Melissa’s Blog

Sunday 6/15, Father’s Day. Bret and I were busy getting ready for Vegas in the morning. We played with the kids in the morning and gave them showers. We played outside for a while with their trikes. They watched daddy mow the lawn then I took them for a walk to find grandma/pa. Grandma/pa were staying with the kids while we went away. It was so hard to leave my precious kids but knew they were in good hands. It was so nice being away with Bret. The best 24 hours we have had in a long time. It was so relaxing. We got to Vegas, rented the car, then went to our hotel (Mandalay Bay). I love that hotel. We decided to go hit the pool. They have a lazy river ride, so we got some rafts and just went around and around (so relaxing). It was so nice not be in a rush and just to do whatever we wanted. We sat by the pool in the shade and just talked and enjoyed being together. Of course we talked about the kids! We had a great prime rib dinner at this  excellent steak house. It was a perfect evening. I was so tired though, too much relaxing for me, so we called it an early night. In the morning, we just took it easy again. Got some coffee did a little gambling. The gambling wasn’t going so well. We lost a little, no big deal it was fun playing. We went to our favorite Burger place for lunch, The Burger Bar. Of course twins work there so that made us miss our twins. After lunch, we did more gambling, walk around, went to the toy store for the kids…..All of a sudden the day was over and it was time to come home for me. As much as I missed the kids and was excited to come home, I was sad to leave Bret. I miss him so much. When I got home, Nicole greeted me with a big hug where as Justin basically just said hi mom. He was happy playing outside in the water table. It was so good to see my munch kins and hear all about what they did. They went to My Gym, baked cupcakes, played inside and outside, just had a great time with grandma/pa. So great to come home and see them so happy. Tonight grandma and I took them to Chick Fil A for dinner. They played in the play area a bit and had a great time. They were wild tonight. It is 10:00 and Nicole is still not asleep-ugh. Time for me to go upstairs now too.

I love the weekends with my family. This morning we went to Hicks Canyon Park with the mom’s club for donuts with dad. It was fun. Nicole woke up early so daddy and her went and got the donuts and coffee of course. We ate breakfast then headed to the park. The kids were so happy to be at the park. We all went on the see saw together. Nicole was into playing in the sand. Justin was all over the park climbing, driving, etc. We could only stay at the park for a short time as I was going to get a pedicure and Bret was going to help someone with their computer. Grandma met us at the nail place. Grandma treated Nicole to a manicure and a pedicure. Nicole got purple polka dots on her nails and white ones on her toes. I got crazy blue toes. After we met grandma/pa at The Hat for lunch. Nicole had fun playing with the straws and Justin was trying to climb all over the booths. It was a nice morning. Nicole seemed so tired so I thought the kids would nap, but I was wrong. So we gave up on naps and the kids had some quiet time in the futon room. Then we watched Barney and Elmo’s World. It was such a nice day so we played in the yard. We got the water table out and naked kids and we were good to go. I put ice in the water table too and the kid had a great time with ice. For some silly reason they were putting the ice on the door mat and laughing hysterically. They were also splashing and giggling. I just love when they laugh together. They were also sticking one foot in the water table then running in the house laughing. Of course water everywhere in the house. They had a great time in the back yard. We came in and played some more. All the cushions were off on the couch so the kiddos had a blast jumping on them. We decided to go to dinner at some bbq place in the marketplace. Here is where we were feeling like Nicole should have napped. It ended up working out ok though. Bret ordered food and I took the kiddos to the fountains and the escalators. By the time we go to the dinner table Nicole had perked up again. We came home and played on the green belt. Justin played golf and Nicole played with the big blue ball. It was fun until Justin accidentally hit Nicole with the golf club-ouch! We came in and the kids rode their tricycles, crashing into each other laughing. We went up stairs and read books. Then I told them stories about Sally and Billy (made up) and they love it, then off to bed.

Well this morning I was supposed to go to the park with the multiples group but it didn’t sound like many people were going, so I cancelled the event. I felt so bad as someone did show up. So instead the kids and I just had a great time. We played at home for a while. The kids love playing in the yard, swinging to hit the tree, sandbox, bubbles, etc. They also helped me pick up some leaves. We also went to the grocery store. The kiddos had fun pushing carts of course. The kids picked out balloons for daddy for father’s day but I think they just really wanted balloons. One says king of the grill which is perfect as daddy is getting a new grill 🙂 We came home and had lunch. The kiddos were so silly. They would turn on their radio toy then run around. When it turned off they would come running back in the futon room and turn it on then off running again. Silly munchkins. They played with their drawing toys and I read some books. Well the kiddos seemed to be a little tired so forced napping started. I stayed in there room until they fell asleep. Usually when I do that they are so hyper and it doesn’t work. Since it worked today they must have been tired. I forgot how nice nap time was and having time to myself. I gave the kiddos a shower after nap since we were heading to Grammy’s tonight. It was bath night and it is easier to give them one here. The kids were really great since I was showering them by myself. The kids miss their bath but they are getting used to their showers. I let them play with the shower head and squirt me too. After bath we had a snack. Then the fun began. We played in the front yard. We got the tricycles out. I told the kids not to go past the red car and they listened and they had so much fun on their trikes. Then we got balls out and went on the green belt. We got the huge exercise ball. Nicole wanted me to throw it in the air a zillion times. Justin brought out a golf ball, so I asked him to go get his golf club too. He learned how to play golf today. So cute he was so proud of himself. We just had a great afternoon. The kids kept running in the house and getting stuff. Of course baby had to come out. It is really nice living right next to the green belt. Then daddy pulled up, the kids were so excited to see him. Shortly after daddy got home we left for Grammy’s house. The kids say they are scared of the planes on the way to Grammy’s. We also got to listen to the Barney I love you song and the wheels on the bus the whole way there. It is really cute for 5 minutes. The kids had fun at Grammy’s. They played in the play room and out in the back with us. They wanted to put chairs by the pool and watch the water in the pool. Justin and Grammy were playing catch with his jammies and he was laughing so hard. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. Then Nicole got in the action too. I love hearing the kids giggle so much. Well 9:30 and it is finally quiet up there. We are off to bed too.

We were up and out the door this morning to go to Messy, Muddy, Hands, and Toes class. What a great class. It was all outside today. I tried to keep the kiddos dry until the end. We had so much fun. We first used stamps and paint. That is where the mess began. They had so much fun with the stamps. Then we used brushes with paint and painted with balloons. Some gluing as well. But once they noticed the shaving cream they were off. There was a pool filled with shaving cream. They both would touch it with a finger then have a big grin on their faces, so cute. They put it all in their hands and then would run and wash their hands. It was cute to watch them. Then they found the pool of water. The water was warm too. They went right in. They were sitting in the water and playing. Justin’s diaper weighed about 10 pounds. The kiddos didn’t even make it to the mud, they were just having so much fun playing in the water. I was a bit nervous with Nicole sitting in the water with her bladder infection but she wasn’t in it for too long. Of course Nicole was all wet and wanted to get into dry clothes as fast as possible. I got some great pictures from class. After we went over to the park for a bit. The kids played. It was so cute all the kids (Stacie’s, Candice’s, Vena’a, and mine) were all in the little play house. They were pretending that it was someone’s birthday. Everyone was singing happy birthday, etc. It was so cute. Then we had to leave to go run some errands. We stopped at Old Navy to get a gift card for Neyha since she is moving. The kids had a blast playing in Old Navy-there was a bench with a dog on it and they kids loved sitting on the bench next to the dog. We went over to TJ Maxx as well while we were over there. We came home and had lunch and played. The kiddos were kind of cranky. So I decided not to fight them on nap, instead I put them in the jog stroller and went for a walk. It was great to go for a walk but hot. Justin fell asleep first and Nicole woke him up-I was so mad. She just wanted to play with him. He fell back to sleep and she fell asleep too. They only napped for about 30 minutes but at least it was something. After they watched a little TV and then we went to Blue Gum Park. Thought I would get them out of the house since I was planning to go out with some friends tonight. Vena met us at the park. The kiddos had a great time. Vena made banana smoothies and brought Justin and Nicole some. Of course they loved it! The kiddos all played in the sand together, played in the play house, etc. It was so cute watching all the kiddos. On the way home we ran to Costco to get some fruit. Then it was time for me to leave to meet some friends at Macaroni Grill for Neyha’s going away party. It was so nice. I had a great time hanging out with my friends. It was a nice get away for me. I always say this but I need to do this more often. The kids had a great time with daddy. The best part for me was coming home. I missed the kiddos so much. I got the biggest hugs and kisses. It was so sweet. We had to sing the I love you song (Barney). Of course Nicole told me to hold hands and stand up like Barney. What a great way to come home to my family. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Not sure if nap was a good idea as it is 9:30 and Nicole is still awake-ugh. It doesn’t seem to matter how long they nap they still have trouble going to sleep if they nap.

We got out early this morning for a trip to Orchard Park. We had a great time. I had so much fun playing with the kiddos. We played in the sand for a while. No fighting, just playing nicely together. The kids played in the swings for a bit. Then they were sliding down the slide a zillion times. I would high five them or tickle them when they came down, they were laughing so hard. Then they were playing chase each other. Nicole loved it when Justin chased her rather than the opposite. The weather was perfect and we had a blast. We came home and we just played outside in the yard for a while. The kids had fun with the rescue pack, bubble, sand box, etc. We had lunch and played upstairs for a bit. The kids had some quiet time in our bed and I did some ironing while they relaxed and drank water in our bed. We went down to their room for quiet time and read books. This afternoon we went to our My Gym class. The kids had a blast there. They follow everything Neil does for circle time. Also they actually let Neil do some things with them, usually they say I want mommy. Justin and Nicole taught all their friends (Ashley and Jordon) to jump in the ball pit. They were just cracking up while jumping in. The kiddos have become so independent at the gym. They loved playing with the balls and then there was a bubble storm. Neil was teasing the kids as to when the bubbles were going to start and you should have seen Nicole’s face she was so happy when they started. They had fun popping them and chasing them. We came home and I had two tired kids. We had dinner and then went upstairs. We gave the kiddos showers tonight. I think Nicole’s bladder infection is much better. She was able to wear underwear all day with no issues. Luckily we caught it early enough. So we had a mellow night, reading books. Nicole wanted me to read the same book over and over again. We put them to bed a little earlier and I had to tell them lots of stories. But they are sound asleep.

Poor Nicole. She only needed to get up once at night though. She is wearing a pull up. When she is not distracted though she wants to use the potty a lot. Anyway we went to Heritage Park in Tustin this morning. It was fun, cute park. The kids had a great time; they were happy to be at the park. They loved haging onto this bar thing and I held them too. Then it slid to the other side. Big smiles while they were on it. I just love to see them smile and hear them laugh. Nicole stayed in the swing for a while. Justin was really into going on the big swing. The kids had their snack at the park. I have never seen two kids eat so much cantalope. We were at the park for a while and came home to a clean house. I love that. The cleaners were still here and Nicole and Justin were very intrigued. They were trying to play peek a boo with the cleaners. I played outside with the kiddos while the cleaners finished. Then we had lunch. After quiet time I let the kiddos watch some TV. I needed a break. After I needed to do a return at Kohls. The kids were into everything, touching all the clothes, trying to get stickers off the clothes, playing with the baby bibs, the toys, etc. Needless to say doing a return sometimes is not an easy task. We then went to the gym for open play. We didn’t stay too long but the kiddos had fun. They ran down the ramp, played with all the balls, etc. We came home and had dinner. Justin pulled a kitchen drawer out and dropped it on his big toe, ugh. He is ok but I am sure it hurt. We took a walk around the neighborhood using the jog stroller. Justin brought a car with him and Nicole grabbed a tractor. It was a nice walk, we saw bunnies. We came home and drove the cars for a short time. Then it was time to go upstairs. Daddy did boat rides then read books and off to bed. Nicole loves when I tell her stories now. I told her a story about a little girl named Sally and she loved it.

The kids were eating breakfast and all of a sudden I heard Nicole say “Melissa” and I looked at her and was told “I am talking to pancakes”. While eating breakfast they were sitting at their little table doing circle time from the gym and doing high fives and knuckles. The kids wanted to go outside and play early this morning. They pretended to make cakes with the sand. They bring plates out from their kitchen and put sand on it which equals a cake. They played with their new bubbles, Justin spilled them everywhere, oh well. We painted for a bit too outside with water. It was a great morning, Nicole wanted to stay home this morning. But I did have to go to the grocery store. So happily the kids pushed the carts for me. They love it. They also love putting fruit in the bags. Nicole helped me pick out peaches. We came home and played some more. I read a ton of books. No nap today, figures. They seemed kind of tired so I tried to put them down a little earlier. No shocker that it didn’t work. I had suspicions that Nicole may have a bladder infection. She has been peeing a little in her pants and her pee was a little smelly. Luckily no pain though. So I made an app’t at the doctor. Do you know what it is like trying to get a 2 1/2 yr old to pee in a cup. Well first of all we had to get her to pee. So we drank some water. When she was sick of water we walked to a store to get chocolate milk. It felt like it took an hour but I got some pee. She does have a bladder infection, poor kiddo. So we had the prescription called in, only to find out when we got there the store didn’t have it in stock. Luckily a couple doors down there was another pharmacy that had it. Not an easy task with two toddlers going from store to store. I am tired after trying to amuse them in the waiting room of the doctor’s office while waiting for her to pee. We did ring around the rosie, circle time, read books, using the drawing things, etc. Anyway we finally got the prescription then while we were over there I just got a pizza for dinner, but that meant more waiting. We came home and had dinner. Then I met Vena (Cole and Grant) at the park. I came prepared with extra pants and underwear. The kids had a great time, so nice to go in the early evening. Justin liked watching the baseball game. But Nicole had some pee pee accidents, so we decided to just come home. Poor little girl she doesn’t know why she feels she needs to pee all the time. But the way she says I have a bladder infection is the cutest thing ever. We gave the kiddos a shower tonight. I wish we weren’t rush so they could have played in their a little while longer. They loved squirting the water with the sprayer, it was really cute. Kiddos fell asleep pretty quickly and so will I.

Well daddy was up half the night dealing with his on call. There was a big disaster recovery over the weekend, so he expected it but it still stinks. So I tried to let him sleep in this morning. The kiddos and I snuck downstairs to play and eat breakfast. The kids like to be fed these days so I fed them breakfast. Then we went into the living room and we woke up daddy. The kids had a blast playing in the yard this morning. It was so nice out. They both played with the rescue pack, squirting everything the windows, the bbq. We did bubbles and I spilled them everywhere. I hated to stop the play but I saw a pair of shoes I wanted in one of the ads this morning. So off to the Laguna Hills Mall. Remind us never go to that mall again…there are way too many distractions for the kids, cars, lights, more cars, tractors, fire truck carts, etc….We had fun taking the kids on the escalators. We shopped a little bit. The kids got to ride on the motorcycle thing. It took us forever to get from one store to the next due to all the exciting things at the mall. It was getting late so we had lunch at the food court and more distractions up there. They loved the photo booth thing and dad took pics in it too. I think they liked to hide in it. We came home and the kiddos didn’t nap-ugh. But Bret did. Since Bret was so tired, I left for Nathaniel’s (Jacole) birthday party with a note for daddy to meet us. We had a great time at the birthday party. It was at the lagoon in Woodbridge. The kids love that place. They both were so excited to go in the water and they were so happy when daddy showed up. They were jumping up and down in the water, spinning, and we made them jump like Shamu. The party was really cute. It is amazing when cake and ice-cream are involved how polite our kids can be. They really like chocolate ice-cream, what a shocker! After we played in the sand for a while. Below are some pics of the kids in the sand. It is getting so difficult taking pics of the kids these days, Nicole just wants to stick out of her tongue and Justin is too distracted to look up. We came home and made dinner, kids favorite meal spaghetti! After the kiddos got in the Bob stroller and we took a walk around the neigborhood. Then we came home and the kids drove their cars. Nicole helped me garden a bit while Justin still drove. Nicole was bringing everything from inside out, 3 babies, her camera, blankets, shovels, balls, etc. We had fun outside. Then it was time to come in and go upstairs. The kiddos are sound asleep now and we are going to follow soon.

I noticed tonight Nicole’s 2 year molars are breaking through. The one on the bottom left. WOW!

The kids were so happy to find out daddy was going to be them today. We went with the multiples group to donuts in the park with dad. It was at the Irvine Regional Park. We love this park. The kids played in the Thomas tent thing when we first got there. Daddy gave them a bite of his donut and surprisingly they weren’t too into it. We went over to feed the ducks. The ducks weren’t too hungry though. Then we went to ride the train. The train was loaded with multiples, we all definitely stuck out. The kids rode in their own seat together on the train. This is the first time one of us didn’t sit next to them. They were so happy to be holding onto their train ticket too. We had a great little train ride. Then we decided to separate from the multiples group and go to the little zoo within that park. We had a blast. We saw lots of animals, donkey, llama, coyote, etc. Then we went to feed the goats. Today Nicole actually fed the goats and she loved it. Every time the goat took the food she would laugh and just smile. They had so much fun and we got some cute pics too. We couldn’t stay out long as daddy is on call. We came home and played outside and had lunch. The kids actually took a nap today, but I was mean and only let them sleep about an hour. I was afraid if they slept too long they would never go to bed tonight. After nap I wanted to run to the mall for a few things. So the kids and I went. Dad stayed here just in case work called, plus he had some stuff to get done around here that we never have time to do. We had a great time at the mall. We went to Gymboree and the kids were just loving the TV there. They would happy scream and jump over to it. Then we walked over to JC Penny. Of course we did the usual mall stuff, escalators, toy stores, sit in chairs, etc. After we got home, we went to the next door neighbors as they were having a little party. We had fun. The kids did great too. Nicole loved standing on the treadmill. We were sitting outside and the kids loved running in and getting a chip and running back out, they thought it was the funniest thing ever. The kids got juice boxes and ice-cream there, so they were happy kids. One kid there (almost 2) was obsessed with Nicole’s tattoos-it was pretty funny. We didn’t stay too long as Bret got paged for work plus it was bath night. We came home and the kids took a bath. They were pretty crazy tonight. Got all their blankets and put them in our shower and sat in there for a bit. Every time I opened the shower door, Justin would laugh, so funny. We did our usual night things, brush teeth, read books, etc. Not too bad 9:25 and all is quiet up there.

9 years ago, I married the man of my dreams. I can’t believe 9 years have passed. Marrying Bret was one of the happiest days of my life. We have just built a great life together. Everyday I think it can’t get better then it does. We met at the University of Redlands. We just became great friends after college and who ever thought we would end up getting married. I even got my dream proposal when Bret asked me to marry him in Hawaii. Of course I didn’t believe him 🙂 For a job, we moved to Foster City (Northern CA) and bought our first home together (town house). I made a job change into computers from retail up there too. We rode the Silicon Valley wave for a while. We got married at Dove Canyon Country Club in Southern CA. It was a dream wedding! We added a very special addition to our family, our doggie Tracey. She was definitely my first baby and I miss her and think of her everyday. In March of 2002 we bought our family house in Irvine. In November 2005 we welcomed two of additions to our family, our twins Justin and Nicole. It has been amazing sharing all the joys and building a lifetime of memories with Bret, Happy 9 year anniversary honey! It has been an amazing 9 years and I can’t wait to see what the next 100 have to offer.

On our way to Ashley and Jordan’s (Candice) 2nd birthday, we stopped at Target for a few things. Then we headed to the birthday party at Pioneer Park. It is a water park. Justin was interested in the water but didn’t get too wet. He decided to catch water in his Diego hat. He liked shooting the horse thing around that spit out water. Nicole didn’t want to get wet at all. The party was amazing. The kids played with the big bubble wands and had so much fun. They played with the Mickey and Minnie balls. They both got tattoos. Justin wanted two Donald Ducks. Nicole got Minnie and Pluto. We had a great time at the party and hanging out with our friends. The kiddos were looking a little tired so we left. I wanted to stop at this $1.00 bookstore on the way home. We got some books. So I thought they would fall asleep but no. I guess being in the sun and playing at the park isn’t enough to tire these guys out. I tried to get them to nap but gave up when it was clear they weren’t going to nap. So they had quiet time in their beds. After the non-nap we decided to head to Blue Gum Park. Neyha, Krish, and Isha met us there. It was nice and relaxing. I got to hold Isha for a while and the kids played really well. They were into all the trucks, tractors, and trains we brought. Of course they were playing by the drinking fountain. No biggie though as they were having fun. They played really well at the park and it wasn’t very crowded. Neyha gave the kids carrots and zucchin and Nicole kept on calling the zucchinin pickles, silly girl. After the park we picked up daddy. I ran in the house for a minute and walked into some beautiful flowers for me. I felt so special! We decided to get some KFC and have a picnic. We took the food over to the park by the trains. The kids loved watching the trains go by and we had a great picnic. It was so fun just hanging out as a family. The kids ran around on the grass and decided to walk on me while I was laying down. They found pine cones and pretended it was cake and founf some pretend candles too. We walked over the veggie garden over there and saw some kind of squash thing growing. We waved to all the trains going by and we just enjoyed being outside as a family. On the way home we stopped at Golden Spoon, special treat for our anniversary. The kids got strawberry yogurt and loved it. We came home and read books. The kids didn’t like many of the new books, so we just read all the old favorites. They went right to bed tonight, they were pretty tired. What a great anniversary spending time with my family.