Melissa’s Blog

I got up this morning and went for a quick bike ride. I was supposed to walk with my neighbor but she flaked. The workers were here bright and early to work on the backyard. The good part is they are taking care of the few issues we had. They have to re-build our little wall. It is looking really nice though. I think they will finish up on Monday. We had to go and get Justin’s hair cut today. I had to stop to get gas and the kids have been asking to go through the car wash. So through the car wash we went. They both loved when the soap and water sprayed on the car. Then Nicole didn’t like the big brushes but Justin thought it was great. We went to MV mall to get his hair cut. We got there a bit early so we played in the play area. They had a blast jumping off of things. Justin did great getting his haircut and Nicole was so good while waiting for Justin. They both got lollipops at the end. Justin got a blue one and Nicole a purple one. After we walked around the mall for a bit and went into a few stores. They had fun playing in the toy store with the train table and I bought them these soaker toys. Then we played in the lights. They had so much fun. We went on the escalators/elevators, etc. We came home and Grammy came over. We had lunch with Grammy. We had to do a quick trip to Home Depot then the kids watched some TV. After we went on the greenbelt and played with their new soaker toys. They had so much fun squirting all over the place, it was cute. Daddy had a blast with the toy too. We decided to eat dinner at the park. So we went to Hicks Canyon park. The kiddos played on the see saw and the play structure. The kids were really into climbing and swinging. Justin was wanting to swing really high. Nicole seemed really tired, so we left. She was falling asleep on the way home. She has a little fever so we just put her to bed when we got home. Poor little girl, I hope she is better in the morning. I told Nikki her favorite story and she fell asleep really fast. We had a blast playing with Justin. We made a big track and played trains. He was so talky without Nicole. We even let him stay up late.

We love Fridays. We walked to Blue Gum this morning for our play group. Not a lot of people showed up but we still had fun. Nicole was really into riding one of our friends big girl bikes with training wheels. She loved it. Except she kept on going backwards which she came to find out were brakes. Justin followed with a tricycle. They had so much fun riding on other people’s bikes. It was cute. We were at the park for a while. Then we walked home to have lunch. The kiddos had fun playing at home, dress up and with mega blocks. I had to deal with some of the stuff in the backyard so the kiddos watched Barney and Elmo’s World. We had a nice fun relaxing afternoon. We walked with Maggie and Aliya over to the new yogurt place by our house. The kids loved the frozen yogurt then we walked to a park to let the kids play. We call this park, dark park as this is where we used to let Tracey run off leash since the park was dark. This kids had fun playing, going down the slides, running around in the grass. The kiddos had to help push the stroller home. It sounds very helpful but they push it crazily then fight over it. We came home and the kiddos were so dirty that we gave them a bath. A quick bath since we wanted to go have a picnic dinner and watch the trains. Daddy thought he left his wallet at work so we ran back to his work then got KFC and off to have a picnic. The kids were so excited to see trains. They were pretty mellow tonight but ran around a bit in the grass, Justin chased birds. The kids piled on daddy. We had a great family night. We came home and went right upstairs and read lots of books. Nicole’s favorite book right now is called, A Sitter for Baby Monster. Kiddos are sleeping.

This morning we woke up to the noisy backyard. By the time we got downstairs we were impressed at how much progress they had made getting rid of the concrete. Nicole keeps talking about the pig races from the fair. She really loved it, she even made a drawing and she said they were the pig races. We went to music class this morning. The kiddos had fun. Ms. Judy sang the frog song again and Nicole was so excited. The kiddos are doing so well following what the teacher does. Today we did the parachute and they loved it. After we ran to the Spectrum to meet some other girls from the mom’s group. Only one person showed up but we still had a great time. We went over to the fountains by the food court. The kiddos got all wet and had fun in the fountains. They both said the water was cold. After we had lunch. Justin loved watching the fountains while we ate. Then we ran into Stacie and Nikki. We ran into a few stores then the kiddos rode on the carousal again. Of course Justin got on the ostrich and Nicole the bunny. So great that a little carousal ride can make the kiddos so happy. We went into the pet store and looked at the dogs and birds. When the dogs were sleeping, Nicole and Justin wanted them to wake up. I just let the kiddos run around a bit but then I should have turned around before we got to the train. But I let them ride the train. They wanted the train to go faster. Justin fell asleep on the way home but woke up when we got home. They are watching TV right now. They are enjoying watching what is going on in the backyard. I was able to talk to a few friends (Neyha and Janet) on the phone while the kiddos were watching TV. Oh man, crankiness set in a bit when the TV went off. So we colored with markers for a bit, then tried to do play doh. Nicole just kept putting play do in her mouth. The kids wanted to play outside so we went out to the front yard. I set up their fishy sprinkler and they had so much fun. Justin loved the water and loved making the water go higher. Nicole was in the water a little bit then was busy going in and out of the house, running to the garage. I finally convinced her to pretend wash her hands in the sprinkler. That kept the kiddos amused for a bit. We played outside until daddy got home. Then we came inside and made dinner. It was safe enough now that the back yard is cleared of the concrete, so we let the kiddos in the back yard. They climbed up into what was the planters, threw some rocks, and got very dirty. I pushed them in a wheelbarrow. They liked that but that thing was heacy. They had a great time out there. Bret was busy starting to think about how he has to do sprinklers. Then it was bath time. The kids were tired, by 8:30 all was quiet upstairs.

Well this morning the destruction of the backyard began. Justin loved watching. This morning we went to La Habra Muesam with Stacie and Paula. What a great muesam for kids this age. My kids had a blast. They were busy from the minute we got there. First we found fossils in sand. Justin found the gas pump-he liked pretending putting gas in the car.

There was a grocery area, so the kiddos could shop. Nicole was really into this. She wanted to put everything in her cart and check out. This is her at the cash register area.

After we went into the critter room. The kids saw butterflies, learned about caccoons, played in a garden, walked the maze, saw spiders, ants, etc.

Then there was a train room. Justin loved watching the train. The train only runs 1 minute, every 10 minutes, so the kids were so excited when it started to go. Then we went into the animal room, real animals stuffed. Nicole made friends with a coyote and showed me she could open her mouth like the coyote. Both kids got to pet the “stuffed” animals, we saw bears, armadillos, and Justin found a liking to the warthog. Justin had enough of the animals and said I don’t like them.

After the animals, we went into the play room. The kids had so much fun playing. They slid down the slide on the castle play house. Nicole played with the baby. They both loved climbing up the ladder in the tree house. Justin said that was his favorite thing to do. Justin played with trains and trucks. This room was really cute. Then we went and painted for a bit. Justin was really enjoying painting with water colors and Nicole was liking to paint on the easels more. We went outside and ate lunch. The kids had so much fun playing out on the grass, just running around with their friend Nikki. They ran around the tree, played at the picnic table, followed each other around, etc. They did ring around the tree and the I love you song. It was fun watching them just be kids. Got a great picture of the two Nikki’s hugging.

After lunch we went and played a bit more. The kids just loved the play room so we went back there and up to the front again with the shopping area. The kids finally fell asleep on the way home but it wasn’t until I got off the freeway. So I let them sleep in the car for a bit in the garage. We came home to a torn up backyard, what a lot of work. We just had a quiet afternoon at home, mostly played in the futon room. The kiddos wanted to go out and play but they couldn’t. So after dinner we went to Woodbury and ran an errand at Ralphs then played in the grassy area. The kids had a great time running around in the grassy area and rolling around on the grass. They ran around the fountain a bit. It was fun watching them and we ran into some friends there. We came home and read lots of books and put the kiddos to sleep. Nicole had a hard time going to sleep. I went for a walk with Krista and now I am tired.

Family drama is still bugging me and it will take time to get over. In the meantime, I know I have the best husband and the best kids ever. The way that Bret loves me is so special and I am the luckiest girl in the world. He has been the best through all the drama.

This morning we had to get ready for the cleaners, our house was a mess! Vena and I went for our weekly walk. We walked with the kiddos in the Bob stroller from Vena’s to Hick’s Canyon Park. The kiddos were so great staying in the stroller. They had a great time at the park. Playing on the see saw is their favorite then we played catch for a while. Nicole wanted to swing and Justin jumped off the wall. Nicole and Justin loved Vena’s dogs. We walked back to Vena’s. Then I decided to meet some friends at the Spectrum. I thought I could get the kiddos to eat first, but the minute they saw the fountains they wanted to go in. Justin got really wet! After we ate lunch. Then we hiked it to Target to get a few things. I got the kiddos Dora/Diego electric tooth brushes. Maybe this will get them to stop playing with ours-HA. We ran into Carters to look around. The kiddos were really good for me today so of course I said yes when they asked so nicely to go on the carousal. Justin’s eyes lit up when he saw the ostrich and Nicole couldn’t wait to ride the bunny. Finally it was time to come home. I was hoping the kids would fall asleep on the way home from the Spectrum but no such luck. So we came home and watched Barney and Elmo’s World. One of our neighbor’s stopped by to play for a bit. Then I invited a few friends to come over and get messy since our backyard is being demoed tomorrow. But I realized I didn’t have enough paint so I ran to the store with the kiddos. We went to the teacher supply store at the old Von’s center. We then walked over to the Asian market and got some Mochi balls for dessert for tonight. Victoria, Todd, and Penny and Stacie, Rob, and Nikki came over. We made a spaghetti dinner and then let the kids get messy. We let them paint wherever they wanted to on the concrete. Justin and Nicole had a blast playing with glitter. Nicole kept asking for more. The kids got so messy then we made a mud pit. All the kids had fun and it was great to hang out with friends. When everyone left another mud put formed from washing all the toys, so the kids got more messy. We basically carried them up and threw them in the bath. It was fun watching the kids just be kids. Since they didn’t nap I wouldn’t to put them to bed early but that didn’t happen. They were great about getting out of bath cause I bribed them with new tooth brushes. We also played a game to get them dressed really quick and they loved it. The minute their heads hit the pillows they were asleep. I am soon to follow.

Due to family circumstances I have moved my blog. This morning the kids and I played at home for a while. We played catch and the kids had a blast. We went to story time at Hush Baby. Grammy met us there too. Story time was cute. The kids had fun. At the end, Nicole got a pink dog and a bone painted on her hand and Justin got a blue dog with a bone. After story time we walked with Grammy and had lunch at In N Out Burger. The kids gobbled their fries and burgers down. The kids just had fun walking back to the car, exploring the world. We came home and I tried to get the kiddos down for a nap with no luck. So they watched some Barney and Elmo’s World. We played at home a little more then ran to the grocery store. The kiddos had a great time pushing carts and helping me shop. Their favorite part is unloading their baskets. We brought the groceries in then headed to Blue Gum. Janet, Alaina, and Evan were there. Alaina came running over to give us a hug, it was so cute. The kids had fun playing at the park. They were taking turns riding Alaina’s bike. They went down the slide, swung, played in the sand, etc. We came home and had a yummy bbq. Then went and played outside. We played ball on the greenbelt, bath, and off to bed.

While everyone was sleeping, I got up early and took a walk with my neighbor. I even got back before anyone was awake. It was nice. We went to the fair this morning. What a great time we had. We met Uncle Alan, Aunt Roberta, and Baby Tierney there too. Nicole wanted a pink dolphin balloon, so we kept on saying ask Uncle Alan when he gets here. So the minute she saw Alan she and Justin both asked for the dolphins. Nicole got a pink one and Justin got a blue one. They were so happy to get them, it was really cute. Before Uncle Alan got to the fair, Bret and I did rides with the kids. They had a great time. They rode most of the rides themselves, little kiddie rides. We rode the mini bumper cars with the kiddos and they loved it. The kiddos rode the pirate ships and the train. After we had lunch. We did eat fried oreos and onion rings but that was really only the bad food we ate. Of course the kids loved the oreos. After lunch we went to see the animals. We saw big cows. Nicole was a little scared of them especially when it said MOOO really loud. Justin laughed-he loved it. He had the biggest smile on his face every time the cow said mooo. We saw goats and sheep as well. Then we went to see the Alaskan pig races. The kids really liked the pigs-it was cute. Baby Tierney came in the jog stroller with Nicole. Nicole was so sweet to her, making sure she was happy and had her sun shade on. Nicole loved it and loved taking care of the baby. We had a great day at the fair. We were tired but the kiddos weren’t. So no nap today. We came home and they watched their usual TV, Barney and Elmo’s World. Then we played in the futon room for a bit. The kids are really into drawing and coloring lately. Of course we played outside too. Bret emptied the backyard into the garage to clear it out. The kiddos played where the orange trees once were in the dirt. They had a blast playing in the dirt and getting very dirty. By now they were getting a little tired but too late to take a nap. Grandpa sent an e-mail as to any ideas for dinner, so I suggested we meet at the Hat. Well we had some errands to do on the way, so I dropped Bret off at Best Buy then continued onto Laguna Hills Mall. All went well, they didn’t have Bret’s shoes in stock so I ordered them on Land’s End (no shipping) then the kiddos shoes were on sale. Nicole found her old Dora shoes and she was so excited. She couldn’t believe she found them. I also bought Justin the next size up on his cars since he loves them so much. Then it all went downhill from here, I couldn’t find my keys. We looked and looked. The kids were really great the entire time. A couple mishaps but really good. So Bret and I figured we would call grandma/pa and have them run to the house to get the other set. I was still looking and looking. Finally after about 40 minutes I found them. Someone turned them into a sales associate and I saw them hanging out of his pocket. I was just glad to have found them. So grandma/pa went back to the Hat, I picked up Bret and finally at 7:00 I think we all ate dinner. I was so stressed out-what a pain and I was mad at myself for losing them in the first place. Anyway the kids were happy to see grandma/pa and were crazy at dinner. By the end the kiddos were tired so we went home. But Bret was headed to the 405 instead of the 5-ugh. What a night. We finally got home, going the right direction and with keys in hand. The kiddos just rocked on me while I told them Sally and Billy stories and they went to bed pretty fast. Now I need a drink.

This morning we were up and getting ready to have trees in the back yard pulled out. The kids and I played upstairs for a while. We played in the tent room, we hadn’t played up there in a while. The kiddos helped me change their beds. We finally made it downstairs and I had hungry children. The kiddos helped me make pancakes. We had a big breakfast then painted. Since the backyard is being demoed the kiddos got to paint in the backyard. They had so much fun painting on a piece of plywood and they made a masterpiece. They painted for so long, paint everywhere-all over their pj’s, feet, arms and in Nicole’s hair. Then Justin wanted to help daddy with the removal of our plants. We paid a guy to help Bret today, so whatever Bret couldn’t do the guy did. Couple hours later our backyard was tree free. It looks so weird back there now. We moved an orange tree and hopefully it will survive. The kids got to see Mr. Lizard, living in our backyard. Poor lizard we keep pulling out plants. Anyway the kids were so messy that I just decided it would be easier to give them a bath. Oh my goodness, bath is so fun for them. Justin loves squirting everything and Nicole likes to throw a wash cloth and go swim after it. They had a blast. After bath we just ate an early lunch then played. We read a ton of books and we have napping kiddos today 🙂 We scrambled to get things done while they napped. Tried to finish out back, work in garage, sell some toys, etc so nap wasn’t very relaxing for us. After nap, Nicole wanted to wear the Dorothy the Dinosaur costume thing including the tail. Such a funny outfit but she looked so cute in it. Justin wanted to dress up too so we put on his pirate costume, still a little big. He makes the cutest pirate ever, but of course I am bias.  Since Grammy’s 67th b-day is on Tuesday we took her out for dinner, Old Spaghetti Factory. The kids did great at dinner. After dinner we went to TeWinkle Park to fly kites. Kite flying only lasted a short while as Nicole saw the play structure and wanted to go play then Justin followed. They just re-did this park, it was really nice. Since they napped we stayed late and the kids just had a blast. Just got the last kiddo to bed and we will be following shortly.

This morning daddy stayed home and we all went to register for pre school. Bret got to see the kids pre school. The kids were so excited to be back at pre school. They had a great time playing, showing daddy where they wash their hands, etc. They were very busy at school playing, painting, going outside, having snack, etc. We registered the kids. I can’t believe they will be starting pre school soon. After pre school we ran to do some grocery shopping. Then we met some friends at the fair. Oh my god the fair was so much fun this year with the kiddos. I don’t think we left the ride area though. They were so excited to be able to go on the rides and they went on all by themselves. They rode trains, flying pink elephants, pirate ships, carousal, etc. We were there for a few hours and the kdidos just loved looking around at everything. Of course they wanted all the toys. Maybe when we take daddy he can win the kiddos something. I can’t wait to take the kiddos back to the fair. We came home and I just gave the kiddos a bath. It wasn’t too hot at the fair but I thought a cool bath would feel good. At night we seem so busy so baths seem rushed. Now they got to play and have fun in the bath. I was so wet that I felt like I took a bath with them. They had fun throwing the ball in the plant. Well I was hoping to maybe go back to the zoo with Bret tonight but we got a call saying our back yard can begin on Tuesday. So we were running around trying to find someone to pull out trees for us. We will have a busy weekend prepping for all this, but it will be beautiful when it is done. Hopefully the chaos won’t drive the kids crazy. So we had a nice night at home, family dinner and play time out in the back yard. Then we went for a walk to the shopping center (where Von’s was) and got frozen yogurt. There is a new frozen yogurt place there. We took two umbrella strollers for a change. The kids had fun pushing their babies in them. Nicole rode it on the way there. We really proud of the kids not fighting over them. They both pushed one on the way there then switched on the way home. The kids loved the yogurt, of course. It was fun. They way home was great. The kids ran around on the grass. Justin is such a boy, likes throwing his baby in the air and having it do flips. Nicole likes it now when her baby talks to her. We got to our street and someone was washing their car, Justin was fascinated with the water going down the street. Both kids were loving it, stepping in the water, laughing. I love moments like this, relaxing walks and just fun (no fighting). We came home and read to the kids then off to bed since they didn’t nap. They both fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

This morning we just played a bit outside. Then we got ready to walk to music class. Oh I tried underwear on Justin but he just pee’d in it. He told me it was ok because he was outside. Anyway the kiddos got in the Bob stroller but it had two flat tires-I always have issues with tires, guess better with the stroller than the car. It is so hard to explain to the kids why they can’t take the stroller they want. Oh well we were on our way and had a nice walk. The kids were so excited to go to music class, they love it. We had fun. Nicole asked Ms. Judy for the frog song so nicely, so we sang it. The kids did so well copying all the moves, clapping, rocking, etc. There was one point we pretended to be asleep and all of a sudden Nicole says as loud as she can “wake up”. The kiddos walked home and picked flowers and stopped at everything. But we weren’t in a rush, so it was nice. We came home and the kiddos helped me make cupcakes for Jacole’s shower. They love to pour things in the batter and stir. It was fun. Then we colored with crayons and markers for a bit. My fridge is full on the outside with their drawings and it is beautiful. Carin, Sofi, and Mylee came over to play. It was cute all of you guys eating lunch together. Nicole and Justin started to fight a bit, so I am hoping I can get them down for a nap. If not I may be in for a cranky evening. They napped! It was so nice. After nap we did laundry then headed to the park for Jacole’s shower. It was nice. The kiddos played so well at the park. They played on everything. After I came and picked up daddy and we went to Red Robin for dinner. The kids did great at dinner, coloring, playing with sugar packets, etc. It was a nice dinner out. After we ran to Toys R Us to buy kites. The kids are loving kites these days so we thought they should have proper kites. In the store we let the kiddos ride two wheelers with training wheels. Oh my god it was so cute. I got a little sad though thinking how big they are getting! We will plan on getting them two wheelers for their 3rd birthday. So it looks as though the kiddos aren’t planning to go to bed tonight. They are wired-the problem that comes with napping. Anyway they are being as silly as ever and we are having a great time with them.