Melissa’s Blog

Nicole woke up quite a bit last night due to her ear hurting. She was so cuddly and sweet. I would sleep with her for a bit then head back to my bed. When she called for me again I would go sleep with her and this went on most of the night. She says it still hurts today, however, distracted it doesn’t seem to bother her. I worked at school today. I decided to chance taking her and if she wasn’t happy I would call Bret. At first she sat by Marshmallow the bunny’s cage for a bit. It didn’t take long for her to start playing. She shared Dale today while Justin shared a Cars Christmas book. The kids made Valentine’s today, so cute with their picture on them. They also made volcano’s erupt. The kids all loved this. It was a fun day at school today. We came home and the kids played a bit then I just let them watch TV. Let them rest for a while. After TV I ran out to try to get a Valentine’s present for Bret. Unfortunately all the stores are out of the Wii so I give up. I told Bret what it was and it is up to him to get it. We came home and I just played with the kiddos. I raced cars with Justin then played doll house with Nicole. Both kids were really patient why I did things which each one. Then we just laid down and read lots of books. Daddy came home. We ran out and grabbed some dinner then we wanted to go look at a new computer for me. This computer has seen better days, however, I am having trouble finding one I like better. I know crazy. The kids had fun playing in Best Buy. When we got home we just went straight upstairs. Dad read lots of books to the kids. We managed to get downstairs before 8:00. Justin of course fell fast asleep. We were in visiting with Nikki talking to her and all of a sudden we realized she was almost asleep.

Anyway this is my facebook status for tonight:

I didn’t think it was possible but my husband managed to trump my Valentine’s gift. Somehow he managed to book a blimp ride and I can’t even find a Wii. Looking forward to our zeppelion ride on Sat, http://www.airshipventures.com/

Everyone slept last night. This morning we decided to run to grandma/pa’s house to surprise grandma for her birthday. The kids were so excited to surprise her. We had breakfast with them and played for a bit. We headed out and went to a play date at Christy’s. We helped celebrate Sienna’s 2nd birthday. The kids had a great time playing with the new toys. The TV was on so of course they wanted to watch TV. Nicole played doll house, thank goodness she found someone to play doll house with her. The kids played pin the tail on the dog, so cute. I love watching the kiddos play games. I have been looking for dad’s Valentine’s gift and called a few stores on the way home. Everyone seems to be out of stock, ugh. Bret may have to get it himself. When we got home the kids needed a rest so I let them watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. Nicole was complaining about her ear a bit. I started cooking for tonight. The kids and I played a bit then grandma/pa came over. The kids played with them and I printed a bunch of paperwork for pre school. The kids had a great time. Alan and family came over as well. We had a nice dinner but Nicole was feeling under the weather. She was complaining about her ear a lot. She barely ate dinner. Luckily the Tylenol kicked in and she was happy again. She wanted to cuddle with me while I was cooking. I wish I could have cuddled more. I did put her on the counter and she helped me. She helped me put together the salad. I am so full. It seemed like grandma had a nice birthday which was great. The kids seemed so tired tonight. Justin was asleep so fast tonight that I didn’t even get to visit him. Nicole is having more difficult falling asleep. I sat with her for a while but she just likes to talk. It was nice for a while but I need some quiet time before going to bed too.

Today was Bret’s first day working from home. He gets to work from home on Mondays. The kids did well leaving him alone for the most part. There was no pre school today due to Presidents Day. We played at home for a bit. The kids decided to play stinky ball. This was Justin getting a hockey stick and Nicole using a magic wand and they just passed the ball back and forth. We also turned on some music so the kids were busy dancing around. Justin was into playing Simon Says, so cute. Justin and I raced cars; we decided to buy the smaller race set to get a new car. Then we should have a good race. One car is just so slow now. We decided to go to story time at the library. We ended up there for a while, just reading lots of books. All of a sudden it was lunch time. We called dad and he met us for lunch. It was nice. Then the kiddos and I went to Target. The kids were so good that we ended up there for a while. But then we had to go to the grocery store. I was so sick of shopping but the kids were troopers. We came home and the kiddos played. Then we had to take a bath. Justin went first. He was just relaxing in the tub having fun. Nicole was busy playing with her animals. She also talked to Grandma on the phone for a bit to plan for grandma’s birthday tomorrow. Then Nicole took a bath and dad came home. Nikki was pretending to be a dog in the bath. Normally I wouldn’t mind but I felt like I was in a rush to start dinner. The kids watched TV while we made dinner and dad finished up taxes. After dinner dad and Justin played Memory and Nicole did her magnet story pages. I had to leave to go to my photography class. Not a very exciting class tonight.

Justin woke up last night and came into our bed for a while. He then told us his bed was more comfortable. Justin woke up as good as new this morning. I was worried he was getting sick but he is doing great today. We played upstairs for a bit. I heard Nicole playing and she bumped her dolls head then told the doll she needed to go to the hospital. HA Of course when we came down Justin wanted to play Memory. We took it easy this morning. Bret and I decided to go for a jog. We need to get in shape if we are going to run a 10K in May. The kids did really well in the stroller and played on their Leapsters for a bit. We jogged past the kiddos elementary school so we decided to check it out. The kids in jammies and all played on the play structure. Luckily we had a blanket with us to dry off the slides, etc. We didn’t get home until before lunch. The kids with dad’s help discovered some website where they can make things: www.starfall.com They were loving it, making dancing gingerbread and pumpkins. After lunch we played out front. We brought the remote control car/jeep out. Then the kiddos drove their cars. I started to garden and Nicole helped me so much. She loved filling her bucket up with the weeds and dumping it for me. I can’t believe how many weeds I still need to pull. We came in and played a little. Then gave the kiddos a break by watching Little Einsteins. We bribed the kids to get in the car with gummy tools from the party yesterday. We ran over to the mall as we are trying to look for a new bed for Nikki. The mall was all about playing for the kids, trying on glasses, riding on those stupid quarter rides, playing in the Disney…unhappy we wouldn’t buy them anything. We tried to teach a lesson in buying things today. Both kids wanted flip flops so we wanted them to chose. They wanted a little train ride but learned to pick the flip flops as they will last longer than a 2 minute train ride. They were so happy with their flip flops, so cute. We met Grammy for dinner tonight. The kids were crazy though. They couldn’t sit still and wanted to do shows and loud shows. We came home and headed upstairs. Luckily the tricks we use to get them to bed still work. We walk away and say I bet they won’t put on their jammies, then when we are out of the room, they put them on. We read lots of books and the kids went to bed without much of a struggle. Now to go watch Superbowl commercials.

Justin woke up a lot last night. I brought him back to his bed. I laid with him and he was so movey. He said the rain kept on waking him up and he wanted to go to my bed. I just gave in as I was so tired. Early morning he was awake so I just took him downstairs and cuddled. I finally just sat with him and watched TV. He finally told me his ear was bothering him. Nikki was delighted to see the TV on when she came down. Justin wanted to play Memory again. I had the kids start signing their Valentine’s for their class. I am so impressed how Justin is signing his name these days. All of a sudden time caught up with us and it was time to go to Jeremy’s birthday party. Luckily on the way there we didn’t hit any traffic. I wish they lived closer as my kids really like Jeremy and John. Nicole and Justin were loving all his toys. Their favorites were the musical instruments and the binoculars. They had fun playing with all the toys. Due to rain though the kids had to be inside, even the pinata was done inside. I was so terrified Nik or Justin would swing the bat through a window. They got to play pass the present. They passed the present and when the music stopped the person who had it had to take off one layer of the paper. Nicole was really sad she didn’t get to take off of a layer, but she needs to learn not everyone could get a turn. Hard thing for a little kid to understand, especially this day in age where all kids get trophies, for ex. They played musical chairs too, so cute. Justin didn’t stand a chance when he and an older kid were left. I was so impressed as the older child gave Justin the prize. We stayed while Jeremy was opening presents. Nicole couldn’t wait for Jeremy to open her present. She loved watching him open them and wanted to help him bring them over to where he was opening them. We had some traffic on the way home. But the kids saw a rainbow. We came home and played memory. Justin is pretty needy and cuddly today; just seems a little tired from being up last night. After dinner we let them watch TV and have a rest then headed upstairs. Justin was tired, so we all went to my bed and read a ton of books. I just kept on reading until Justin fell asleep. Daddy and I visited with Nicole together. It was fun. We asked her a bunch of what if questions she loved it.

I cuddled with Justin last night. I went to cover the kiddos up in the middle of the night and he woke up. I dropped the kiddos off at school. At school while I was still there they drew in their journals. They made rainbows and wrote their names. They are getting pretty good at writing their names. They are getting so big so fast. Dad stopped off at Hooters on the way to work to see Heidi, Frosty, and Frank. He said he could barely hear the show but it was still fun. I ran home for a bit then did some errands. It is so fast how I can do errands without kids in tow. Nicole wanted me to come back early so I did. The kids were running outside in the drizzle. Silly Justin had no shoes on. He is getting so proud of himself lately. He wanted to show me the person he made at school and so proud he can get dressed. We came home and the kids had lunch. They pretended to be Dora and Diego for a bit then played Leapsters. After I made them take a bath. It was cute though as they wanted to be in the bath together. They are so cute together. I threw lots of toys in so they had fun. I think they would have stayed in longer had I let them. We had to run to the dentist to get the kids little cavities checked. Just to make sure they are not getting bigger. So far we don’t need to do anything. The kids were so good at the dentist. Justin barely talked to the dentist he just wanted to watch the TV. They took turns going first, Justin got an x-ray first, so Nicole got her exam first. After the dentist we went to a play date at a pre school friends house. It was really nice. The girls did dress up shows, so cute. Nicole came down wearing one of her friends skirts and a Handy Manny shirt. Justin was busy playing with the cars. My kids were apparently so hungry and they ate and ate. Ate enough that they barely wanted dinner which I had a feeling would happen. One of their friends gave them a lollipop so they were just focused on having it as soon as they could. We ate dinner and Justin wanted to play Memory. Nikki helped me wrap a gift for a friend’s birthday party tomorrow. Nik and I went upstairs to play doll house while dad and J played cars. We read lots of books. Nicole wanted to talk and talk. We talked about what happens if a lion gets out of his cage, what happens if someone took Nicole, how she gets lonely all night, her animals all told her they would keep her company. Justin of course fell asleep so quickly. He is such a cuddler.

We played at home for a bit this morning. I tried to get a few things done but Justin kept asking me to play Memory. We played a few games while Nikki watched and did puzzles next to us. Today Paula and I split up the kids for a boy and girl only play date. I got the girls today and Paula took the boys. Justin kept asking when they were going to come pick him up-he was so excited. Nicole at first had a hard time playing with two girls at once. Katie and her played doll house while Sarah and I did some crafts. Sarah was so fun to talk to and she just hung out with me. Nicole and Katie had a good time upstairs and came down with the doll strollers full of babies and stuffed animals. Lunch was so cute as we were making the dino chickens talk. After lunch the girls did dress up, so cute. Nicole was Tinkerbell, Katie Sleeping Beauty, and Sarah a cheerleader. They grabbed the music player and kept on doing shows for me. They also swung in the swings. Justin had so much fun. So great to have him back, I missed him. When the boys got here Justin and Mikey did remote control cars for a long time. I think Nikki missed her brother too! After everyone left Justin and Nicole played so well together. They played but what a huge mess they made. Luckily I used TV as a dangling carrot-if you say no TV until you clean up, clean up happens quickly. I started to make dinner, banana bread (Whole Foods recipe) and brownies for tonights board meeting. I hope the banana bread comes out well. The kids watched George. I made dinner, someday I will make a meal that everyone eats. Justin didn’t like chicken and dumplings. The banana bread turned out pretty well. We played Memory then the board meeting for pre school started. The kids were so cute and came down and gave me huge hugs. I miss my little buggers-they can be so sweet. I am in the meeting right now. Bret put the kids to bed. So much starting to go on for my board position for pre school.

I dropped the kiddos off at school. Nicole really didn’t want to go since I wasn’t working. She gave me lots of hugs and I read some books. Then she was fine and ready for me to leave. Justin just wanted me to build him a track. They had a great time at school. A dentist came in and talked to them. They were so happy to get tooth brushes, it is the little things they love. We stopped by dad’s work to get a booster seat then Tierney came over. We got to babysit her and had fun. The kids loved having her in the swing and swinging her fast. T loved it and was laughing a lot. When the kids started to play T was just busy watching them and so interested in what they were doing. T did pull Nikki’s hair a bit till we finally put it up. They were all so cute in the zebra tent. I tried to get a pic of all 3 kids but it wasn’t easy. I don’t think any of them came out that great. T kept on wiggling away and my kids were looking at T.

We did some errands. I had to go to the jewelers and get a new watch battery for my Justin and Nicole watch. I also got my ring cleaned, so beautiful. We went to Costco and the kids loved the snacks. When we got home Roberta came to get T and we just played outside. The kids used the creeper and dolly and went down the driveway. Then we played frisbee and dad joined us. The kids watched a George while we made dinner. After dinner we decided to go get some frozen yogurt, so yummy. We made the kiddos put their jammies on before going out though. We were trying to speed up the night process.  We read books and it wasn’t until 8:20 but then the kiddos were quiet.

The cleaners came early today. We quickly cleaned up and got ready to go. We finally remembered that there was a farmers Market on Tuesdays. So off we went. The kids liked all the samples. They loved picking out fresh fruits and veggies and even flowers. It is a small little market but fun. We then met some friends at Blue Gum Park. The kids all played really well together and had fun. I got to catch up with a few moms I hadn’t seen in a while. The kids started getting hungry for lunch so we came home. We had lunch. The kids looked through all their old art work. We enjoyed coming home to a clean house. I needed to rush them in the bath before friends came over. Justin went first but he didn’t want to get out and Nicole wanted to get in so they were in the bath together for a bit. I miss them bathing together and for the most part they got along. Nicole had to play doggie in the bath, so she did lots of tricks for me and fetched the ball. She decided her name was Melissa and Justin was Zoe the dog. It was kind of a quick bath as we were getting ready for a play date. Sofi and Mylee came over. I felt bad for Justin for not having a boy over. I need to plan better. They all played pretty well, but the girls got a bit catty. Nicole had a hard time including her friend and Justin at the same time. We did get the girls to do a fashion show and then all was well. Justin however wanted me to play and do puzzles. It was hard to do everything. I basically felt like I got no break and am just tired and hungry. I set up the zebra tent which the kids used for all about 5 minutes. We tried to make baked corn dogs tonight, they were disgusting. That will teach us to be healthy. The kids watched Alvin while we attempted to make dinner. Justin wanted to play Memory again. He is getting so good at that game and it is really fun to play with him. We all headed upstairs. Dad and the kids parked all of Justin’s cars then we read books. Nicole decided she was hungry, so we brought up pretzels and peanut butter. Who knew we made it too fun, dipping the pretzel in peanut butter. In bed Nicole wanted to talk about what happens if I didn’t pick her up from pre school and if daddy didn’t come home from work. Silly girl she knows I will always get her. She just likes to talk about this bad stuff-trying to figure the world out. She talked to dad and told him she didn’t want to go to Kindergarten and asked if I will work there, so sweet. Justin was in a silly mood and we kept saying goodnight and calling each other everything from hot dog to meatball to chicken nugget, etc.

Pre school day and I was working. The kids wanted me to be the red mom. We had a great time today. We grabbed the foam puzzle letters. The kids had a great time getting on the letters and telling me words started with that letter. We had fun doing bubbles, playing catch, etc. I was in charge of working on rhymes with the kids today. It is amazing how fast they learn. Nicole shared a picture of Zoe today and Justin shared his Geo Trax fire truck. We came home and had lunch. The kiddos played so well when we got home, it was great. I did some pre school stuff and laundry. I dragged the kids to Whole Foods for grocery shopping. The great part is the samples. Justin brought his big dog Pumpkin and Nicole took Alvin. We got so many things and spent way too much money. I needed a break when we got home so the kiddos wanted to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. Dad got home after Chipmunks ended. We played Memory and I can’t believe that Justin beat me again. While making dinner the kiddos played really well. Justin played with cars and Nicole used the grocery store thing as a stage and her little Alvin doll did a show. Dad made a great steak tonight for dinner. Guess that helped to justify my huge grocery bill. I had to go to my photography class.