Melissa’s Blog

The kiddos played at home this morning for a bit. Then we headed to Disney. We got there right when it opened and I can’t believe how many people were there already. We were the first one in line for the rocket ships. We got on it twice so the kids could drive. We also got on It’s A Small World before it got too crowded. It is so fun hanging at Disney with the kids. We all love it-it just tires me out. Nicole has learned how to put on her own jacket-she was so proud of herself and so was I. The kids saw Goofy and Chip and Dale. When we got home our neighbor, Andree was out with her dog Zoe. The kids love her dog. Justin threw the ball for Zoe and the kids just loved it when Zoe came into our house. The kids watched Curious George. I think they are watching too much George as they pretend to be monkeys now. After we went outside to play. Justin drove his car for a few minutes and Nicole and I played catch. Justin joined us too and we had so much fun on the greenbelt, throwing balls, kicking balls, throwing them up in the air…it was a great time. We came in and made dinner. After dinner the kids were pretty mellow. I ran out to the grocery store. Dad and the kids played games, played with money, read books, etc. The kids were really tired tonight.

This morning the kids were up a bit early. They played really well though. We got ready for pre school.Dad and I had an app’t at 9:00 with a financial advisor so dad was home. Dad and I dropped the kiddos off at pre school. Nicole at first didn’t want to go but she did much better today. She seemed so happy when I picked her up. Justin told me he took care of Nicole. The kids made some pretty cool space shuttles today. While they were in school we went to the financial advisor app’t-still don’t know though. Then I went to the gym. Came home and took the bike trailer to pick up the kiddos. It was great they were so excited about going in the trailer. At home they ate a fast lunch and wanted to just watch TV. After TV the kiddos decided they were hungry-they didn’t eat too much lunch. They loved having their own yogurt containers. The little things that make them happy. Then I gave the kiddos a bath. They are really into pouring water from cup to cup and they love helping to wash their hair. I think they just like the bubbles. After bath the kiddos just wanted to be naked for a bit and played cars. They pretended their space shuttles they made at pre school were kites and said blast off and ran around the house. Nicole wants Justin to chase her with the space shuttles. We headed to My Gym for open play. I hope the kids aren’t getting sick of My Gym since we are there a lot right now. It was cute, the kids loved climbing up onto the bar. They would hang there and I would swing them as well. They were really into playing catch with me, it was a lot of fun. The kids amaze me at how well they catch and throw. I needed to run to Cosrco after to get some food for a playdate. I thought the kids would be mellow from being at My Gym, but the opposite happened. They were hyper, running around and having a blast in Costco. Luckily we weren’t in too much of a hurry. After dinner we played trains. Justin wanted us to join him so he came and brought us each a train. The kids are sound asleep right now. And I am off to go for a walk.

We stayed home this morning for a bit. Nicole was so unhappy about going to the workout place, so I wasn’t going to force her. She was ok going in the bike trailer so I spent some time trying to hook it up. No such luck, I need Bret to do it. I thought we were done with the bike trailer but if they are willing to go in it while I get some exercise I am good with it. I hope this phase passes with Nicole quickly as I really want to go to the gym. We headed over to Chick Fil A before My Gym. A few moms and kids meet there before My Gym. The kids had a lot of fun, but mostly with opening and closing the door of the play area. We went to My Gym. It was the last class of this session. They did space flight-it was cute. I even remebered the video camera. After we stopped at Kohls to get some clothes for the kiddos and a gift to bring to Henry when we go to Canada. The kiddos watched some TV when we got home. I decided to take the kiddos to the park, it feels like we haven’t been in a while. The kids wanted to ride their bikes. We went to Blue Gum Park. Scary with the kiddos riding their bikes but they did great. They had so much fun at the park. They were going across what they called stepping stones in the river to save baby jaguar just like Dora and Diego. Both Nicole and Justin decided to be Diego. They wanted to swing as well. Twins are everywhere, 3 sets at the park and we met a new neighbor on the way home that has twins. The kids biked home, Nicole decided when we turned on Monticello she was done biking. We came home and made dinner right away as the kiddos were hungry. After dinner daddy fixed the bike trailer for me and the kiddos played trains for a bit. We built new tracks all over the living room floor. The kids decided they were hungry and wanted a snack. They had some cottage cheese and we read some new magazine they got in the mail. Of course, they wanted it read over and over again. We went upstairs and the kiddos played with money. Then gave them some glow in the dark stickers. We read some books we haven’t read in a while and told stories. Hopefully they will be sleeping soon.

Dad took Nicole to Starbucks and the grocery store as we needed milk. I am always running out of milk. Justin and I played trains. We built tracks and went around and around the track. To my surprise daddy and Nicole bought me flowers. It was so unexpected and made me so happy! After breakfast the kiddos just played. I said I was sad about something and Nicole looked at me and said but we bought you flowers so you can’t be sad 🙂 I decided to go for a jog and dad and the kids played every game we own. They had a good time. Then dad went out for a bit on his Trikke. Everyone always stops to ask him about his bike. The kiddos played. They pretended there was an alligator and for some reason decided it was safe to hide in the laundry room. Plus lots of toys went in there with them. The kiddos played in the backyard for a bit. Justin accidently hit Nicole with a bat while playing T-ball. Poor little Nicole but she is a tough girl. After lunch the kiddos wanted to swing and head out to the front to play. They drove cars for a short bit. Nicole and Justin pretended it was raining and got out their umbrellas. I tried to clean out some toys and put together a basket for Christy from the mom’s club. The kids wanted to watch TV, Curious George, of course. After TV we gave the kiddos a bath. Bret watched for the leak but no leak. We are thinking maybe the kids splashed water out of the side of the tub or something-I can’t imagine they would have splashed that much but the tub wasn’t leaking today. After bath the kids played really well together while we had someone here giving us quotes for some lighting projects in our house. After we headed out, I needed to get a few more things for Christy’s basket then we dropped it off a her house. We took the kiddos to Islands for dinner and came home. The kiddos helped clean up the downstairs and played with money upstairs. We read books and off to bed. It has been about a half hour and I still hear Nicole talking.

This morning we headed to My Gym for a make-up class. The kids loved that daddy was going too. The kids had a great time as usual and we enjoyed watching them too. After we ran some errands. We are working on updating the lighting in our house and need ceiling fans. We successfully bought 3 of them today. 2 for the kids room and the other for the futon room. We are moving the existing fan in the kid’s room to the office. When we got home we played for a bit. Dad worked on looking into the leak from the bathtub while the kids were outside in the back playing. They are really into playing with their T-ball set. After lunch we headed to Huntington Beach. We had a great time at the beach with the kiddos. I made a ton of sand castles that the kids enjoyed smashing. Dad took Justin down by the water and followed the tracks from the lifegaurd truck. They enjoyed watching the volley ball games going on. It was just nice just taking our time and not rushing on to the next thing. There was a guy making bubbles for the kiddos. J&N loved chasing the bubbles and popping them.

We walked up Main Street and just reminsced about when we lived in Huntington Beach. After we did a few errands and then headed to dinner. We went to an old favorite, Harbour House. But it wasn’t as good as we remembered it. After we walked across to see the boats in the Harbor. It is amaxing how the littlest thing fascinates the kids. When we got home the kids played with money for a bit and dad read a couple books to the kiddos. Nicole had a hard time falling asleep though. I hope she sleeps in tomorrow morning.

Well this morning I decided to take the kiddos to Disney. I figure our pass will run out soon so go while I can. It was so nice out so a great day to go. We got there at but by about 10:30 it was getting too crowded. We rode the rocket ships first, one of the kids favorite rides. Small World was open so we went on that. The kids wanted to go again and again on that ride. We went on the Circus Train and headed over to Tomorrowland. The kiddos went on the Autopia. Of course they loved driving. They have been begging me to go on the monorail, so we got on. Their little faces were so excited we were getting on the monorail. We rode it twice then got off at Downtown Disney. Disney was getting too crowded. So we ate lunch then played. The kiddos loved the Lego store and built on the little tables. Justin saw that Legos have trains too so he was just focused on that. We just walked around looked at all the fountains and headed back to the shuttle. We needed to stop at Costco on the way home. The kiddos and I were pretty tired. Somehow they got their second wind and I am still waiting to get mine. They watched TV for a bit. After watching TV I sent the kids upstairs to get a phone. Justin was so excited-Nicole says can I carry it and he says no. It was silly. We talked to grandma/pa on the phone for a bit then headed outside to play. The kids were playing T-ball, they were playing really well. Then Katie, Michael, and Sarah came over. We were babysitting tonight so Paula and hubby can have a night out. The kids all had a great time playing together. They loved playing store and feeding Kota the dinasour everything from money to balls, etc. The girls played with girly things and the boys played with trucks. Nikki and Mikey were playing with the ball popper and loving it, pretending it was popcorn. The house was a mess but the kiddos had so much fun. I am so glad this works out so well taking care of each other’s kids. We put our kids to bed a little late-they must have been exhausted since we had such a busy day. Bret and I cleaned up all the toys and I am so exhausted from the day too!

Nicole was a bit upset this morning since I wasn’t working at pre school. She said she really wanted me to work. I had a hard time this morning leaving her. I talked to Justin about helping his sister. What an amazing brother, he said he would help Nicole in the potty, said if she was sad he would give her a hug, etc. I said show me what you would do for Nicole and he went up and gave her a big hug/kiss. With Justin watching over his sister, I felt better. When we got to school, Nicole said she had to use the potty. I told her I would go with her. I didn’t need to go since Justin went with her 🙂 I hope the kiddos are best friends for life. I talked to Ms Donna and begged her to call me if Nicole was upset. Next thing I knew Nicole and Justin were outside having a great time playing with the cars. I said goodbye and Nicole seemed happy. I went to the gym and stopped to get the kiddos balloons (lightening mcqueen/towater and princess). I wanted to let them know how proud I was for Justin helping his sister and Nicole being brave. When I picked them up I was told Nicole was a little sad but would snap out of it. Ms. Tania said Nicole gave her a dirty look since Ms. Tania was sitting next to Justin at snack-she moved so Nicole could sit by her brother. I love people telling me stories about how Nicole talks to the moms, so silly. I can just picture Nicole talking. The kids were too excited about their surprise to play outside of pre school so we just went to the car. Their faces were so cute, so excited about the balloons. Justin had a big smile on his face the entire way home. We had lunch and the kiddos flew their balloons around the house like kites. Gave the kiddos a bath and had a little flood from the light over the kitchen table. Guess the bathtub is leaking. If we are ever going to have a flood in this house it better destroy the kitchen! I hosted play group. It was fun. The kids all played so well together. Loved pouring water all over the play house. It was nice to catch up with some friends too. I needed some adult conversation. After dinner I needed to head out for the pre school general meeting. Dad played with the kiddos and put them to bed.

This morning the kiddos and I had a great time playing at home, mostly with trains. But I knew I had to get to the gym. I was nervous about leaving Nicole in the kid’s club as she hasn’t been too happy there. But today I walked in to pick them up and she screamed I had fun! They both colored pictures for me. I brought them in the locker room area with me and they were so happy to see where I go. Then we ate some lunch on the go and at My Gym. The kiddos had their My Gym class. They had so much fun. But I think they are going to My Gym a lot as the kids said we just went there. So cute to watch them, just puts a smile on my face. We ran an errand on the way home. The kids came home and played. They played with the pieces of Candyland and pushed trucks and cars. I had to go to the grocery store. The kiddos were a great big help pushing the little carts. They love to take things off the shelves for me and the best part for them is unloading their carts. Also love to help me pick out what fruits/veggies to buy and put them in the  bags. I was going to take the kiddos to the park since it was a nice day but they just wanted to hang out at home. Unfortunately staying at home means a mess. They filled up the futon room (airport) with all their toys. They sit on the futon as that is the plane and read books. We read a ton of books this afternoon. It was nice cuddling with the kiddos on the couch and reading to them, especially since we haven’t been reading too much at night time. Dad came home and the kiddos watched Curious George while we made dinner. After dinner we went to PJ storytime at the library. Our kids were a little too hyper to sit still. After watching them wiggle for about 10 minutes we decided to leave. We came home and they were playing with the money again. Just having a great time. The kids are becoming home bodies which is fine with me. They went to bed a little late-ugh. Nicole really wants me to work at pre school tomorrow. She said to daddy what happens if I poop, who will wipe my butt-HA

Pre school and cleaners this morning. My car battery seems fine. Came home to a clean house, love that! I worked at pre school. It was raining so the kids were a bit wild, needing some outside time. We built a space shuttle. The kids loved hiding in it and playing with it. It was cute. Watching my kids share is my favorite part of pre school. Today my kiddos gave their clues nice and loud. Nicole loved showing her blocks and Justin loved showing his pinwheel. Pre school was all about space today. N&J wanted Reed to come home with us. They went running in to ask Reed’s mom. So Reed came over while his mom did the mommy and me class. The kiddos really played so well together, at least Nicole and Reed. Justin tends to go off by himself more but he still joined in. We ended up outside for a while as the kids had lots of energy to burn off. We played out in front with bikes, scooters, and cars. When Reed left I should have given my kids a bath but I let them watch TV, I needed a break. After TV we headed to My Gym for open play. These kiddos really needed to play. They had a ball, I feel like we hadn’t been to My Gym in a while. Driving there the kiddos said I was 40 and I told them I was going to throw them in the ball pit for that. And I did and they wanted me to do it again and again. They were busy climbing, hanging, playing, etc. We came home and had dinner. I was told sometimes they like the pasta I make and sometimes they don’t, silly. We gave the kiddos a bath after dinner. Then they wanted to play with money again. They were putting it into a pile calling it their cakes/cheesecakes. We sang lots of songs and Nicole put her baby to sleep in the crib. Not sure how Justin fits in his bed with the black dog, teddy, and sheepy. So cute seeing them snuggly in their bed.

It may be dead presidents day but we are happy Bret was off from work. But the weather was so crappy, staying in bed sounded nice. Nicole was up last night. When I asked her why this morning she woke up last night, I got she wanted to tell Justin something. We got up to go to the gym. Told the kiddos we were going to take daddy car but then it was too rainy. So since mommy car was in the garage we wanted to take it. Got into mommy’s car and the battery was almost dead-ugh, so to daddy’s car we went. We left the interior light on in mommy car-ugh. Dad and I worked out. The kiddos did ok in the child care. Nicole was still a little dif’t about being in there. After we headed to Grammy’s for her termite inspection. It was so cold at her house. Then we grabbed lunch at Little Pickle, our favorite sandwich shop and headed to South Coast Plaza. The kids rode the carousal and was really interested in Rainforest Cafe. But they were still a little scared. Did a little shopping too. We came home and the kiddos watched some TV. Then we just played and played at home, trains, babies. etc. We colored and did stickers. We made a street out of blocks but then Justin wanted to build a track. Nicole and I made a tower with blocks and she crashed it down. The kids pretended to do their sharing like in pre school. Nicole is bringing her blocks tomorrow and Justin his pinwheel. We practiced saying the clues louder so we will see what happens tomorrow. Got the house already for the cleaners tomorrow. We played upstairs, the kids just wanted to play with all the money again. It is really silly to watch. The kids were a little hyper when they got into bed but they settled down quickly.