Melissa’s Blog

Nicole slept in a bit. So daddy and Justin went to Starbucks. Nicole and I made eggs and pancakes together. She was so excited when I let her beat the eggs. So fun to just see the expressions on their faces. We played at home for a while this morning. Dad decided to finish the primer on the fence, at least one coat, hoping the guy will charge us less. While he did that the kiddos and I used food coloring. The kiddos dropped it in the water and loved watching it change the colors. We had fun. Then we went outside and did bubbles. By this time daddy was done and the kids wanted to go in their swings. We decided to pack a lunch and head to the Santa Ana Zoo. We had a great time as a family. First we rode the train together. Justin wanted to do it again. The zoo has a new carousal. Of course Justin found an ostrich to ride. There was no bunny for Nicole so she opted for the giraffe. Then we found out the giraffe was the only animal that didn’t go up and down. So she traded for a horsey. We went over to the farm area and the kids fed goats. Nicole loved it and Justin was more into the water. We went and had lunch and the kiddos played on the play structure a bit. Then we went over to the maze. The kids had so much fun in this maze. They wanted to do it again and again. They also wanted to go by themselves. We had fun watching their little feet and we could tell when they got into a dead end. We walked to see the monkeys and the rest of the zoo. It was a great family day. Justin fell asleep on the way home but it took Nicole a bit longer to fall asleep. After yesterday with no nap, we wanted to make sure they got a nap. We just played at home the rest of the afternoon. Nicole put stuffed animals in her bed, lined them up on her pillow laying down. And she gave them books to read (thats what we used to do when the kids took a nap). The kids washed their trikes. Justin just loves the hose so much. I tried to get some gardening done-finish the side hedges. The kids played in the garage a bit and on the greenbelt. Daddy played soccer with them while I cooked dinner. After dinner we went for a walk. We went on the path to find bunnies. We brought some lettuce and carrots and this one bunny loved it. It was so cute. On the way home the kids were a little nutty. We did 1-2-3 up with both of them at the same time. We went by this house with lantern lights that kind of hang, all of a sudden the kiddos are holding the lanterns. It was so funny. Dad took apart the cribs tonight, kind of sad but exciting too. We read a ton of books and didn’t get downstairs till 9:00. I still hear Nicole making lots of noises.

This morning we decided to start the painting of the fence. Bret got about half way done and decided to stop and have the guy that built it paint it. The kids painted at the same time. We gave them a big piece of plywood and they made a masterpiece. Then the kiddos wanted to go in the swings. Swinging them is not a peaceful event anymore as all you hear is higher, higher, etc. Then we decided to go to the Spectrum. The kids went on the carousal, of course. We went and had lunch at Red Robin. The kids loved getting balloons. We stopped in the toy store and pet store. The dogs were so cute. I ran to Nordstrom to do some girly shopping. We came home and the kiddos wanted to go see their new beds. We finished putting Nicole’s together (see pic). It is so cute and girly.

Of course we feel terrible that Justin’s doesn’t have a cute top. We may try to build one ourselves. After the kiddos watched some TV and took a rest. So we decided to make Justin a top out of PVC piping. Right now he has a ghetto bed, but we are hoping with the help of Grammy’s sewing skills he will have a nice top. He loved it though. He calls it his cave. We took the kiddos to Home Depot to get all the supplies. They love the race car bed but Nicole was full of tantrums today. Ugh. She is tired and still has a little runny nose, so maybe that just contributed to it. We played outside for a long time from scooters to bikes to catch, etc. After dinner, the kiddos took a bath. They were wild. They didn’t mean to splash all the water out of the tub but they were busy moving all around. After bath, more wild kids and I mean wild. They were jumping out of their beds and playing. Having fun but a bit crazy. Getting in Justin’s cave together. It was really hard to settle them down tonight. They did like brushing their teeth in the cave. We just rocked them and told lots of stories. Finally they are sleeping.

Ugh, snotty noses. It stinks but at least it seems to be a minor cold. We are having play group here today and some people are still coming despite the runny noses. I weighed the kiddos, Justin weighs 30.8 and Nicole is 30.4. Nicole is in the 54th percentile for her age and Justin is in the 47th. Guess we better feed the kiddos more ice cream. Right before everyone came over for play group the kiddos decided to play outside in the dirt. They were so dirty and muddy-ugh. I hosed them down. The kids all played really well at play group, it was really nice. Nicole wanted to swing for the longest time. She looked all relaxed and happy in the swing. My kiddos were happy to have their friends here. When their friends left, Nicole was all sad. She even said I don’t have any friends to play with. Justin stepped in and played with her. So cute to watch the kids play. I left the kiddos alone for a bit while I cleaned up from play group. I went to see what they were doing. They were putting all their toys on the landing on the stairs. At first it was a train and they were putting everything in the train. Now it is a boat and the kiddos are going to go sailing they tell me. Most of their toys are up there, all the beads, everything from the train table, the big dolphin balloons, strollers, cars, stuffed animals…I can not get up my stairs right now. But they are playing so nicely.

After they watched TV for a bit while I talked on the phone. Kristi and I are working on planning our northern CA trip. I can’t wait. Then we just played at home all afternoon. For some reason we have been home bodies. We had a picnic in the play room. The kiddos got their blankets and filled up their lunch boxes with lots of pretend food and we had a picnic. We also played catch. Daddy came home from work and the front of our house is so dirty from all the work being done in the backyard, dad hosed it all off. Justin of course needed to help. Nicole and I watched and she loved it when daddy sprayed the window. After dinner we just played in the back yard the entire time. The kids mowed the dirt. They are really into their lawn mower again then we put babies in the swings. They also painted a bit, busy little kids. Bret is working on putting the kids new beds together. I can’t wait to see the kiddos faces. The kids were pretty happy with their beds. The happiness turned into how can I make this more fun? So they started jumping off. In fact I caught a picture of Justin jumping-it looks like he is falling out. So they jumped and jumped. I think they got all hyper again seeing their new beds-ugh. We still hear them upstairs.

This morning Bret stayed home for a bit while I ran to my doctor for a check up. When I got home I didn’t want Bret to go to work-it was nice to have him home. The kiddos and I ran to Target. I needed lots of stuff. We went to the fruit stand and Nicole picked an apple for a snack and Justin a peach. They loved having some say in their snack. After our errands we came home and had lunch. The kiddos played a bit. They were reading books while I was packing up to go to the RSM lagoon. The kiddos took a little nap on the way to the lagoon. We basically had the place to ourselves, we had a blast. The kids and I had so much fun in the water. I took them all through the lagoon. They would take turns on my back in the water and I held the other. We played on the rope for a bit. Justin is more cautious in the water. Nicole wants me to watch all her tricks. Her one trick is her chin in the water. We made sand castles and played with an orange cone in the water. After we took showers. Nicole had a blast in the shower and could have stayed in it all day.

Then we headed to the fire dep’t down there. One of our friends scheduled a tour for us. The kids were super excited. They were in awe of the whole experience, just looking around. It was a cute tour. They told the kiddos a story and showed us inside the fire house. When you ask my kiddos what their favorite part was, they will tell you the hose. They loved spraying the water. At the end they got fire hats, coloring books, and badge stickers. Here are some cute pics:

After the fire dept we came home and had some hungry kiddos on our hands. We had dinner then went for a walk. The kiddos took their doll strollers. We ended up walking to frozen yogurt. The kids really like frozen yogurts. It was fun and such a nice night. We still hear the kiddos talking upstairs, hope they go to bed soon.

Bret was off to work early this morning. The kids didn’t even get to see him. It was our last music class today so we got ready to go. The kids made a nice drawing for Ms. Judy but I left them at home. The kids had fun in music class. It was request a song day, so Nicole requested the frog song of course. They had fun playing with the sticks. After music class we went to Fashion Island. The kids had so much fun. We brought our lunch so we ate it in the food court. Then we went on the carousal. The kids have to be next to each other on the carousal but they each wanted to ride their typical animals so first Justin rode the ostrich and Nicole rode a horse. We had to go on again so Nicole could ride the bunny and Justin rode a horse. I didn’t think there was an ostrich so when Justin spotted one he was so excited, jumping up and down. After we went and played by the fish, the kiddos love stepping on the stones. I just hope no ones foot goes in the water. They were very excited to see the fish. We walked around a bit then stopped at the grocery store. There was only one little cart, so Nicole pushed it while Justin helped me push the car cart. Justin was such a good sport about it-he constantly amazes me how easy going he is. We came home and made dinner. The Carin came over with Sofi and Mylee. The kids played well. They all wanted to jump on the trampoline and push babies. We went outside for a bit too. Daddy came home and I had to do finish the laundry and clean up. After dinner it was bath night. The kiddos are getting pretty wild in the bath. Splashing and playing, but they love it. Silly kids liked drinking water out of daddy’s hands then daddy would splash their face, and they would crack up laughing. After bath the kiddos were wild, jumping like crazy on their beds. I always try to get them to bed a bit early but it never seems to happen.

We had to get ready for the cleaners. It is always a pain picking up but so nice to come home to a clean house. We went to the Discovery Science Center today with some friends. I wanted to go before the Bob the Builder exhibit was no longer there. The kids were too scared to stand next to Bob. They liked pretending to drive Scoop, Muck, Lofty, etc. Anything with balls was an attraction for the kids. They played with Bob’s tools and pumped balls (pretend pumping water). The kids had a great time today. They loved the magnetic rock wall. They put the rocks in wheelbarrows and put them back on the wall. See pics

We came home and had some home time. We watched some TV, the usual Barney and Elmo’s World. Then I decided it was time for me to go to the gym. So I explained to the kids what was going to happen at the gym and they were amazing. They went into the play area and had a blast and I got to work out. I only worked out for about 45 minutes as I was worried about the kiddos. When I came to get the kids they showed me all the things they played with, it was cute. The lady in the childcare area told me how well behaved the kiddos were, saying please and thank you. I was a proud mommy. It was so nice to actually do something for myself. We came home and rushed to make dinner. The kiddos were busy playing with the saw dust from the fence. Saw dust everywhere, oh well they were having fun. After dinner we decided to go for a walk. We walked on the street where a house was re done like ours. The guy was outside and I asked to take a look. We all went in, thank goodness they had a dog so the kids were occupied. Oh my goodness I didn’t realize our house had so much potential. It was amazing, I wish I brought the camera though. It was dark when we left their house, we hurried home to get the kids to bed.

This morning Nicole woke up early but Justin slept in. We are just happy that daddy is home today. We made waffles and eggs this morning then just played at home. The kiddos wanted to go outside early. We played in the backyard. The kiddos wanted to swing in their swings. Of course swinging isn’t just swinging it is going higher, kicking the tree, and calling Justin a leaf picker. I decided to do some hedging. The kids liked watching. Nicole sat on the deck box and watched. Once I got the broom out, the kids started helping me sweep. Then we headed to Hush Baby for story time. Bret was finally able to go with us. Before hand though we stopped at Michael’s craft store. We got some new Halloween decorations and more stuff to finish Nicole’s tutu. It was so not crowded at story time and the kids loved it that way. They were participating and having fun. They both got dogs painted on their hands, a blue one for Justy and a pink one for Nicole. And I think I found another diaper bag I like….Then we met Grammy for lunch. We all went to In N Out Burger together. Justin loves french fries. They had fun playing along the way back to the car. Nicole was trying to climb the poles of the umbrellas, silly girl. On the way home the kiddos fell asleep in the car. Bret and I just sat in the car in the garage talking about how we can re-organize our messy garage. It was kind of nice just hanging out and talking. After nap, the kiddos played at home. I read books to Nicole while Justin played around us in the futon room. He got out all the Lincoln Logs, so I would read a book then build a house with Justin then switch. Daddy took a cat nap in the chair. We all went outside and played. We tried to work in the garage but the kiddos needed us to much. So dad worked and I played. The kids pushed their umbrella strollers then drove their cars for a bit. We put together our old tent to sell, so the kiddos had fun playing in it. We used the rain cover as a parachute, very fun. The kids loved going under it. We came home and made dinner then just played until bath. Justin took the bowl of bones and pushed it with the dog toy that you shake and make it go, silly. It was bath night and the kiddos really needed a bath. Justin didn’t want to stay in the bath too long. So he was all over playing wanting to go to his room. He loves playing with my clock since it has the time on the ceiling, he likes moving the projection around. We read a ton of books, and are now hoping the kiddos go to sleep since they napped.

We had a nice relaxing morning, read the paper and ate breakfast. Daddy took the kiddos out to the green belt and played golf for a bit. I just cleaned up a bit and made a grocery list. The kiddos and I went to the grocery store. The kids pushed little carts for me and helped me shop. Shopping takes a while but is so nice as they love the little carts. The kiddos got balloons too. Nicole’s popped and the lady gave her another one. They were so excited that they could push their carts and hold the balloon at the same time. I love that it is the little things that make them so happy. When we got home the kiddos played with trains for a long time then we decided to go to the mall. The mall is a venture that really doesn’t include shopping any more. We ate lunch. Then we played on the lights, play area, the riding toys, etc. The kiddos had a great time and loved playing at the mall. When we got home the kiddos played with their balloons for a while, punching them and bopping them. Then we took out the wooden blocks and now there are blocks all over the futon room. They had a great time. It was funny to listen to them carry on a conversation, Nicole even asked Justin if he was going to poop on the potty. They are so cute together. Here are some pics from the block building:

Justin and I did blocks and Nicole and daddy used markers. Justin used the blocks as tracks for his trains. He especially liked the ramps. Blocks were everywhere but we had fun. After the kiddos wanted to do the big Dora puzzle so we all did it at the kitchen table. The kids can’t really do the puzzle on their own but they sure like trying. I decided to cook for the first time in a few years, yes I cook quick things but this was a real meal. It was nice to cook. I always feel like I am never organized enough to cook. The kids played outside while I cooked. They had fun shoveling the dirt. I can’t wait until our backyard is officially done. It is almost there. After dinner, Nicole re-discovered her princess CD player. She learned she could open it and change the cd. Both kids loved dancing to the music. It was cooler out so we wanted to take the kiddos out and ride bikes. Nicole wanted to stay home and play her cd player and Justin wanted to ride bikes. But Nicole didn’t want to be without Justin, so we all went to ride bikes. Both kids had to fill their baskets, the funny thing Justin took was a pretend turkey leg from their kitchen and Nicole took her cd player and her baby on her back. We had fun outside. We came home and read books. The kiddos went right to sleep.

Kids slept in again, love it! This morning I rode my bike a bit. Then we were out and about early to head to the RSM Lagoon. We had a great time. No one was there-we basically had the place to ourselves. The kids were all excited to go in the water. Nicole just loves the water so much. They were having fun running into the water. The lagoon is such a great place to take the kiddos. We played ball in the water, built sand castles, and buried and unburied daddy in the sand. We had lunch there too. Then took showers. Justin wasn’t too happy about the shower though. We stopped at Toys R Us in Mission Viejo on the way home. We are planning to get the kiddos new beds. We found Diego and Dora ones. So Toys R Us had the Diego one. I think we have to order Nicole’s online. The kids had a great time at Toys R Us. It was there grand re-opening, so they had hand painting. Nicole got hello kitty and Justin got Nemo. The kids played in the store. They loved playing on the cars then bikes. The only way I was going to look around was if they kids biked around. So we biked up and down all the aisles. Then the characters came out. There was yellow sunshine care bear, star wars characters, Strawberry Shortcake, and Geoffrey the giraffe. The kids were not too happy with the characters. Justin actually gave Strawberry Shortcake a high 5. Nicole was upset when she noticed the yellow care bear was behind her while on the bike. We decided to stop at Dairy Queen after and get some ice cream. It was a fun family day but we were all ready to come home. At home the kiddos watched some TV so they could get a rest. After we played at home for a bit, read some books, played in the futon room. Then we were off again. We wanted to try to go to the orange balloon at the great park again. We got there early enough that we were number 40 on the list. We had a picnic dinner with the kiddos and then just played on the grass. There were some entertainers out there. These people in a big sheet sort of thing (hard to explain) at first the kiddos were scared but then they liked them. Well liked them enough to give them high fives. One of the people were doing summer saults so Justin followed and did one too. The kiddos just ran around together and took everything in. We finally got on the balloon. They kids as they said it were super excited. They loved it. They commented on everything they could see below and when it was over, the kids said “I do it again”. It was really a fun night. Someday we will get the kiddos in bed earlier but somehow lately they aren’t in bed until 8:30. Everyone is sleeping 🙂

The kids slept in a little bit. But I heard them earlier, I think they only slept in cause I was on their floor. We were off early this morning to meet Vena. Vena and I got in a little walk around her neighborhood before play group. It was nice to walk and the kiddos did great in the stroller. Then we went to Vena’s to play for a bit. We couldn’t stay to long though. The kids still love Cole and Grant’s little guitars. We also went to the sing a long at Pottery Barn Kids in the MV Mall. It was so cute, the kids had a blast. The kids really liked this guy, they were dancing, jumping, clapping and participating. It was really crowded though but fun. Then we went and had lunch with some of our friends at the food court. The mall was pretty crowded today but we went into the play area after. The kids had fun. The climbed on everything, went down the slide, jumped, etc. Nicole liked playing with baby Tobin (Wendy). Then we went and walked through the mall and of course had to do all the kid things, light, train table at the Toy Professor, the Build A Bear store, etc. Nicole says her favorite part of the mall was going in the teddy bear store. I thought the kiddos may take a nap on the way home but no. Nicole had a melt down when we got home, ugh. Justin has been in underwear again at home, so far he does really well in the house. However yesterday while outside riding his bike he had an accident. He gets so distracted and forgets to go-guess I need to remind him often. One day it will just click. After tv time, we just played at home. The kids have never played so nicely. I was able to sit on the couch and work on Nicole’s tu tu I am making her. There was no fighting and they were sharing. They were playing ball together, building towers, etc. It was amazing! I started the cuckoo clock and the kids loved it. It was funny every time it cuckooed. Guess I have to turn it on once a year. Daddy came home and he fixed the tracks on the train table. The kids played trains while we made dinner. After dinner we decided to go up in the orange balloon at the Great Park. We got the kids so excited for it. When we got there, the line was too long. It sounded like we wouldn’t go up until 9:00ish, way past the kiddos bedtime. The kids kept on asking to go in it, we felt so bad. But they did enjoy watching the balloon and playing. The kids played on the grass and ran around. I love watching them play like that. They also watched these people dancing and gave them all high 5’s. We came home and it was time for bed. We went upstairs read a book-told stories and put the kiddos to bed.