Melissa’s Blog

It feels like it has been a long week. And this morning didn’t start off too well. Bret cut his hair and asked me to help with the neck and back. He had the wrong blade on so he is shaved in the middle of the back of his head. Poor guy-it looks bad, but in a few days it will grow in. Luckily he has pink eye and worked from home today. Here is a picture:

We mentioned it was a big boo boo and Nicole went down to get daddy her boo boo bunny, it was so funny. This morning was the summer social for pre school. Very hectic being the membership person. The kids couldn’t have behaved any better. They were at preschool with  me from 9-1 and were so well behaved and occupied themselves. They were outside a lot of the time playing nicely. They had lots of snacks and lunch there. I was very proud of them for letting me do what I needed to do. We came home and I gave them some candy as reward that cousin Zach gave them. The kids continued to play at home pretty well excpet for the occasional fight over a toy. I gave them showers, so nice at is much faster than bath. Nicole is wearing the same dress she has worn for the last 3 days. I have been doing lots of  laundry since Bret has pink eye. Justin has on an outfit that he picked out himself, looks cute but not sure how well it matches. Oh well. At least the kids are out of their bathing suits-thats what they were to preschool this morning.

After bath the kids performed for me. Dancing around crazy in the family room. It was really cute and I got some video of it. Dad came home a little early, he worked remotely from a place that has wireless. I can’t stop laughing at his hair, I better sleep with one eye open tonight. The kids watched some TV and then we had dinner. After dinner we played in the backyard with water balloons and toys. We decided to pull out all the tomato bushes so the kids helped with that. They loved tossing the tomatos that were still green in the trash can. Can’t believe how they overtook the garden. The kids are excited about planting new things. Justin has a huge plant growing there from pre school, I thought it was a bean plant but now I am thinking it is a sunflower, we will wait and see. The kids were fun tonight. I made capes out of their sheets and they prenteded to be super duper Elmo and Zoe. Then we played car wash for a bit and read books. Right before bed the kiddos decided they were hungry, they didn’t eat much dinner. So we gave them a peach and off to bed they went.

Dad called in sick today from work. He has been feeling a bit under the weather. The kids and I signed up at the OC Zoo for a class called animals in your backyard. It was cute. The kids got to pet a snake, and see/touch its skin that he sheds, and touch lots of skins, like racoon and coyote. There were also 3 really cute crafts making ladybugs, snails, and snakes. Nicole was all into it but Justin after about 30 minutes was ready to go see the zoo animals-he was also hungry. After the class we went and walked around the zoo. It is a tiny zoo but the bears were the highlight. The kids liked seeing them up on the branches. We stayed for storytime as well. Not too exciting though. The lady played Owl noises and then read 2 books. One of the books was one I had read this morning to the kids so they were all excited. Since we were at the Irvine Regional Park Justin wanted to go on the train of course. The kids waited so patiently until the train was ready to go. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store real quick and got some lunch. After lunch dad and the kids did a ton of water balloons, they were all soaked. Then the kiddos played in their pool. So cute watching them jump in it and have fun together. After Justin was all done he said I need cake because its hot but then he said he needed it because he was hungry. It was funny! The kids relaxed and watched some TV. Dad took a nap. We headed to the Spectrum after. We ran to Target and Carters then met Grammy and Zach at Dave and Busters. Justin immediately just wanted to play games-he didn’t care about what he was having for dinner. The kids had fun playing games. We had a great time. The kids were really tired tonight and went to bed really easily.

Turned into a busy day. We were out and about early. We tried to go to the library early but it wasn’t open yet, so we headed to Target across the street. I got Justin some “daddy” shoes, like his topsiders, so cute. We went over the library for the event. Before the event we went into the library and got some new books-it is amazing and great about how excited the kids get about books.  It was something called One World Rythm. It was obviously all about music. All the kids got to play with little instruments, it was really cute. Really cute until Nicole wanted what Justin got, ugh. Nicole is still a little on the cranky side. Anyway the kids really liked it. After we rushed out of there to go to our friend’s pool. We went over to Michelle’s pool (Rio’s mommy). The kids were excited to see one another. My kiddos wanted to swim in the big pool but I forgot my bathing suit, ugh. For the most part they listened and stayed close to the stairs with their floaties. The baby pool was freezing compared to the big pool. Justin had a little trouble getting back to the stairs a couple of times but overall did ok. Nicole loved playing with Rio’s floating baby in the pool. Nicole and Justin did not want to get out of the pool so I don’t think they even ate lunch until about 1:30. Nicole was so sad when we had to leave. I was crazy today so we ran home and took showers as fast as we could then we were out again. The kids had so much fun spraying with the shower head, I hated to rush them but they wanted to go to the library storytime and craft. The story time was all about pigs today-the kids made pig puppets. So cute and lots of glue. Then the kids told me they needed some exercise so we ran around the park area outside of the library. When we got home dad read all the library books we checked out. The kids helped pick a lot of the tomatoes. We now have so many tomatoes. I bought this new kid’s pool to try out, so after dinner we got it out just to see if it would work. What was I thinking? The kids saw something new and got into their bathing suits and in they went. They were so funny and loving it, laying in it, getting the hair all wet, etc. They were having so much fun, it was so cute to listen to and watch. Too bad the pool wasn’t as great as I thought so I may take it back. The kids saw us eating some of dad’s birthday cake and wanted some. Justin went inside and got a big fork. So funny. So we all ate cake then it was time to come in. The kids were still crazy, playing with all their balls. We went upstairs and the kids got ready for bed. Nicole wanted to sleep in the dress she had on, so we let her. The kids played car wash and then read lots of books. They want me to find books they haven’t read in a while. They were pretty tired and went right to sleep.

This morning I went out for a walk with my friends before the kiddos got up. We tried to get out fast this morning. I wanted to stop by the pre school to collect more paperwork. It was hard to pull the kids out of there, they were having fun. We went to a free movie today, Alvin and The Chipmunks. Paula and gang met us there. It was great-the kids loved it. The kids were laughing at scenes in the movie and bopping in my lap to the music. Nicole calls herself Alvin now and Justin is Simon. He is proud of the fact that Simon is the smartest. We did an errand then I decided to go out to lunch with my kids. We just went to In N Out Burger. We were all really hungry. Then we went to the toy store to buy some gifts. The kids were loving playing with all the toys and picking gifts out for their friends. Nicole got a little cranky though and has had one time out. Nicole put on her Abby Cadaby costume when she got home. Justin was busy playing trains. Not sure why Nicole was just a challenge today, but tonight we had a great time. We went to ice skating lessons. Nicole was so happy to be going and Justin was a trooper hanging out why she skated. When we got there, he got to watch the zimbonee and that was a highlight. Then he played his Leapster for a bit while Nicole skated. Then he just hung out with me. We had fun cheering Nicole on. Nicole is doing great learning to skate. After I took the kiddos out for pizza and then took them to the little candy store. When we got home we all played upstairs. Justin was running around. We read books then I went to get Justin in his jammies and I did it silly, putting his shorts over his head then we went nuts. I put pants on him then shorts and two shirts, On Nicole I managed to put 5 bathing suits. Then I added Justin’s bathing suit to his attire. It was a fun night-made up for how difficult they were today.

Looks like both kids are well again, at least right now. We just took it easy and played at home this morning. I did some laundry too. The kids and I read books, the kids pretended to be dogs-Nicole was Biscuit from the book and Justin was Zoe. We did play doh for a bit. I put a blanket in the middle of the family room and the kids had a pretend picnic. It was a good morning. We had our first swim lessons today. The kids did pretty well. They didn’t mind someone else holding them in the water at all. Justin was a little more cautious than Nicole (typical though). He was brave and went first. Justin was so funny he was talking to the instructor like he had been swimming forever and knew everything she was saying. I think he just needs to boost his confidence a bit. Nicole just did whatever the instructor told her to do. They both worked on floating on their backs, and blowing bubbles. Each one had an individual lesson so I got in the pool and played with the other one. It was fun. After the lessons we played in the big pool for a bit then we went into the kiddie pool. The kids had a blast playing. It was fun to watch. When we got home the kiddos were starving, so after snack they took a bath. After bath Nicole was melting down quite a bit. I decided to be fun mom and play with the kids. We went under the fan in the futon room as it was hot. We played with lots of old toys, jack in the box, blocks, fishing, etc. The kids were talking about bowling so I got the bowling set out that I bought a long time ago. The kids loved it. They had trouble setting up the pins though as they kept on falling but we had a good time. Dad came home and we went out to dinner to celebrate his birthday. The kids were crazy at dinner, wanting to sit under the table and color under there. Apparently they were having a tea party. They seemed so hyper so after dinner we decided to go to the park (aka monkey bar park). Nicole is so determined to do the monkey bars. Justin tries for a little while but then plays on everything else. Nicole’s stays on the monkey bars the entire time. We got home and the kids played with money. They throw it and say they are feeding the animals-money everywhere. We read books then before bed the kids decided to walk on daddy’s back and then jump onto the beds. Finally they settled down.

Well Nicole woke up with a fever today, ugh. She was acting strange and sleepy so we knew something was wrong. She woke us up last night twice to put her blanket on for her. We were supposed to take Zach and his friend to Hollywood, but we thought Nicole should rest. So Justin and daddy went. Nicole was 100% better after giving her Tylenol. We had fun playing. We read lots of books. Then we had a birthday party for pink teddy and invited all his friends, My Little Ponies, and some doggies. Nicole loved it. Since she was feeling better I decided to go to a practice session at the ice skating rink. So scary to get back on skates but it came back to me. I had fun skating with my little girl. She is so determined to get skating. She is getting better and better. She did fall asleep on the way there but was as happy as can be when we got to the ice skating rink. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store to get supplies to make dad’s birthday cake (carrot cake). Nicole helped me bake the cake. We had fun in the kitchen and she couldn’t wait to help. While the cake was cooking we watched Strawberry Shortcake. It was so strange not having Justin with me. I missed him so much. When dad and Justin came home, Justin told us all about his day. He saw Batman, Elmo, Spiderman, storm trooper, and dad and him took a picture with Supergirl. Can’t wait to see that one. Justin talked about the candy shop where he got black licorce, gross but he liked it. He talked about the restaurant too, where he needed to find metal to attach a magnet. I think he liked his juice box best. We all had a great time today but too bad we were separated for so long. We all had dinner but it was a quick dinner since cake was at the end. Nicole ate most of the frosting and Justin ate both cake and frosting. This was the first time they had carrot cake. We went outside after dinner to play for a bit. The kids rode bikes and scooters and dad got on his scooter. I did some gardening. We came in and read a lot of books. Nicole actually fell asleep before we were done reading. I got to cuddle with Justin for a bit then he went to sleep. Have to get organizrd around here as the cleaners are coming tomorrow.

This morning Zoe the dog woke us up a little early. Zoe keeps taking Nicole’s lion, for some reason she really likes that toy. Poor Nicole was crying. Dad had to work this morning. The kiddos played and we played games, Bingo and Memory. Justin started his first sports class called All Sorts of Sports. It was all about basketball. He did some warming up, some drills, making baskets, passing the ball back and forth with dad. It was pretty cute. Nicole waited patiently in the stroller and watched. Here are a few pics:

We wanted to see some new housing development that opened, so we took the kids. It was so crowded though and hot. Since it was the grand opening they had ice cream for everyone. Bret still had to work on and off so I decided to take the kids up to the La Habra Museum. On the way there the kiddos fell asleep. So I turned on my music 🙂 We had a great time. The kids went in an old train & caboose, bus, pretended to drive a car and put gas in it, and little race cars. We watched the model trains go around and around. The kids played in the play area for a while. They loved the tree house. They loved climbing up the ladder. By the time we got home Zoe’s family came to pick her up. I miss her, she is a fun dog. The kiddos played in the pool for about 5 minutes then needed to be changed, ugh. I think Nicole wore 2 or 3 bathing suits today. Oh she had to wear her bathing suit to the museum, ha, ha. The kids played out in the backyard and went on the swings. Justin has been so hungry in the afternoon the last few days. The kids had a big dinner then they took a bath. I think the bath mellowed them out as they were tired this evening. I thought they would go to bed late but after reading a ton of books, they were pretty tired. It was nice a little nap today and still went to bed at the regular time. I am tired.

Both kids are back to normal now. We just laid low this morning. Bret took today off since he has to work tomorrow. Daddy set up the zebra tent for the kids outside. They started to bring all their toys out so we brought the tent into the family room. The kids put tons of toys in it and read books in it too. We decided to head to the beach. We had a great time-we didn’t have too much time there but it was just enough. Justin and daddy spent most of their time with their feet in the water. Nicole and I played in the sand. Justin was so excited to go to the beach. There was quite a bit of traffic so we asked him if he wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese or the beach. He was set on going to the beach. After the beach we headed to Grammy’s. Cousin Zach and one if his friends are visiting from NZ. My kiddos loved watching them play in the pool. Grammy also got down from the attic all of Bret’s, Buffi’s, and Todd’s old Fisher Price Little People sets. It was like Christmas for the kids. So many cool things to play with. We had dinner and the kiddos just played. When we got home we threw some balls for Zoe on the greenbelt and then put the kiddos to bed. 9:00 and they are finally going to sleep I think and I hope. I am off to take Zoe for a walk. This will be Zoe’s last night and I am kind of sad, I am going to miss her.

We are taking it easy today. At lunch time the kiddos were still in their jammies. We just played at home. I put a bunch of batteries in Justin’s toys. We played with planes and helicopters (Justin said the game was called no more coins). We parked planes and helicopters by the coins and it was a race who could get to the coin first. Then our planes were roaring down the runway and flying.  The kids threw some balls in the backyard for Zoe too. Nicole sat in the hallway in the sun to warm up. And we read a lot of books. The kids watched a little TV and then we had lunch. Justin is being really silly today, sumnmersaults on the couch, getting on the arm rest, etc. I gave the kiddos a bath. They had a great time in the bath, but they were trying to swim and hop which meant a lot of splashing. Justin picked out his outfit todat which doesn’t match at all. But he was so cute and proud of himself so I let him wear it. Nicole is as usual wearing a bathing suit. We just hung out at home and played for a bit. I had to get out of the house so the kiddos and I went to the grcoery store. They love taking things off the shelves and putting them in the cart. When we got home we took Zoe on the greenbelt and threw balls. I brought the kiddos chairs out and they had a snack while I played ball. Justin was throwing balls as well. I read more books and dad came home. After dinner we went for a family walk, it was so nice out. We stopped at the park for a bit. To bribe the kids in the stroller we let them bring their Leapsters as well. We went upstairs and read books, non-exciting day.

Last night Justin was calling for me, and asked if he could come in my bed. He was kind of awake and acting goofy. I let him come in our bed and enjoyed him being up even though it was in the middle of the night. He is so cute. This morning we went to pre school. I needed to do some work there, the kids played and had fun. We only stayed for a short time. We went to a puppet show with a little magic at Katie Wheeler. The kids loved it, it was so cute to watch their smiles and hear their laughs. Lots of our friends were there. The kids liked the copy cat character and participated in the show as well. I am so glad we went to it, it was great. After we hung out with our friends while the kiddos played. We came home and the kids seemed to not feeling too well. So we stayed home the rest of the afternoon. We played, I painted a little bit, and the kiddos watched TV. Nicole wanted to watch Barney and Justin watched Thomas, so we watched both. After we went outside and played on the green belt, we threw balls for Zoe. I brought out the kid’s captain chairs to let them rest, but no resting for them. They played with Zoe for a bit on the greenbelt. I got Justin with a ball and I still feel terrible. I will feel even worse when it is black and blue tomorrow. He wanted to drive his car so I let him. Nicole drove as well, then we came inside to make dinner. I took some pics of the kids with Zoe:

We finally got some batteries for some of the kids toys so dad put one in one of the trains (caboose) with music. Justin was so excited to play trains and wanted daddy to build a spiral track. The kiddos played pretty well, even raced trains on the floor. After dinner we watched videos of Nicole ice skating to show daddy then the kids watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on dad’s computer. Nicole was really tired so we just went upstairs and read lots of books. The kids went to bed a little early.