bay Area. On Saturday my sister and brother-n-law are taking M to the Walking with Dinosaurs show. K will just spend time with her Granny because the loud dinosaur noises will scare her. M's been asking me everyday how many more days until the dinosaur show. I'm sure I'll miss them by Saturday (not enough to come home early) but we desperately need this.

We were going to fly to Seattle but airfare is just too expensive so we decided on Reno. Why Reno? Well, the rooms are super cheap (we got a luxury room for $99 per night) so we will be able to really do it up! Nice dinners, gambling and maybe a show or two. We are also planning to go on a hike (if weather permits) and do a little shopping in Truckee.


Melissa

McKinley Park

On Saturday Brian and I took the kids to McKinley Park in Sacramento. We had a few errands in the area and it's such a fun park to play in.

She is such a kissie face. She loves kisses and will just ask for them out of the blue. She holds onto the kiss for a long time and then says "mmmoooaa."

We fed the geese and ducks (this time they would actually come around us).

They were practically eating out of K's hand.

The kids got to pet a bunny that someone brought to the park. K kept scaring him away because she would hop around and say, "hop, hop, hop."

After I took one of M's favorite toys away (he assaulted his sister with it) he said, "when you get younger I'm going to take your toys away!

Tonight he said, "do you know where your longest bone is? The he said, "your leg" and pointed to his femur. They talked about bones in school today. I love his preschool.