Well I had a rough night sleeping. I am tired today. I was so annoyed because I felt like I was doing everything in the house-I know probably not true but thats how I felt. I implemented penny rewards. Every time the kiddos do something extra ordinary they get a penny. I put it in a jar and write down what they did. At the end of the week we will count them up and go over what they did. The kids can get something…don’t know what that something is. Maybe spending time with us, somewhere they love to go, more game time, etc. We ran to the grocery store this morning to get some snacks for play group and stuff for the pre school board meeting tonight. The kids are loving getting pennies. They voluntarily helped put the groceries away, unload the dishwasher, and clean up their toys. I was shocked. They also vacuumed. I am sure it was just fun to vacuum. But I gave them another penny. The play date overall went really well. They were earning pennies until the end. Nicole started to get a little snotty with one of her friends, saying she didn’t want to play with her, etc. Hopefully this reward thing will work. After everyone left we cleaned up and had lunch. The kids played Leapsters a bit. They hadn’t played them for a while. We played the Big Bad Wolf, I was the wolf and they were the little pigs. I kept on growling at them while they tried to leave the futon room; we were all laughing. When they got out I chased them back to the futon room. I finished baking cheesecake for tonight then let the kiddos watch some TV. I needed some quiet time. Grandma/pa came over. Nicole pretended to be a baby with grandma. Justin and I played with the car carriers. The kids had fun with grandma/pa. I made dinner. Grandma/pa played memory with the kiddos. After dinner dad played with the kiddos. We had a board meeting for pre school. It lasted for a long time.
Justin came in our bed last night. I asked him if he wanted me to come to his bed. He said no so we slept with Justin. There was no more room for me in our bed so I just slept in his bed. Bret and I dropped the kiddos off at school this morning. After dropping them off we went to discuss whether to send the kiddos to kindergarten or not. I can’t believe here we go again. The person who helped us really took the time to help us decide what is right for our kids and try not to listen to anyone else. Bret and I have a lot of discussing to do to figure all this out. After I ran an errand then came home and relaxed a bit. Justin wanted his new bus to pick him up from school and Nicole already had Thumper with her. She did listen and left Thumper in her bucket. The kiddos played outside for a bit and we came home and had lunch. After lunch we just played. The kiddos wanted to fly the rockets that they made outside. We were outside for a while. I gardened a bit while the kiddos played. The kiddos had a great time playing on the greenbelt. I was wondering why they were getting along so well until I looked over and they had their stools and were throwing leaves and garden stuff over the neighbor’s fence. They were also pulling out all the bags I use for the on the go potty and they were all over the garage-ugh. Finally I got them in the bathtub. Daddy came home and Justin wanted to get out of the bath to race with the Wii. We had dinner then dad played Go Fish with the kiddos. I am so stressed out about this kindergarten decision, ugh. We went upstairs to get ready for bed and the kids decided they were still hungry. We read lots of library books. We spent some time cuddling and off to bed.
This morning I was just busy getting ready for the cleaners. The kids were playing Go Fish. I let them watch some George as well. I did more laundry. I washed Nikki’s sheets and I noticed I washed a few of her stuffed animals. I wasn’t sure how she would take it but luckily she thought it was funny. She said Dale had fun in there. Thank goodness it didn’t ruin any of her animals. They sure smell good though. We had a really busy day today but it was fun. We met some friends at the park. We went to a new park and the kids had a great time. They loved the see saw there-guess this is the new see saw park. Overall the girls played really nicely together. They started getting into water, sand, and just all around fun. We came home and packed up for Disney. We met a few friends there. It was a great time but I am so exhausted. We first went on the Autopia, of course. Justin just smiled the whole time while driving. Nicole drove after Justin. She drove a bit crazy but straightened out. We then walked right on It’s a small world after all. I love that the lines weren’t too bad. Nicole realized how different small world looked since Christmas. So cute watching them look all around on the ride. Justin wanted to go again. We went on the Dumbo ride. Justin and I went together while Nicole joined a friend and her two yr old. I realized Nicole chose this as she knew she would be able to drive the entire time rather than sharing with Justin. We went on the rocket ships then headed over to California Adventure for the parade. The kids loved the parade. Justin’s face lit up when he saw lightening McQueen and Tow Mater. Nicole kept on saying look at this person….We ate some dinner. Then their friends got ice cream. I told the kids they could get a sweet or a toy…to my amazement they both chose toys. Justin got a Disney bus and Nicole got a Thumper bunny stuffed animal. She really wanted one that had a blanket but it was too expensive. So we wrapped it up in her sheet when we got home and that made her happy. We managed to get on the caterpillar ride and bumper cars before CA Adventure closed. We came home and the kids were pretty hyper and talking to daddy. It was daddy…daddy…daddy. Justin and him played buses. They read books and the kiddos went right to sleep. Nicole wanted to talk about bad things. I distracted her with silly bad things like what happens if our fridge broke…she would have to drink warm milk, eat hot cheese, etc. It was pretty funny.
Nicole slept with her butterfly face painting on…for the most part it lasted today. The sparkles were the only things off. So I was off to work at pre school today while dad was working at home. The kids were crazy at school today, spring fever has set in or something. I was the blue “sand” mom. We got out the water table and everything. I love when all the kids come in all muddy and sandy and all the parents are in shock. Nicole shared her potato head and Justin shared his train whistle. It was funny when he told everyone what it was. Like I mentioned all the kids were crazy today, so it was a little difficult. No one seemed to want to be listening. When we got home we had lunch and played. I did more laundry. I gave the kiddos a bath. Justin started taking one himself. While I walked away for a minute Nicole jumped in. I pretended like I couldn’t find Nicole and she thought it was so funny. I couldn’t believe it but the kids took the longest bath ever. They always complain about getting in the bath but while they are in it they love it. I tried to clean up a bit to get ready for the cleaners tomorrow. After bath we headed outside. The weather was so nice. I decided to wash mommy car. It needed it so badly; it was so dirty from the snow. The kids wanted to help but used Justin’s pressure washer toy thing. It doesn’t work all that well but the kids love it. Friends stopped by to give Nicole and Justin Curious George masks they made. The kids loved them. But were a bit distracted since they had the pressure washer toy. Andree and Zoe the dog were out as well. We hadn’t seen them in so long. It was a nice mellow afternoon. Dad came home and played the Wii. We had an early dinner then Grammy came over. Grammy babysat while I went to my photography class and dad is at an informational meeting for soccer. When I left Grammy and the kiddos were playing go fish. So funny to watch someone teach the kiddos a new game. The kid’s start soccer on the 13th. The photography class was boring tonight. Dad said Nicole was talking about death tonight-trying to figure it all out. She asked how do I pee when I am dead? And if I am buried how do I get the dirt out of my eyes? She is so inquisitive.
Weekends go by so fast. This morning we just hung out at home. I did some laundry. We played Memory and doll house. Dad ran out to Target to get a Wii fit. The kids were all curious about it and tried it a bit. Grammy came over and we had lunch. With Grammy we headed to the Irvine Regional Park for their anniversary celebration. Everything was half price. Nicole got a pony ride, then we all went on the train ride, etc. Nicole got her face painted as a butterfly; she looks so cute.
While waiting in the long face painting line I saw a dog that looked just like Tracey. She was so cute and sweet. I just loved seeing this dog. Nikki said to me I wish I could have a dog like Tracey so you could pet her whenever you want. It was the sweetest thing ever. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss Tracey, I wish she was still alive and a part of our family. Justin went in the bounce house then the kiddos got alien balloon animals. We went over to the play structure and watched the kiddos play a bit. We stopped at the dollar bookstore for Grammy and the kids got lots of books too. We came home and we are all tired. Dad read some of the new books then we turned on George for the kiddos. After dinner the kids wanted to race with daddy on the Wii. We headed upstairs shortly after that. Dad got the kids names (letters) hung in there rooms. We played Memory. The kids were pretty tired. Dad and J played more Memory while Nikki and I read a ton of books. Nicole loves the Incredible Hulk book because she says she loves bad things. We spent lots of time cuddling with the kiddos in their beds. Dad and I are going to finish our movie we started and play with the Wii. The kids would be so mad if they knew we were playing it without them.
We were good to the kids this morning. Mommy guilt for being out last night. We gave the kids the Chipmunks Wii game this morning. It wasn’t all that exciting but the kids liked it. I also made them their favorite Mickey Mouse pancakes. My special breakfast! We decided to go to Mission Viejo mall this morning. It was gloomy and raining. Plus we had to go to Ladera for a birthday party. We had fun at the mall. The kiddos went on this little roller coaster ride thing at the mall and loved it. They also played in the play area a bit. I ran into a few stores and looked for clothes for me. I am hating all my clothes and can’t find any new ones. We went to Sofi’s and Mylee’s birthday party. The kids had fun but it was a little girly for Justin. Ariel was there. At first the kids didn’t know what to make of Ariel but then got into it. Ariel sang songs and played games. Nicole didn’t go for the make up or dress up. She was sad she didn’t have a princess dress. Luckily someone there had an extra. Justin and Nicole played with their toys and had cake. We came home and lit the fireplace. The kids watched Alvin and the Chipmunks. Dad tried to take a nap and I went to clean out the garage. Justin in the middle of the movie decided he didn’t want to watch anymore. He woke up dad and we all went in the garage. We pulled the cars out and had fun in the dry garage. At first Justin played tennis in the garage with dad then it started pouring. Justin and I went and played in the rain. It was silly and fun for me to act like a kid. My feet were soaking wet. Nicole was in the garage roller skating with dad. After playing in the rain I put my roller blades on and went around in the garage. Justin used the roller skates. We got down a trike with a handle and the kids were riding it around. Nicole had me hold onto the handle and pulled me with my roller blades. We just had a great time in the garage since we couldn’t play outside. Dad made dinner while I gave the kiddos a bath. After dinner we headed upstairs. We were hoping to get some things done in the kids rooms, hanging letters, etc. However the kids were being difficult and wouldn’t let us do much. We played Memory and read a lot of books. Nicole was wanting to wear her Dora nightgown to sleep but it is too cold for it. Of course she had a hard time with the fact she couldn’t wear it. We had great cuddle time with the kiddos though. It was nice and made up for the crazy night. Justin anytime I am angry or anything just comes up and gives me a huge hug. How can one stay mad when you get a Justin hug. Time to go relax and watch a movie.
I can’t believe how long I have been doing this blog. I hope I enjoy reading it sometime in the future. I dropped the kiddos off at school this morning. The routine seems to be reading books before I leave school. Justin went off to play but Nikki and I read. I read snow white, so Nikki has decided she is Dopey. HA. The kiddos were happily riding bikes when I left. I came home and went for a walk. It was nice listening to the new music on my Ipod and relaxing a bit. But I knew I wanted to get stuff done while the kiddos were at school. I ran to Target and stocked up on all the stuff I needed. So easy to shop by myself but I do miss the kiddos. I ran to the library as well to return some CD’s. I picked up the kiddos and we played outside for a bit. They both couldn’t wait to show me the rockets they made, so cute. We came home and the kiddos ate lunch. Then we did activities. I bought them a sun catcher Curious George thing that we painted. Then I had them glue Skittles on paper to make rainbows, but they just wanted to eat the candy. It was fun though. We played Memory then the kiddos played by themselves for a bit. Nicole has been playing with her Snoopy stuffed animal. We went outside to play in the front yard. I did some gardening, the kids helped a bit. They were busy digging in the dirt. They also were interested in playing tennis. They ended up throwing the tennis ball on the roof. Love the simple things they come up. They also rolled the balls down the bricks in between ours and the neighbors house. They had the balls racing. Justin and I went to play tennis on the greenbelt. Nicole was busy pretending she was Dopey from Snow White going to work. She used the mini igloo cooler and filled it with a few tennis balls (aka apples). It was just a fun filled afternoon. We walked to find daddy. Justin asked to bring the tennis racket so he could show daddy. I explained to him it was dad’s tennis racket so dad knows what it looks like. Nicole took her igloo so we stopped along the way to eat our pretend apples. Dad drove us home and we let the kids ride in the front. Dad played Wii with the kiddos while I went and picked up the sitter. Bret and I had a nice night out but we ate way too much. The kiddos were sleeping by the time we got home. We had the sitter give them some new books, Alvin and the Chipmunk books. The sitter said she read the books about 8 times. It sounded so cute, I am sorry we missed it. But Bret and I needed some time alone. I can’t wait to hear all about in the morning.
This week for some reason seems to be going by very slowly. This morning we hung out at home for a bit. Justin and I played Memory and raced cars while Nicole watched. I was worried I wouldn’t have time to give the kiddos a bath so we decided to get it out of the way first thing. Nicole went first. Justin and I played, when he started playing trick or treat Nikki wanted to get out to play too. Justin didn’t stay in the bath for too long, so we had time to go to Blue Gum park and meet some friends. It was a beautiful day out and so nice to be out and about. The kids had a lot of fun too. I am trying to work with Nikki to be a little nicer to some of her friends. She likes who she wants to like and thats it. Very strong willed little girl but no this will serve her benefits throughout her life. Justin just goes with the flow, so easy going just like his daddy. I realized at the park Nikki didn’t eat breakfast, so we didn’t stay too long. We had lunch when we got home. The kids played. The kids got the picnic blanket and pretend food. They had a picnic in the garage. Justin rode his scooter in the house all smiles, so silly. We played in the backyard. Justin was busy digging for treasure. The kids went in their swings for a bit. Dad came home early to go with us to the ENT doctor for Nicole. We had to wait a long time, so annoying. The kids were troopers though. The doctor basically said she still has fluid in her ears and will probably be like that for another 6 weeks. Nicole was so brave. She weighs 38.8lbs and is 42.5in. We are just going to watch her for a while, hopefully with cold season ending soon she will be ear infection free. Nicole and I went to the organic farm to get some fruit. So cute she wanted to get me a surprise. She told me she wanted to get me flowers, so sweet. She remembered at the farmers market we got flowers. The thought was amazing and I just smile every time I think about it. Since the kids were so good we let them play the Wii for a bit. Nicole was so happy when she beat me. Justin is still crazy about the game. So funny to watch him play. After dinner we just headed upstairs. The kids played tag, ran around, and had lots of fun together. I started organizing things a bit-the linen closet and Justin’s closet. Dad and Justin played Memory while Nicole and I cuddled in her bed and read books. Justin is sleeping with Pumpkin the stuffed dog and he was so cute with him. Nicole was all talky tonight as normal. She tells me “here’s the deal… you scratch this leg and rub the other one”. She cracks me up when she says here’s the deal. So cute in the middle of the night Nicole cried out for me. I went in there and snuggled in her bed and she just had a great big smile on her face, makes it all worthwhile.
Justin came in our room last night. It was all fine until he started kicking or hitting me in the face. I carried him back to his room and covered the kiddos. I didn’t have to work at pre school today, so I came home for a bit. And just enjoyed a quiet house to myself. I did some errands then ran to pick up the kiddos. The kiddos were so excited to show me stuff they did at school. Justin couldn’t wait to show me his rocket. He was so proud of it. I love it! Nicole made an apple and stuck toothpicks in it with fruit, some planets etc. We met some friends at a new park after school, sweet shade. It was a cool park, lots of climbing things. I forgot to mention last night I took out the kiddos letters they had in their room when we had cribs. Justin hung all his letters on the magnetic darts. He was so proud of himself, it was so cute when he showed us. We have to paint his letters and put them up again in their own rooms. After the park today we played a bit at home. The kids played with cards-not sure what they did with them but they were happily playing on their own. We had to run back to preschool to get Nikki’s baby she left there. Poor baby has been left there twice now. The kiddos watched some TV while I cleaned up a bit and played on the computer. Grammy came over for a visit, the kids barely would take their eyes off the TV to say hi. The kids happily showed Grammy their new beds. It is so cute that they are so proud of their rooms. We came downstairs and used the race car track, Justin and I raced then Grammy and Justin raced. We played Memory and Candyland with Grammy. Nicole just watched. She didn’t want to play as she didn’t want to lose. Dad came home and the kids did a few races on the Wii. Nicole and I raced-I won one game and she wasn’t too happy. But was way happier when she beat me the second time. We went out to dinner tonight. We got home a little late. Grammy read a few books to Nicole while Justin and dad played hockey. We didn’t get the kids down until 8:45, maybe they will sleep in in the morning.
This morning I was hosting play group. We ran to the grocery store to get some snacks. Now that we are eating much healthier I don’t have a lot of food options for play groups. The kids didn’t want to go to the grocery store but once they got there they had fun. Nicole brought Huey, Louie, and Dewey and the kids were crazy with their carts. They were having a great time pushing the carts and decided what to get. We played a little bit before every one came and got the house ready. The boys all played together and the girls played mostly in Nikki’s room. It was nice as I got to catch up with a few of my mommy friends. Justin and Nicole ended up in their bathing suits pretending to use Justin’s bed as a swimming pool. They weren’t listening however when I asked them to stop jumping on the bed, I finally had to threaten to take away something. I hate that but it always works. Justin is loving to play Mario and being Luigo, so much in fast he has named a few of his animals Luigi. After lunch the kiddos watched some TV, they chose Barney for a change. I was so tired after TV I was ready to fall asleep. The kids decided to get in on the action and lay/jump all over me and shut all the shutters. We headed out as I needed to get Nikki a mattress pad for her bed. The kids had trouble listening in the store. Then we met some friends at the park. The kids played really well together. So fun to watch the kids roll down the little hill then run while their friend is on a bike. There was a monkey bar thing and Nicole had to conquer it. We got home and the kids saw daddy was home and immediately started asking for the Mario Wii game. The kids played for a while-Nicole was the happiest little girl when she beat me. We had dinner then the kids and dad were off to play Memory. We went upstairs and the kids played. They were playing with dad’s belts, fishing with them off the banister. They were having a blast. We read lots of books and hopefully Nicole will go to sleep soon. I just got another my new laptop in the mail. Now to play with both and decide. I am trying to make friends with the Inspiron but I don’t like the wide screen.