Halloween Decorations

Last night, Bubs went through all the Sunday ads looking at Halloween Decorations. He always points out ones that he wants to get. He of course loves the fancy $100+ ones that move & jump out at you.

We found this Mad Scientist in the Cost Plus ad for $9.99. I thought - Great! Maybe I can pick that up for $10 bucks and make him happy. I told him, that if he really wanted to get it, he could buy it with his money.

He was definitely serious about this decoration. This morning he woke up & reminded me about the it once again. He went straight to his piggy bank and asked me how much he needed to take out. I said he could wait until after I pick it up, but only if I think it is worth it & not a piece of junk. At breakfast he got all excited when he saw the ad again.

Now, I have to break the bad news to him. I looked it up on-line & the item was actually on sale for $29.99. I even went by the store on my lunch hour & there is a notice of printing error on the door & by the item. I'm so bummed! This will break his heart! I can't tell him that I thought it was really cool too. But no, we didn't want to spend $30 on it! $10 would have been easy.

Three Word Thursday

Today's. Technological. Kids.

Last night at dinner I told the family that I was planning to move our old Sony computer into K's room. There, it could be used to play their kids games that seem to take up lots of the computers memory. The computer is over 7 years old, but I just had a friend wipe it clean for us, so we could still try to use it. K got all excited and asked if she was going to be able to "Google" on it.

After laughing, I told her no, we had not planned on connecting it to the internet. If she wants to do that, she could do that out on our main computer in the family room. She said, "Ok, so if I don't know how to spell something, you will be right there to help me." EXACTLY! I would hate for her to misspell a URL and get something in appropriate.

Earlier in the evening Daddy & the kids were at soccer practice. K loves to borrow our phone and usually begs to send the other parent a text. She sent me a text during Bub's practice. This is exactly how it looked:
Hi mom we might go to Mikadonls. I love you so mush then you.We will be back. 6:22pm

(translation by K: Hi mom, we might go to McDonalds. I love you so much more than you will ever know. We will be back soon.)

Too cute! She came home & I told her how I loved her so MUSH. :) And to think, when I was that age, I was only playing pong on our ATARI!

Wonderful Surprise!

I came home yesterday to find more Halloween decorations up! Some outside the house & some more in the living room. Bubs has worked it so much that Daddy decided I wasn't decorating in a timely fashion. Maybe I was secretly hoping it would get done all by itself. And some of it did!

Of course, he still woke up & asked to get more decorations out. And he wanted to drive around the neighborhood on the way to school to look for the "Scary Stuff." He wanted to see the decorations that daddy drove by last night. He said that they may be gone now. I tried to explain to him that they will be up for a couple more weeks - until Halloween. That people won't be taking their decorations down until after trick or treating. This kid just can't get enough! :)

Planning his own party

We got an Oriental Trading Company catalog in the mail yesterday. Bubs wanted to show me some stuff in it. He said we need to get this for our party. I said, "what party?"

He said for our Halloween Party for our friends!

And then he got on me all night about putting up Halloween decorations. Unfortunately we had a busy weekend and there's not much time on a school night to pull out decorations. I do pull out a few items each day, but its never enough for him! He wants MORE, MORE, MORE!! Hopefully we'll finish the decorating by the weekend!

And we still owe him a trip to the other Halloween Store in town. He just can't get enough of the holiday and decorations - I love his enthusiasm. Its exhausting at times, but keeps me on my toes!

Broccoli is number 1!

What is so wrong with carrots? Not sure why, but K has all of a sudden decided that she will have nothing to do with them. Today at lunch I asked her and Bubs to eat 2 mini carrots each. No complaints for Bubs, he'll eat them whenever offered. K, on the other hand, put on a huge fuss. I happened to have broccoli in the fridge as well, so I said "How about a bunch of broccoli then instead?" She said as long as it wasn't something like 20 of them. So I gave her 5 large bunches of broccoli. One of them must have been almost 2 inches in diameter. A plate full of it! And by dipping it in ranch she happily at the tips off all the broccoli. Go figure! My picky eater chooses broccoli over carrots.

Reminds me also of the time we were in the produce department of the grocery store and she begged me loudly to buy broccoli. Who doesn't want others hearing their child say those words!

Best Day Ever

Mom & Dad went out of town last weekend to Las Vegas for the Creed concert. We left Sunday & got back on Tuesday, so I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. It was a nice, quick vacation and thankfully its Friday!

Before we left, last Saturday we decided to take advantage of a great offer that Gilroy Gardens was offering. A back to school special for $9.99 per person.

http://www.gilroygardens.org/schoolspecial.html

I never really thought we'd head back there, we had been twice when the kids were younger. Its a bit of a drive and I thought the kids were getting a bit too old for the park. But for a day away together to ride some rides at for $50 for the entire family (with parking), what the heck!

We got there right as the park was opening at 10am and went straight to the rides. On some rides, K & Bubs were the only riders. They got to pick which "car/strawberry/artichoke/garlic" whatever they wanted to ride on. And there were 2 rollercoasters that both kids were tall enough for. Bubs made it by less than 1/2 an inch! We rode them 5 times. One time staying on and moving to the back of the coaster. There just wasn't anyone in line so they got to pick front or back - where ever! They thought that was the coolest thing!

We were so busy, the kids just wanted to keep going & going. We had to stop them so we could eat some lunch and that was after 1pm! By then it was close to 90-100 degrees so after lunch they cooled off for the 2nd time in the water play area. We let them go in their clothes and it didn't take too long for them to dry off again. The longest wait for a ride ended up being for the Train that circled the park. We had to wait for it to circle the park twice. That was our last ride though & we said goodbye to Gilroy Gardens & the heat at 3pm. It was quite a full day.

The kids had a blast. The best part for me was hearing K say "That was the best day ever!" in the car heading home. I couldn't believe it. It didn't really compare to Disneyland. But it made me smile thinking about how it was a very good day. The family all together having fun. It just goes to show that kids don't need much. A trip to the simple amusement park made our day!

A 5 Year Old's Solution

We were getting in the car, on the way to school in the morning...

Bubs said to me - Mom, we need to get a new house.
I said - Why do you think we need a new house?
Bubs - Because our door is broken.

Yes, our front door sticks a little & we've had more issues with it the last couple of weeks. But it still locks and closes, with a little more effort than before. But its funny how a little one thinks of solving problems.

I told him, that's not a reason to move. The best solution would be to fix the door.

Something we'll have to work on! Silly guy!

Three Word Thursday

Volunteering. Is. Fun.

I really wish I had time or energy to volunteer more. Now that school is back in session - I'm back at the elementary school library for my 2nd year as a "Friend of the Library." Once a week (on Thursdays) I take my lunch hour and head over to the kids' school. I signed up for one 1/2 hour time slot which equals one class visit to the library. It gives me approximately 15 minutes to drive there, 1/2 hour there & 15 minutes back.

This year, I was early signing up & lucky to get Bub's class into my schedule. Which I thought would be good because I could keep up with Bubs and his teacher (little did I know when I signed up how much I really needed to check in with the teacher!)

K's schedule just didn't work out for me and she understood. Her one request was for me to try to stop by the classroom to say hi. The first time I tried to visit, she was off to P.E. Today I went in before I volunteered and reached her just in time as they were getting ready to head out the door. Its amazing though what one minute of visitation will do - she came over & hugged me with a huge smile on her face "Mommm-my!" And it put a smile on my face too, even now, thinking about it. So much love passed between us in that one little hug!!

From there I went back to the Library. Bubs was line leader today, so he led the class (all smiles when he saw me) into the library. They turned their books in on the cart and then sat down for the Librarian to read them a story. I checked in all 20 something books and then got to staple Library agreements on the wall of the school's main corridor. (The children signed that they were responsible for their library books). I must say that there is something therapeutic about smacking that stapler against the wall. A nice break from all other outside responsibilities! I didn't get too much time to do that though, because Kindergarteners pick books out really fast! I guess since they can't really read yet, they are more anxious to grab their books & be first in line to check them out. I heard Bubs proudly mention to other kids that I was "HIS mommy". A smile rose between the two of us! And before I knew it, time was up, the students walked in a line out the door back to their classroom.

The time passed way too fast! I'll be back next week for more volunteer work!

Afraid this day would come...

There's really only 2 reasons a teacher calls home, right? One, if the child is sick. Two, if the child did something wrong in class.

Unfortunately today was the day for number 2. I got back to my desk at work to find a message from Bubs' kindergarden teacher. She would like to talk to me about his "silly behavior" in class today. Apparently today, "he was particularly disruptive and he had a hard time controlling his playfulness and laughter."

I knew this day would come. Unfortunately I've been trying my darnedest to curb his "class clown" behavior. Not sure what to do. We've warned him about taking things away from him one by one until he learns. Movies, toys, desserts, etc. We'll see how this goes. P & I are going to have to stand our ground and not cave in. "We will need to talk to him about good choices and keeping his playfulness for outside. "

If you have any wonderful suggestions or solutions, I would love to hear them! I could use the help. And to think, at least another 13 years...? :)

How to Cool off on a Hot Day

It got hot yesterday. (and its only supposed to get worse today & tomorrow) Yesterday was Sunday so P & the boys (his dad & Tom) were watching the football games. Bubs finished his homework for the week. K finished hers for Monday. The kids were good & kept themselves busy most of the day. But by 3pm it was pretty hot in the house. The kids were also a little hungry for some snack. I took off the "handsome" shirt Bubs wore too church & gave him a popsicle to take outside. K wanted a fudge bar, so I sent her out with that. Luckily as they get older - they manage not to make such a mess of their melting desserts!

But then, to top that off, I turned on the sprinklers (to help aid our dying grass!) and told the kids that they could run through them. CLOTHES and all! Really they asked? Well why not. I let the kids take off their tops (K said it wasn't the girlie thing to do. Good girl! BUT I said - its ok, you are in the backyard, no one will see you.) Within seconds they were off - washing off their melted ice pops off their face & hands. It was so much quicker than finding their swimsuits. Everything was going to go in the wash anyways! And they got a kick out of doing something they normally shouldn't.

The kids moved their slide into the sprinklers & made themselves a waterslide. I ran the sprinklers around the yard for a little time at each station. Then we moved to the front yard (and K put on her top for that!). The front was set for 8 minutes and when it was off I let them continue with their water guns. I must say I loved watching them run around laughing & having a blast for at least a good hour or so. No "fighting," no accidents, just lots of fun! I know the grass is probably a little happier with me today. I just don't want to see the water bill. :)

Just when I thought the girlie girl stage was over...

I think about it now & wonder.

Example 1: Today was Picture Day for the kids at school. I put sock's in K's hair last night to curl it. We practiced this once earlier this week. I'm just not sure what to expect out of pics though, because by the end of the day, her hair will be stick straight again. She will put up with the torture though of me rolling her hair, pulling it, tying the socks & then sleeping on it! She wakes up on time anxious for me to take it out. This morning we had big ringlets and from the moment I sprayed her hair to the moment I dropped her off at EDCC - she had a huge smile on her face. I had to tell her not to be so jumpy as she skipped everywhere. The curls just kept bouncing all around - I said they were really getting a workout & would soon go flat. She did her best from then on not to disturb her curls!

Example 2: Since school started, K has decided that she won't wear dresses to school. Or skirts and skorts. This, by the way, has been pretty much of her wardrobe. 2 weekends ago, K & I had a mommy/daughter weekend & had an opportunity to see WICKED in San Francisco. I told her I wanted her to get dressed up, so we went through her closet to pick out an outfit. We narrowed it down to 3 choices: dress pants and silky top, or 2 silky dresses. She tried the 2 dresses on and with each one spun around in front of her closet. In the end she picked the dress that spun around the most!

And I was thinking my little girlie girl was gone.

There's still hope.

Curls and spinning dresses!

Happy Birthday, Niece!

A curly little red head is celebrating her 2nd birthday today! Wish we could be out East to celebrate at her Fancy Nancy party! We love & miss the NJ Shull family! Hopefully we can see the new baby sister soon. Hope the middle C is having the BEST birthday today!

Three Word Thursday

Growing. Too. Fast.

I got an email with photo today of the birth of a baby boy born yesterday. It got me to thinking about my children's birth and how it almost seems like yesterday that I held them in my arms as newborns. In actuality its been 5 and 7 years! How hard that is to believe.

On Tuesday, Bubs let me hold him in my lap like a baby while he cuddled with me. He was heavy and his body extended in both directions way past the width of my lap. But his warmth felt good in my arms as he looked up at me with the same big brown eyes as he did as an infant.

Yesterday, K came running out of her room to me - "I've grown mom, I've grown!" I came quickly, wondering how she could be so sure that she had grown. To me, yes, she's bigger than she was when she was an infant, but seeing her day to day, she seems just about the same size. She jumped into her closet and showed me. We have been marking her wall in pencil with dates and lines since 2003 when we moved into the house. To my surprise - she was almost 2 inches since the last measurement. That measurement was in MAY! Wow. I looked down at her beautiful blue excited eyes and said that she must have been going through a growth spurt. She was so proud of herself.

And of course, its not pants season yet, so we'll see how hers fit as we move into fall (next week)!

Best Friends

Its funny to hear little ones talk about their friends. Last night, 5 year old Bubs was telling me that Jonas was his BEST friend. And so was Nicholas and JT and a several others. They were all his best friends. But his bestest friend of all, he said, was Brenda.

Brenda is Grandma & Grandpa M's BLACK LAB!

Disney Cruise coming back WEST!!

An announcement was made last Friday - from the Disney website:

CELEBRATION, Fla. (Sept. 11, 2009) – For the first-time ever, Disney Cruise Line will offer Alaskan cruises during a four month season of seven-night sailings aboard the Disney Wonder in summer 2011. Combining the natural wonder and adventurous spirit of Alaska with the unparalleled, family-friendly experience provided by Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Wonder will depart out of Vancouver, B.C., calling on popular ports such as Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway.

Disney is also repeating their Mexican Riviera cruise! Decisions, decisions, and lots of saving. The kids would be older this time around (9 and 7!). I think they could enjoy it even more than last time - if thats even possible. And as parents we might get a little more time on our own as the kids experience the kids only clubs. We are already thinking about it! Scary thing is - "Guests will be able to book Disney Wonder and Disney Magic itineraries for the 2011 season beginning Sept. 28, 2009." Thats just a few days away!

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Three Word Thursday

In. My. Heart.

Bubs favorite game at the moment is this Disney Edition Memory Game.

What surprises us most is his ability to make the matches without even trying. He has beaten everyone in our household and even adult friends & grandparents. When I play him and want to try to beat him, I have to fully concentrate on what cards are being flipped. He pulls matches out of the blue. When asked how he knew that was a match - he responded while patting his chest...

"I know it in here, in my heart."

One of the head to head matches.

Three Word Thursday

Taking. It. Literally.

Since Bubs has been sick, he hasn't quite got his appetite back. In the mornings before school, he would eat non stop. K noticed this & has been commenting lately about his eating habits. Last week I explained growth spurts causing a rise in eating habits. And then warned her that one day Bubs might be eating more than the other 3 of us combined! ...as a teenage boy!

This morning, Bubs drank a Danimal and had half a piece of toasted french bread. That was it. He said he couldn't finish the toast and that he was full. K told him that he was going to SHRINK if he didn't eat anything.

A few minutes later, I went down the hall to find Bubs in his room. He had been standing in front of his mirrored closet looking at himself. "I'M NOT SHRINKING!" He yelled when he heard me coming. I smiled and said he wasn't going to shrink. He just needed to eat a good breakfast. We need to eat healthy to grow big & strong.

I went to brush my teeth and Bubs followed. He crossed his arms on the bathroom counter, put his head down on them and sadly said "Mommy, I don't want to shrink."

Good news of the day!

Bubs test results came back. I was pretty sure this was the case, but I think the Drs. are checking everyone that comes through their door now.

INFLUENZA VIRUS A+B + RSV RNA, PCR, QUAL

Final Report
NEGATIVE FOR INFLUENZA A, INFLUENZA B AND RSV BY RT-PCR.

Spoke too soon!

Here we are at Wednesday, of the 2nd week of school. Bubs has not been to class at ALL this week. Sunday evening he came down with something that basically had him coughing all night. Monday morning he was coughing nonstop - I couldn't send him to school like that. He would be a distraction and not be able to concentrate. We got a Dr. appt and his Dr. sent him for X-Rays of his chest. Thought he had pneumonia! What a shocker. No fever or other signs just a heck of a lot of coughing.

We got antibiotics and took him to Grandma & Grandpa's house to rest. Not much change that night. Gave him some cough medicine before bed and he went right to sleep. BUT, at one in the morning he had to go potty. Once he was up, he started coughing again and couldn't sleep. This time, so much coughing he had a hard time catching his breath. We tried everything that you do with Croup - cold outside air, warm steamy bathroom, drink warm liquid... Nothing seemed to work.

Bubs "Mommy when am I going to be able to breave (breathe) again"

I called the 24 hour nurse and after she talked to a Dr. we decided that Bubs needed to be taken to the ER. My first visit to Walnut Creek since Bubs was born! I had to get directions again. And my first visit to the ER ever! (& hopefully last) Nothing much but quiet & waiting. Bubs was very calm but asked a lot of questions. He was so patient (and alert) for being up in the middle of the night. They could hear him wheezing & he ended up getting a nebulizer (breathing) treatment. Apparently he does not have pneumonia, but some viral infection. Through all of this, since Sunday night - no other signs of anything - no runny nose, no fever! We got a prescription for albuterol so we should be able to take care of any breathing problems at home now. We managed to get back home by 3:30am and back to sleep by 4 for 2 more hours.

Besides mommy & daddy being tired at their work today we all survived! Bubs picked up his activity and appetite today. Unfortunately we started a bad pattern now & Bubs decided he would much prefer to stay home and go to his grandparents house, instead of go to school. He just came out of his bed & room, coughed, and said "mommy I still can't breave, I can't go to school." Stinker! I think he's on the road to recovery!

What a difference a year makes

The kids played their first soccer games of the season yesterday. This is the second year for both of them. Now they are both the oldest of their age group with a little experience behind them. They both did great yesterday.

The set up is a little different this year. The entire team is split up into 2 teams and they play on 2 fields 4 against 4. The fields are smaller. We were a little hesitant with this new set up. No goalies, smaller goals, no throw ins - they kick the ball in from the sidelines.

I'm am getting to like this plan for the younger kids though. There seemed to be less bunch ball around all 14 or so players on both teams. Stronger players don't seem to take over the entire game and everyone gets a chance.

Bubs definitely had fun and was on the top of his game! He scored an amazing 3 goals. He was super excited!

Made my day

Happy Friday. Bubs woke up early this morning, but then fell asleep in my bed while I was in the shower. He started waking up once I used the blow dryer but he remained cozy on my pillow. I was done getting ready & walked out of the bedroom - he said the words that made my day. I smile now thinking of how sweet he sounded.

"Mommy, you look pretty."

Three Word Thursday

Breaks. My. Heart.

To see my kids cry. Why do kids have to be so mean?

We had a great morning & once again got out of the house on time. (Yay!!) I dropped Bubs off at his EDCC building while K walked in hers. She was all smiles! We all were. But everything changed when I walked through her EDCC doors. I heard sobbing & then looked up to see her with tears down her face. She had tried to join a pair of kids playing on the floor and apparently they told her she could not play with them. I couldn't get a whole lot of info out of her, but I tried to comfort her. I told K that, yes, what they did was not nice. We should make sure never to treat anyone else like that. We know how it feels. There were plenty of other things to do, was it possible to do something else? "No" she said :( I wiped her tears & gave her a bunch of big hugs. The teacher started talking to her, distracting her. I asked her for a smile - she tried. And then I had to leave. Thinking about it now, saddens me! I know she was probably fine a little while later. But it really breaks my heart - I can't wait to see her when I get home. More hugs are waiting!!

Off to a great start!

2nd day of school today. This morning was a breeze! Kids were all up once again before I had to wake them. K got dressed before I asked her. Bubs ate, got dressed, & then asked if he could do "homework!"

Last year - when K sat down at the table to do her homework, I gave Bubs a journal to write in & draw a picture. It started out with "My name is B..., I am 4 years old, I was born on ....etc." Each topic would have his own drawing to match. I would write the words out & he would copy them. That has become his "homework." Last night we added - "I am in Kindergarten. My teacher is Mrs. Peterson."

On our way to EDCC this morning, Bubs was a little upset and said "I want to see Mrs. Peterson." I said - "Oh, you will, in one hour EDCC will take you there." That was sweet. I hope that excitement continues throughout the school year!

First Day of School!

K is off to 2nd grade today and Bubs is off to Kindergarten. My "baby" is now in school! I have 2 school age kids. Where did the last 5 years go!? The more I think about it the more I find it hard to believe. My recollections of school really begin in 2nd grade - and thats where K is. My my teachers, my friends, my love for math, my projects - let it all begin...

Here's the poem that I got from Bubs' Kindergarten teacher.

The First Day
I gave you a little wink and smile
As you entered my room today.
For I know how hard it is to leave
And know your child must stay.
You've been with him for five years now
And have been a loving guide,
But now, alas, the time has come
To leave him at my side.
Just know that as you drive away
And tears down your cheeks may flow
I'll love him as I would my own
And help him learn and grow.
For as a parent, I too know
How quickly the years do pass
And that one day soon it will be my turn
To take my child to class.
So please put your mind at ease
And cry those tears no more
For I will love him and take him in
When you leave him at my door.

Best wishes to my kids for a great school year!

And here's a little proof that they survived their first day! Coming home...

Congratulations to my brother & his wife!!

On their new baby girl!

Casey Ann

7lbs 11 oz

20" long

Born this morning, 8.22.09

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caseyshull/

Proud Parents, excited child!

It was not a smooth registration process at our local elementary school. In two years, this was the worst. I waited an hour in line, luckily with a book in hand to pass the time! At the end we got Bubs & K's teacher assignments. There isn't just one family with our last name - there's happens to be another student, Jared that they wanted to give me paperwork on. I said no, that he wasn't my child. They corrected it & gave me 2 pieces of paperwork. With K's they gave me an envelope with her name on it. That sidetracked me - I was wondering what it was - homework before school started?

Not sure who the teachers were for either kid, so headed home to look them up in last years yearbook. On the way, double checked the paperwork & noticed that I had one for K & one for Andrew Morrison. WHAT? I had to turn the car around, find parking again, cut back in the exit & get the one for Bubs. I did that & was happily surprised - he had the same teacher K did in Kindergarten. That will make for an easier year to have 2 kids in school. We like her & are comfortable with her, her classroom, & her assignments. And Bubs should also be familiar with her face, so he won't be walking into a classroom of a complete stranger!

When I got home, I couldn't wait to open the envelope. I started reading & then started reading it outloud to P & then yelled for K to come! She was selected to attend a 2/3 grade class called Academic Odyssey. Her 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Brown recommended her for this special 2nd grade class. She was so excited - jumping up and down. She really felt special! I'm not sure any of us really get what its all about yet. We'll find out Sept 3rd for Open House!

I was reassured that this class was a good opportunity for K this morning. At EDCC, the teacher asked me what 2nd grade teacher K got.
Me - O'Reilly?
Teacher - Oh, thats the same as Carson.
Me - So, is this a good thing then?
Teacher - Definitely. That class is hand picked. Now that I see who is in that class, I know why.

I never feel like I'm doing enough or pushing K & Bubs enough in the learning environment. I feel like I'm always running out of time to teach them & show them new things. This class placement makes me feel like we are doing something right! Good luck K! Keep up the good work. Mom & dad are so proud of you. :)

Is he serious?

I tried to wake Bubs up for EDCC this morning. He was all warm and cozy in his bed. He didn't want to get out. He said he was all "cuddly."

Bubs - I want to be all cud-dul-ee. When its a stay home day, can I stay in bed and be cud-dul-ee?

Me - Of course you can. I would love for you to sleep in & stay in bed! (Instead of get up at the break of dawn - 6:30!)

Three Word Thursday

Starting. Something. New.


I thought this was a great idea when I saw it on a blog from an old friend from Heidelberg High. http://samanthaleelee.blogspot.com/

I could do that. Just think of 3 words for the day. Might get me writing at least once a week. We'll see how it goes. I now find myself trying to sum everything up into 3 words. Funny how much thought I put into the "perfect" 3 words. I had one completely different idea today, up until the last moment & then went with these. I felt like I should explain what I was doing.


Might as well go with 3 more words - random thought that P might find funny, if not now, maybe in the future.

Yummy. Butter. Puffcorn.

My work got a sampling of the Butter Puffcorns from Frito Lay and absolutely fell in love with them. They wanted more so I asked P where we could buy them. He said everywhere. So off I went. Pick up a few things at Walmart, check out the chip aisle - No Puffcorn's. OK, I'd better get back to work, but let me swing by Lucky's first. No Butter flavored, just cheese. Aaaghhh - P, what did you mean everywhere? I can't find it anywhere. He said it looks like they staled out of the stores. It's a new product that hasn't caught on yet. So my co-workers mean business & call Frito Lay's 800 line. They get a list where they can find bags - a place called "Bottom's Up Liquor" in Oakland, or a couple other mom & pop shops 15+ miles from here. They don't go that distance for them, but we just got word that TODAY is the day, they have been put in a store near us! For just $2 a bag, my co-workers would buy out the case. So, if you have an urge for Butter Flavored popcorn - this is the snack for you!! Oven Baked, no hulls or hard kernals. They melt in your mouth. Enjoy.

My little girl...

isn't so little anymore. I guess I have to admit that she is growing up - she is 7 now. She won't let me dress her at all! If I pick anything, she picks something else. Its been over 6 months now at least that she hasn't been interested in Princesses. That was tough for me! My little "Princess" doesn't want anything to do with princesses! How could that be?

And now, the other day she told me she was no longer into skirts or dresses. That seems to have caused a problem for us, finding outfits to wear everyday. With the hot weather, her only options are are capri's, pants & leggings. She keeps wearing all the capris & I keep on washing them. We found short shorts in her drawers that she tried to put on - she used them under dresses. I put a stop to that - I never felt they were appropriate to wear by themselves to school. Other than that, she had skorts - but she considers them a skirt! So here it is, the end of summer, & I'm searching stores for Bermuda type shorts. If anyone finds shorts on clearance anywhere - let me know! We went to Old Navy yesterday & everything was back to school & fall/winter! Unfortunately (or should I say FORTUNATELY) we probably have many more weeks of warm weather! Lets see what 2nd grade has in store for this former "Princess!" I'm sure it will bring some more changes...

Knowledge of the day

Bubs - Mom, I know what school is all about...
Me - Oh, yeah?
Bubs - It's for learn-ing!
Me - Yes it is.

And now I think our son is ready for Kindergarten!

1st Camping Trip

“That wasn’t fun!” were Bubs’ comments about going down the little rapids. He didn’t think there was enough excitement going over the rocks with “Auntie” Bobbie in an inner tube.

But, it all changed to…
“That was awesome!” – when they both started a little further down the river & fell out of the raft! Bobbie didn’t think it was so fun though. She quickly managed to grab onto Bub’s life vest!

Luckily, mommy didn’t see any of it! She was around the bend with K, behind a Big Rock waiting with a water camera, ready to take their photo.

The kids experienced their first camping trip this past weekend. It was just me with 7 others (4 adults, 3 kids) I believe they had a great time and made new friends. My kids enjoyed sleeping in a tent & being dirty all weekend long! K’s highlight was jumping in the river Saturday night with her clothes on. Why not? They were getting ready for bed, lets get crazy.

We all found ourselves having fun in the great outdoors without video games, computers, no cell phone reception – it was great. (I did let them watch a movie before bed on the portable DVD player, though.) It was a way for all of us to relax before bed.

Thank you Navarro’s for booking the 2 best campsites! And thank you Bobbie for bringing all the camping stuff and letting us join you!

Note to Bobbie: Bub’s was so tired last night. He followed me around the house. At first he was crying, and then bawling. Lots of tears and gasping for air. It was cute in a way, but also so sad to watch. He was crying for Cody. He loved Cody; he wanted to live with Cody. He was afraid that he was never again going to see Cody. He missed Cody. He wants a Star Wars book just like Cody. He wants everything like Cody!! Your son had quite an impact on Bubs! Must have been that 40 minutes or so bonding time at your house. He woke up this morning asked when he can have a sleepover with Cody. We’ll definitely have to get together again sometime soon!

Monsters vs. Aliens Cake

I haven't seen the movie, but P took the kids when it came out. Here's the B.O.B. cake I made for Bubs. It turned out to be a big hit!!!

Happy 5th Birthday to Bubs!

A little belated - it was Friday. But, I have sort of been out of commission since Thursday night with an awful Flu bug. Felt like a human pinata (got that from the Kaiser phone nurse!)

Bubs seemed to have a great "Real" birthday as he calls it. At breakfast I let him unwrap a gift. It was a Monsters vs. Aliens hat w/ B.O.B. on it. He loves his hats & I knew he could wear it to school that day. My mom was in town & thankfully got the kids ready, made lunches, and took them to EDCC. They were much better off there, away from me, with plenty of things to keep them busy.

When Bubs got home, daddy gave him the news that we had postponed his birthday party one week. He took it much better than we all anticipated! Maybe its the FIVE year old in him! He got to open our presents and he let K read the cards.

To help him celebrate the big day, my mom & P's parents took Bubs to Lucky's pizza & brought a birthday cake. I sadly missed all the fun, but got to see plenty of pics & hear the stories!

Bubs was smiles all day long. And instead of a party on Saturday, my mom took the kids to see the movie G-Force. He absolutely LOVES his movies! He just wants to see them all. I'm so happy that he had a great birthday. He thinks he has another "Real" birthday this coming up weekend that he is just so excited for. I am praying daily though, that everyone else stays healthy & that we can infact go through with this backup plan.

Lastly - I'm still shocked that I have a 5 and 7 year old - Kindergarten & 2nd grader. INSANE! Where does the time go?

We miss our little girl!

For the first time ever, K is away from both mom & dad for about a week! She's been away from us for a day or 2 here or there, but I believe this is the longest apart. Grandma S. flew her back to Las Vegas and will be driving back with her Monday or Tuesday next week.

It is a little weird around the house - only having Bubs around. But he's getting alone time with us, and that has been good. We've been able to chat with K & my mom & dad on the Webcam every evening. The first day it was hard, she was clearly showing that she missed us. But last night she was all smiles! Here's a few of the things she's having fun doing: swimming in the community pool everyday from 10-12, going shopping with Grandma, and visiting the "Grossology" exhibit at the Lied Discovery Children's Museum
http://news.ldcm.org/newsrelease-cid-1-id-10020.html
They still have lots of other fun "indoor" things to do because it is in the triple digits there. Can't wait to hear what's next on their list. Miss you K! Hope you are enjoying your trip!

Bubs on the other hand makes us laugh daily with his little phrases & comments. Here's just 2 that have me cracking up the way he says them. Of course, I can't think of the others at the moment. I'll write up down for next time.

"I'm just having a bad day."
"Why you so mad at me? I'm just a little kid." - reminded me that yes, he is still little!

I want to mention one more thing - P & I just celebrated our 9th anniversary! I can't believe how quickly time flies. I feel like we were just dancing our first dance Sunol Valley Golf Club. Now we have a 7 year old and (almost) 5 year old. Amazing! I love you P! Here's to many more wonderful years!

The Relay for Life - Dublin, CA

This is my 4th year participating in American Cancer Society's Relay for life. Tomorrow I will be walking the track CELEBRATING the lives of those who have battled cancer, REMEMBERING loved ones lost to the disease, and FIGHTING BACK against a disease that takes too much.

One day. One night. One community. One Fight. The Relay For Life is a life-changing event.

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/shullshock

Tired kids!

How is it that by Friday the kids & I have our morning routine down so well that we are actually out of the house on time! Monday & Tuesday we were running late. I forgot some non-essentials at the house - like my breakfast one day. I had K set her alarm for Wednesday because she wasn't getting out of bed on time. And by Friday we were actually ready early!! Hurray.

I've been dropping both kids off at the same place all week - and I love it. 2 different buildings, but one stop of the car. The first day Bubs went to EDCC I took pics of both of them. Bubs went through a mix of emotions on Monday morning. Scared, sad that he'll miss his friends, and excited about all the new things (games, food, people). Since then, 4 more days of being excited to get to EDCC. Hope that he keeps that excitement up all summer long.

Yesterday they kids even had their first summer field trip to Super Franks! http://www.superfranks.com/
They got to take a bus there. I can't believe they are growing up so fast. The summer will be full of all these fun adventures. Best of all, by the time I get home I can see that they are exhausted. Its been so easy to get them to bed. Bubs doesn't come out of his room 2-3 times with excuses that he's scared, or not tired. Hopefully they'll sleep in a little tomorrow.

We don't have any plans for Saturday (but clean house, garage, etc!) so maybe the kids can rest up. On Sunday we'll go to the Grandparent's house and they'll play with their cousins.

Wishing all the Dad's out there (and especially my DAD) - a very Happy early Father's Day! We love you & are thinking about you.

K's Rock Star Party!

7 girls,

crafts,

pizza and

music from 12-3pm

I think it was the perfect birthday party. K seemed to have fun. Here's a photo of my cake!

When she first woke up to a PINK cake she got upset & almost cried. She doesn't like pink anymore. Her favorite color is BLUE. She's also not into princesses!

Once I was finished though & she took a look at the cake and said - "Mom....I love it... more than you do!"

Graduation Day!

I feel like I've been waiting for this day forever. On one hand, I never want to wish for the kids to grow up any faster than they already are. On the other hand - I can't wait for preschool to be over with. The school has been great, don't get me wrong. Bubs has seemed to enjoy his last 2 years at Tots. BUT, I am so happy to do without those tuition payments. They will be cut in 1/2 now. AND, next Monday, I only have to drive to one location to drop them off! I don't know who is more excited. Me or Bubs. He gets to go to school with K now.

Graduation is at 2:30 today and he was excited to dress "handsome" with his blue shirt, yellow striped tie & khakis. He gets to put on a cap & gown. Can't wait to see him. Both Grandmas & Grandpa will be there with K and mom & dad. He even asked me to get out the video camera and take pictures. Too cute!

Have a great weekend. Ours will be a busy one - starting tonight with a BBQ for bubs & K's birthday party tomorrow. 7 little girl friends decked out like rock stars! I'll need a good nap tomorrow after 3pm!

June 15th countdown

I went to drop off K at her before school care & flipped through the notebook looking for our last name to sign her in. There was a page in there for Bubs! If only I could have dropped him off... he was ready to stay.

Bubs gave K a big hug goodbye. He won't have to do that soon. Hopefully too much togetherness won't be a bad thing. The good news is that they will be split into 2 buildings divided for the older & younger students. They will go on fieldtrips together & see each other on the playground. Bubs will not get his nap anymore - bedtime may be easier! I know it was for K.

He's going to have a fun summer with her. Only 9 more school days. Can't wait.

TGIF!

It was a nice short week & its already Friday! Bubs calls the tomorrow a "stay home day." He usually counts down till the weekend. This week went by so fast that he didn't have time to do that! But this morning he did ask when his graduation is. His preschool has been practicing for it for the past couple of weeks. I told him it was 2 weeks away and he said that was just too long to wait. I didn't tell him that I was just as anxious as him for preschool graduation. Monday June 15th, I finally get to drop them off at the same place - for the next 3 years!

Tonight, K has a Girl Scout Pajamarama. She's really looking forward to it. Its basically a sleepover for all the girl scouts at her elementary school to stay overnight in the multipurpose room. All of the girls in her troop are a year younger though, and most will probably go home after all the activities to sleep in their own bed. Not her though, she wants to stay! Lucky mommy. I have to join her. She is so excited though for the activities - beauty parlor, games, movies! I'm sure she'll want to write all about it in her new "diary." She got a Hello Kitty notepad from her 13 year old friend Nicole and made it into her diary. I'm glad she really seems to enjoy reading & writing. Hope she keeps that up!

Have a wonderful Friday & great weekend.

Little Lucky Lady

K had her school's Open House last night. She was so excited to be the tour guide of her 1st grade classroom.

The evening started at 5:45 when we got to the school for the Parent Faculty Club's spaghetti dinner. In line we bought raffle tickets. It was $1 for 1 or $20 for the height of the child attending the school. We donated our $20 for 26 tickets or so - K's height. I joked that I wanted to borrow a taller child for this, but in the end it wasn't necessary. We grabbed our spaghetti - the kids with no sauce - just butter, and ours with meat sauce donated from Frankie Johnnie & Luigi's. All the tables were full, but we finally managed to squeeze at the end of a table.

I wrote K's name & phone number on every single ticket, just in case we weren't there. Then, K & I went up to the stage to drop the tickets in the box of whatever we wanted to win. She picked most of them. We pretty much had one in everything (except 1hr massage, spa). We even put one in for the Wii, for a Ipod nano. Her favorites were for McDonald's gift certificates, movie tickets. I put a couple in the wine basket, luggage & airline tickets.

By 6:30 the ticket numbers were called. By the 3rd prize we heard "K... M...." she was so excited she ran up to the front not even knowing what the prize was. She took it, but was warned that the bag was heavy. The bag contained a bunch of groceries from Trader Joes with a note outside stating 50 lbs of Alpine meats. A couple minutes later, a helper brought us a styrofoam cooler filled with meats! Wow - it was all cold & daddy took it all straight to the car. Almost injuring himself on the way from all the weight.

3rd number to the last to be called (right before the nano & the wii), we hear "and we have someone that has one something earlier tonight K... M....!" Again??!! We also had no idea what this prize was. It was so packed with people in the multipurpose room & it was noisy! K once again ran up to the front with me & bubs trailing behind her. This time she won a really nice Jansport backpack with a gift basket. The gift basket had 2 tickets to Great America! We scored. No vacation planned this summer - we definitely have to get in a trip in to Great America.

From there we went to her classroom. She showed us all the things she's been working on this past year. She is currently Star Student of the classroom, so she had just brought in pics of her as a baby, to girl scouts, to softball, to the family. We got to see them all on display. Mrs. Brown had put together a slide show of pictures & comments of the class. My favorite part was K's response to "What was your favorite memory of first grade?" K said - When we went on a field trip to Amador Theater to see Ramona and my mom went with us. That was a very important memory to K!

K was one lucky lady last night. And she had a smile on her face, all the way until her head hit the pillow!

Kids to be proud of...

I just wanted to say that K had her best softball game ever on Saturday! She was up to hit 3 times and each time she whacked the ball past the distance of the pitcher. This is after being pitched to (its was not off a tee). She even made it all around the bases to home plate once. She's my little slugger. Way to go K!

Bubs had his Kindergarten Assessment on Friday. (Its already time for kindergarten!??) He also did wonderfully. Bubs met with K's previous kindergarten teacher & she liked him. Said he was funny. He would answer some questions and then say he was done. She wasn't sure if he knew more, but he was convinced he was just done with that part of the question. Silly boy. We did came to the conclusion that he knew more than he answered, we'll just have to figure out how to get that out of him! Good news is that she said he seems to be right where he should be & he'll be ready for Kindergarten in August. She said she'd love to get him in her class next year. (I quietly hope that she's not the only teacher that will think that through the years.) On a side note, I pulled out K's Kindergarten packet and looked at the number on it. I was #31 to pick up her's & ALSO #31 to pick up Bubs. Is that a strange coincidence? I thought that was pretty cool. Bub's graduates from preschool on June 12th! And the following week he'll be going to EDCC with K. I can't wait to finally have one drop off & pick up! That's all for now. Have a great week.

Mother's Day

I can't believe yesterday was my 7th Mother's Day? Is that right? Wow how time flies. And what a wonderful one it was. The kids had made me some presents at school and were so excited to help me open them after church on Sunday. Bubs had already given me his potted plant on Friday because we didn't want to hide it for 2 days. He painted the base & wrote "Happy Mother's Day - I love you Mommy" around the pot. He brought out his card on Sunday with all his sisters gifts. She made one at school - a portrait of me on a shrinky dink that is now hanging as a magnet on our fridge. (Can you believe shrinky dinks are still around!!) Its very cute. The card was another drawing of me - she did a great job. At after school care (EDCC) she painted a mini pot & at Girl Scouts they planted a seed in another pot. It also had sticking out of the dirt the cutest popsicle stick sunflower with her photo on it. Now, if only I can keep all these plants growing. I'm not really know for my green thumb. But everything they made was just perfect. And then we headed over to P's sister's house for a BBQ and to hang out with family. It was a great day. I hope every other mother out there had a wonderful Mother's Day as well!

The words moms love to hear!

K can't make her softball practice on Thursday because of Girl Scouts. (Normally practices run Mon & Wed.) Yep, she's a busy little bee. I wrote the coach an email to say we had prior commitments and here's his response. Just had to share! Happy early Mother's Day to me & all those other Mom's out there. (Especially my mom - I LOVE YOU! xoxoxo)

No problem L.....
BTW, I can’t say enough about K....she is a great girl. I’ll never forget her giving me a hug after the first practice! Nor will I forget the “kinda-sorta-mad face” she gave me once when I hit her with a pitch!

Adorable!

See you Saturday

Mom's first field trip

I took K on my first field trip on Tuesday (she's already been on several). Of course, in order to drive her & others I had to get approved by the school. I filled out an application and made some changes to our car insurance (had to up some limits for $3.20 a month which I can cancel at any time). The office then checked my driving records and my name against the Meghan's Law website. Good to know that not just anyone can drive my child on a field trip! All for the happiness of my little girl.

Last year I didn't go on a field trip & on that day K cried wishing I could go. The time came around for another opportunity and I felt like I owed it to her. From the moment I mentionned that I might go, she was so excited. I told her not to get too worked up because I wasn't sure about all the paperwork involved. Her teacher informed me that she overheard K on the playground telling someone that her mom was going to take her on the field trip. I just had to make it happen.

I took the morning off of work & drove K directly to school (no EDCC). We checked in the office & headed out to the playground for school to begin. I sat on a bench by the door of her classroom. We saw her friend and I told K she could go off to play with her. Instead, K wanted to sit there right by me, arm in arm. She wanted to show off that her mom came to school today to drive her on the field trip. We sat there & talked for 10 minutes until it was time to go into the class. I hope she remembers that moment 10 years from now (or less) when it won't be so "cool" to be hanging out with mom. I made a mental note to remember!

We drove to Amador Valley Theater, part of Amador Valley High in Pleasanton for the play Ramona Quimbly - by Beverly Cleary. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. This is from the books of my youth! K like it too. Hopefully now she'll want to read some of the books. I'm so glad I took the time off to go with her. It was a nice morning.

Sadly though, this morning Bubs asked me when will he get to go on a field trip like K? I sense that he's a little jealous! Now that I am authorized to work in the classroom, I'll have to do something for him in Kindergarten next year.

All smiles!

At softball practice Monday night, one of the moms asked - "Does K ever stop smiling?" Thats funny because they said the same thing in soccer. All the pics we have of her is with a huge smile on her face. Hope she keeps that up. Seeing her like that just makes you want to smile.

:)

Sharing some drawings...

"Your wish is my command if you don't have your voice."

K has been busy at her after school care with lots of drawings. She's got quite an imagination going. Thought it would be fun to put something new up! Enjoy

APRIL FOOLS!

K was so excited about April Fools Day because they have been talking about it at school. She tried to explain to Bubs what it was all about. At breakfast, she told bubs there was a spider behind him, he looked and said, "Where?" K got all excited and then said "April Fools!"

This morning I had to get the kids. So, from the April FamilyFun magazine I got an idea. I wrote across 3 sections of toilet paper in permanent marker "SURPRISE!" and laid it across the water in the toilet. When Bubs went potty he looked in the toilet & cracked up. He thought the "surprise" was hilarious & called his sister in. She of course, inquisitive as always, asked where it came from. I managed (without laughing) to tell her I had no idea, maybe it was daddy. Of course then she decided to write a note to him (since he was already off at work). It says:

Dad, did you put a surprise in the toilet. We found a surprise in it. P.S. It isn't poo.

Maybe I'm the one having the most fun with this. Daddy will find his own surprise in our bathroom. The one in there says, "Peek a boo." Too bad I won't be home for his reaction.

Unfortunately I don't have anything else creative for the kids. I did get 2 coworkers by putting a Post-It under their mouse. It covered the "optical eye" and they thought their mouse was broken. Now I'm waiting for payback! I'm ready though.

Have a great day.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. And Happy Birthday to Daddy!

How do you get a child up in the morning?

We try & try, but I can't seem to get the kids to bed any earlier than 8pm. There's just not enough time in the evening after I get home from work to get them in bed any earlier. Bubs still gets a nap at school, so he's harder to get to bed because he's really "tired" yet. Then again, we've been so busy lately that he hasn't been a problem. K goes to bed, no problem! She's tired from a full day of school & softball practice, or CCD, or girl scouts. Unfortunately she's like me & wants to try and do everything!

It's the mornings that are a problem. I will turn each of the kids lights on and ask them to get up. Bubs is usually hungry so he gets up, gets dressed and eats. K on the other hand will lay in bed until I start to get upset (15 min or so later). I hate to think that my 6 1/2 year old needs an alarm clock set, but I decide to try something. I thought I would set an alarm that she would have to get out of bed to turn off. I would kindly wake her up as normal, but when the alarm went off it was time to get out of bed. Easy enough right?

The first day - she was mad because she said she wanted to wake up to the alarm. (Now, honestly, who really wants to do that? - she'll learn!) So the next day, I set it earlier so she could wake up to it. I came to check on her 10 min after it should have gone off and she's still in bed with lights out. I ask her if the alarm went off. "Yes." Well then why aren't you out of bed. "I didn't know it was time to get up." Oh come on - what was the alarm for? I just don't know what to do. Every morning is another adventure to get out the door for school.

Interviewing my kids

I found this from a friend on facebook. Her children's responses were priceless. Thought it would be fun to do the same.

Ask your child(ren) to answer the questions and type their answers in.

K (6 1/2 ) Bubs (4 1/2)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
K "Good Night"
Bubs "thank you for being good"

2. What makes mom happy?
K "When I snuggle with her"
Bubs "a smile, being good."

3. What makes mom sad?
K "when i don't listen"
Bubs "when i be bad"

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
K "you tickle me"
Bubs "a smile"

5. What was your mom like as a child?
K "huh?, I don't get it... you only had one brother?"
Bubs "a baby"

6. How old is your mom?
K "32"
Bubs "2 and 3 1/2"

7. How tall is your mom?
K - thought really hard & long, "30 inches?"
Bubs "up to the moon"

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
K "do stuff on the computer, oh, I have another, do science projects with me."
Bubs "clean the house"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
K "do the laundry & do stuff on the computer"
Bubs "you clean & I play toys"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
K - "rich!"
Bubs "play sports or call on the phone"

11. What is your mom really good at?
K "Writing on the computer, helping me learn my homework"
Bubs "driving to school"

12. What is your mom not very good at?
K "Putting my socks on"
Bubs "being mad"

13. What does your mom do for her job?
K "Work in an office."
Bubs "do stuff, coloring"

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
K "Chocolate."
Bubs "hot sauce"

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
k "because your sweet."
Bubs "being good"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
K "Baby mouse in Tom & Jerry"
Bubs - " i don't know"

17. What do you and your mom do together?
K "Read"
Bubs "go to school in the morning"

18. How are you and your mom the same?
K - "We are both girls and we both cut our hair at the same time and cut it short together."
Bubs "we like cleaning up"

19. How are you and your mom different?
K - "You are older than me & we don't wear the same clothes everyday."
Bubs "I'm a boy & your a girl"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
K "Because you be nice to me and you care for me."
Bubs "so I give you a kiss on the cheek"

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
K - "He's funny, he's fat"
Bubs "kissing daddy"

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
K - "Hooters"
Bubs - "Legoland, Disneyland"

Snow Weekend!

We had a great past weekend with lots of family right outside of Tahoe. We did our annual snow trip where we drove until we got to the snow and then stayed Saturday night in a hotel in Folsom (where we also go swimming!). Unfortunately this year we had to drive much farther, practically to Tahoe. My cousins, Aunt & Uncle went up an hour or so ahead of us and found a sno-park (Adventure Mountain) with lots of snow. It was exhausting going up the big hill, but I think we all had a blast. Once again the weather held out for us. Not too cold. A little sunshine & lots of SNOW.

See the photo of Bubs at the beginning of the weekend.

Tired!

This is him at the end! Sunday night.

Missed her brother!

It didn't take me much to wake K up this morning. All I had to do was turn on her light & go into her brother's room to wake him. Once she heard me talking to someone else, she realized that Bubs was home & she jumped out of bed! She got down beside his bed and rubbed his back for him to wake up. She said the cutest things. I wished I could have captured the moments on film, but I'm sure it would have been all over by the time I returned. "Bubs I missed you so much. I am so happy to have you home." In the car on the way to school she reminded him that she "missed him more than ANYTHING." Very sweet.

Amazing what a week away does to a 4 year old. He actually looks bigger to me!

Bubs coming home!

I can't wait until my little boy comes home. Its been weird having 1 child for the past week. It has definitely been a lot quieter around the house. Tonight is the night. I told K that I was excited for tonight, because Bubs would be home. She said she's excited too, for another reason...Grandma said she bought her a doll, with a purse! Just what she asked for. She can't wait, she loves her dolls! The week went buy without any tears of missing daddy or brother! We survived. I wonder how hard it will be to get Bubs back into the swing of things at home...

Vacation

I should just sum it up that last Wednesday, Bubs & Daddy went to Hawaii. Yes, a hard and difficult decision to stay home. Keep K in school & not take her out. It wasn't really an option though for all of us to go.

Pat was scheduled for vacation last week and coincidentally his parents were headed to Hawaii for their semi-annual trip. K has been twice (although already too young too remember) but bubs has never been. 2 weeks ago the plan came about. They changed flights and added Pat & Bubs to their itinerary. We really couldn't impose our entire family of 4 on their vacation. That involved changing/adding hotel rooms & bigger rental cars. Last Wed - off they went without us. And here we stayed in the now rainy California!

I promised K the world. Whatever she wanted to do! The week with just one other responsibility was also a vacation for me. I forget how much easier it is to get one child up & out of the house for school. We definitely bonded. I even let K sleep in bed with me - like we were sharing a hotel bed. She thought that was great. Wednesday night we finished all our homework so Thursday we could go to dinner at her choice - McDonalds, come home put on PJ's and cuddle on the couch watching the Disney channel. Friday we did more of that after an evening of playing games at Chuck E Cheese. Saturday we went to Aunt Bean's farm in Stockton and got a tour of all the animals. She absolutely loved collecting the chicken eggs, washing them, & putting them in their cartons. She was the center my attention all weekend! Sunday she picked out "Bedtime Stories" at the movie theater and so we saw that, went to the library to get more books, and came home to paint a music box. I'm exhausted! I think all this has now caught up with us & we are tired.

Daddy came home last night. Now the kicker - Bubs is still in Hawaii. Grandma & Grandpa have him until they return on Wed. What a vacation! I miss my little guy. Hope he enjoys his trip - and remembers it! The rest of February is busy as well. Hope I get in some more time to write!

Congratulations to the NJ Shull Family!!!

Baby #2 is on the way!! My brother called me last night to share the news. We are so happy for them. K just couldn't believe it - she screamed with excitement. Due date is August 31st. Can't wait to see them down in Southern California next month! Best wishes go out to the Shull Family!

K's turn

Yesterday morning was a tough one at our house. I had taken some time off the day before for the Muffins with Mom/Inauguration & then left early for Bubs preschool teacher conference. I was trying to make up some time by getting into work early. A change in our morning schedule just seems to put us all on edge. K usually loves to lay in bed for 10 to 15 minutes until I finally yell at her from the kitchen to get up & get dressed. When you try to get going early, everything inevitably seems to take twice as long! It didn't help when the cord on our front blinds snapped in half while I was opening them. Great, now they don't close & I have to work on getting that part replaced. We finally made it out of the house, just not as early as I had hoped. On the way to K's school I even felt the need to apologize for be short with her. What a Wednesday morning it was!

K understood that it was a rough morning. And last night before bed, K said she was going to have a surprise from me the next morning (today). That was random, I wondered what she had in mind...

Daddy is usually up and out of the house at 2am. This morning as he was leaving our room ( I was half asleep in bed) we heard a thud. Both of us paused and I said, "please go find out what that was!" He went into K's room and I heard, "K----, what are you doing naked?" Then I heard her respond. "I was going to surprise mommy by getting all ready before she asked this morning." How sweet! I got up to tell her that was very nice of her, but she has to wait until morning. Daddy & I helped her put all her clothes on & then we put her back to bed. She slept right until I woke her up. The beauty of it all is that she was very chipper & ready to go. Even sat down for a bigger breakfast! I have to remember to have them put out their clothes ever night. It makes the morning go so much smoother.

(Mental note: remind both kids that they do not need to get out of bed before 6:30 in the morning.)

The 44th Presidential Inauguration

This morning the kids & mommy got to sleep in a little bit. K’s school had a special event held by the schools parent club – Muffins for Mom. I took Bubs with me because I want him to get more familiar with the school he’ll be attending next year. I took advantage of being at K’s school and took her to class. I let Bubs look into the classroom and then one thing led to another. I ended up being at the school from 7:50-9:30. A little more than I had planned, but well worth it.

Of course, once we were in the classroom, Ms. Brown was trying to set up the classroom’s smartboard. All classrooms were going to show live internet feed of the Presidential Inauguration. Ms. Brown made a comment to all her students to remember where they were on this day. This was a day that they could talk about years from now. The swearing in of the 44th president of the United States - Barack Obama. I thought it would be special for me to be with them. Bubs might not remember this, but K will remember her brother & I with her.

There was a last minute change though & they ended up showing the coverage in their multipurpose room. Within minutes, the entire school was seated and quietly watching the event. Bubs went & sat next to his sister and her class for at least 30 minutes. I sat in the back with a few other parents & teachers. Nearing the end of his speech though, Bubs & I had to head out. We finished listening to it in the car as I took Bubs to his school. What a busy morning it was. I look forward to talking to K more about her day after school.

Difference between boys & girls

This past weekend I saw the daredevil in my son and the careful, cautiousness in my daughter. I took them both for a bike ride around the block. As I walked around the block with them, I watched one end up in tears and the other fall several times & get back up again. No, it was not the same child! Surprisingly, Bubs was the one that fell after trying to keep up with the 5 year old boy from across the street. Our neighbor no longer has training wheels and is very comfortable on a bike. Bubs wants to be just like him.

And then there is 6 year old K. Not sure if she'll ever get off the training wheels. Everytime the driveways cause a dip in the sidewalk, she gets nervous that she'll tip over. She just doesn't go fast enough to get momentum to ride smoothly. At one point her bike did tip but I was right there to catch her. That "frightening" moment caused her to get upset and shed some tears. I keep thinking that more rides & practice on the bike will help eliminate her fears, but she's been on that bike for 2 years now!

Bubs wanted to go around the block a second time. I practically have to run to keep up with him. (I see him as my new exercise partner!) But, first we had to let K back in the house. One time around was plenty for her, she was done riding bikes.

I have a feeling that Bubs will be off the training wheels before K!