Melissa’s Blog

Well we lost an hour of sleep but thank goodness I went to bed early. I was so tired last night. I started the hedges yesterday and my allergies knocked me out. I just need to take a shower and change after doing the hedges. The kids woke up a bit early today, maybe they will go to bed a bit early tonight and get back on schedule. We just hung out and read the paper this morning. We read some stories out of the Disney book. The kids are getting more interested in Pinochio and Lilo and Stitch. Nicole wants to pretend to be Stitch. The kids played the wii a little bit and watched a George. We headed out to go to the Beehive Family Expo at the Great Park. It was ok. The kids loved the rides and the bounce house. It was a little lame and expensive. Justin loved the big slide though, enough that he wanted to do it again. Nicole loved the trampoline jumpy thing. Luckily it was a beautiful day out and it wasn’t very crowded. We ate lunch there then headed to Costco. We finally bought some new fry pans….slowly replacing everything in my kitchen..this has to lead to a remodel right? Just kidding. In Costco the kids were really interested in the Monsters Inc movie and really wanted to watch it when they got home. Nicole even grabbed my Sully stuffed animal and watched the movie with it. I watched the movie for a bit but then headed outside to finishing hedging. Man that is a lot of work. Nicole cried at the end of the monster movie since Sully the monster wasn’t going to see the little girl, Boo. I don’t know that she understood it all but she sensed that Sully and Boo were sad. Dad was able to spray paint the canopy part of Nicole’s bed, so hopefully we will be able to put that up soon. I just need to get her bedding. After hedging and playing outside for a bit, the kids were all needy when we came in. They have such a hard time playing by themselves on weekends. Of course they kept fighting over the same toys. Finally we went out to dinner. We went to BJ’s, normally it is not worth mentioning where we go but the kids loved their food. Nicole got mac and cheese but ended up eating some of my pizza. She said this tastes really good. Justin loved it too; he was talking all about his tasty pizza. He also loved the fact he got a mini pizza of his own. Nicole ate one of the tomato’s on my pizza, she said they were good until daddy told her it was a tomato. The kids went to bed a little late tonight but that was to be expected due to the time change. We got extra cuddle time with them in their  beds.

It’s official I am a soccer mom! We just hung out at home this morning for a bit. Justin helped dad water outside. I read the library books to the kiddos. Then we got ready for soccer. We decided to walk to Heritage Park. We were on the way to the park when I realized I forgot water. Dad ran back and just took the car and met us. We need to walk more often as parking was limited. The kids did great playing soccer. I was a little disappointed as the league came across as extremely unorganized. Nikki got a bit competitive and did well at making friends. They just did a bunch of drills and kicked the ball around. Justin ran so much that he got tired and wanted to stand and be goalie for a bit. I think there were a few people on the boy’s team that have played before. The kids looked so cute in their soccer cleats, shin guards, and shirts.

We played soccer with the kiddos for a bit then headed to lunch. When we got home the kids played Wii with dad for a bit and watched TV. They couldn’t agree on what to watch so Justin is upstairs watching Thomas while Nikki is downstairs watching Clifford. We scanned in a bunch of pics I got from my mom. The kids loved helping. Then we headed outside to help break open the dinosaur eggs the kids made in pre school. It was really cute and fun:

Then the kiddos played with batons with daddy. Daddy worked on the canopy part of Nicole’s bed. Nicole wanted to help him and dad found some things she could do. Justin drove his car for a bit and I did part of the hedges. Justin helped me clean up. It was so nice as this was the first time in a while during a weekend that we have been able to get some things done. It was getting cold out so we all came in. Since the kids were so helpful we let them play Wii for a while. During this time we made dinner. After dinner we ended upstairs playing and reading. It was nice as we actually got the kids to bed a little early. But we visit with them for so long that they don’t end up going to bed until later. I visited Nikki first and then fell asleep in Justin’s bed until I heard mommy from Nicole.

We dropped daddy off at work this morning with his bike then headed to pre school. So nice I had the morning to myself. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I did waste some time sitting in front of the TV. After picking the kiddos us we went and fed the ducks at Heritage park. The kids had so much fun just hanging out, feeding, chasing, and watching the ducks. So great there were boys there for Justin to play with. We hung outside of pre school for a while. We played tag and duck duck goose. The kids are really into the backpacks they have with their names on them. They have been packing them up and pretending to go to kindergarten. It is such a beautiful day out. Finally got the kiddos into the shower. They had fun in the shower and didn’t want to get out. Justin wanted me to blow dry his hair, he said he was cold. I let the kiddos use the hair dryer themselves. It is the little things they love to do. After we tried on all the kiddos shoes. All of a sudden their feet have grown. I have a pair here that Justin didn’t even wear and now has outgrown them. I did get out his new shoes that are like daddy’s. Justin was so excited. I had every intention of washing my car, but somehow we ended up in the backyard. The kids made baskets while I tried to garden a bit. They also were in the swings for a really long time. They are getting way too big for those swings. Speaking of swings Justin started pumping on the swings at pre school. So proud of him! A neighbor that just moved back into the neighborhood came to visit. My kids didn’t remember her kids but they will get to know each other again. They had this really cool razor big wheel thing. Justin and Nikki had fun riding it. It is things like this that make me realize how big the kiddos are. Dad rode his bike home. We came inside and of course the kids and dad played Wii while I made dinner. I am getting tired of this Wii. I have been trying to not let the kiddos watch TV since they have had so much game time. So this means I am not getting any down time. I did have fun playing with the kiddos this afternoon. After dinner Nikki and I went upstairs and played doll house. Then we moved all the stuffed animals into a huge pile and pretended it was X-mas morning. She pretended to be asleep then opened all the presents. She is in love with a monkey that she named Allie. We re-arranged her animals on her bed. Justin and dad read some books then played cars. We spent lots of time visiting the kiddos tonight.

I was up bright and early this morning since I was in charge of registration for preschool. The kids got up in time as well. So they ate the fastest breakfast got them dressed and we were out the door. At first the kids weren’t too excited to be in the 2 day class without me. But before I knew it they were having a great time. Nicole was so happy as she fit right in with the girls. Justin was good up until the end then he wanted me. I really think he was just tired. After we got home he was kind of sluggy. I fed them lunch and tried to encourage Justin to take a nap. He wanted nap without me. So I turned on the TV to try to get the kids a rest. I was hoping Justin would fall asleep but no such luck. Luckily I think resting helped and he was much better. He was so excited to use this bubble thing I got them. I finally put batteries in it and we headed outside. The kids had a great time with it. Justin would shoot the bubbles while Nicole popped them. It encouraged lots of imagination-the kids were pretending the bubbles were snow and they were just having fun. Nicole has pretending to be Dopey with pants on her head. The kids also decided to put daddy’s belts on, not sure why. The kids played with the army men, GI Joe things. Nicole loves them now that she likes bad guys. A friend called us so we decided to get out and go to “pirate park”. I am so glad we did as we had a great time. The kids played so well together, digging holes in the sand and filling with water. We weren’t able to spend very long at the park. The kids all loved walking back together and hanging out. We played on the greenbelt for a bit then daddy got home. The kids see daddy and automatically want to play the Wii. So they played the Wii while I made dinner. Not a great dinner but I tried. We headed over to Heritage Park library for a juggling show. The kids loved it and it was a bit amusing for us as well. So cute watching the kiddos sitting on the floor up front. We also picked out lots of new books. We came home and tried to get the kids in bed quickly. They of course wanted to try to do magic tricks. Nicole wanted to talk about the show and the Incredibles. Hopefully I will remember to show her the movie trailer tomorrow.

Last night I was way too tired to blog. Yesterday we left the house at 8:25 in the morning and did not return until 7:30 last night. First we went to pre school and I was working. We celebrated Ms. Donna’s birthday. The kids brought her a birthday card and said happy birthday a lot. The cake was the highlight for the kiddos. We got out of school and I changed the kiddos clothes. Then we headed to grandma/pa’s house. The kids got spoiled with their favorite foods, macaroni and cheese and corn dogs. They ate so much. We started to show the kids pics of me and Alan as kids. Nicole was really interested and Nicole thought a few of them were Meghan not me. The kids watched Tom and Jerry there, this was their first time seeing this cartoon. We have only read a book about them. They were really liking it. They also watched some super hero cartoon. We couldn’t stay long as we met my new photography group at Aliso Creek Beach. The kids had a great time. They ran around, played at the play structure, had good snacks, ran through the echoey tunnel laughing all the way through. On the play structure there was something like bike pedals and hand pedals. The kids really really liked this. I had to hold them up so they could do it again and again. I took some pics but I was disappointed with the lighting. I need to edit them in photo shop. We still need to load photoshop on the new laptop. After all the fun play at the beach, we headed over to California Pizza Kitchen for a pre school fundraiser and Ms. Donna’s birthday celebration. I didn’t even have time to come home and pick up Bret. Nicole had a great time at dinner. She sat next to one of her friends from pre school then saw some girls she hadn’t seen in a while. She was dancing, laughing, etc. Justin was a little tired so I got cuddle time with him. I am hoping it was just that he was tired since he wasn’t so social. We got home at 7:30 where Bret greeted me with an address, the GPS, money so I could go onto Bunco. The kids were so excited to see daddy. They played a few games on the Wii and went to bed around 8:30. Bret said the kids went right to bed and that did not surprise me. I had a great time at Bunco. It was really mellow and just what I needed. It took me a while to unwind and relax before going to sleep. I also spent some time prepping for registration for preschool.

We all got a full nights sleep last night. The kids played this morning and made a mess. We ran to the grocery store to get some snacks for play group. The kids were great at the store. Nicole wanted to carry my purse and Justin pushed a little cart. We got home and the kiddos rode scooters around the house and bounced on the hoppy ball. We got out the Cootie game and the kiddos played. Friends came over and the kids overall played really well together. I have no idea how messy the upstairs is though. The kids did dress up, swung in the swings, and played with all the toys. Nikki and Justin hid things they didn’t want their friends to play with in our bed. After everyone left we head lunch then the kids took little cars and played with them on the kitchen counters. Justin ended up in his cars bathing suit and Nikki is dressed as Abby Cadaby. But it is too cold out. I let the kids take a break and watch some TV. Then it was bath time. Justin went first. He wanted me to throw the ball with him while he pretended to be a dog in the tub. Also while Justin was in the tub I cleaned up the kid’s room from play group. We also talked to grandma/pa as well. We will be by their house tomorrow and wanted to see if they were available for a visit. Nikki took a really long bath. The kiddos got dressed, we grabbed a snack and headed to the sports store to get the kiddos cleats for soccer. The kids were so excited to get their new cleats. Of course they wanted to wear them right then and there. Nicole’s are pink but Justin’s are blue, he was a little sad they weren’t green. Dad got home. Nicole helped me make a pizza tonight then we played the Wii a bit. We had someone come over to quote our patio cover. Annoying sales guy. The kids overall were really well behaved. They made some pictures for their pre school teacher and grandma/pa. They were asking how to spell things. Justin was really doing well. Justin made a tricerotops too, so cute. The kids played with the wooden blocks then we read some books. We read in between the sales guy measuring and stuff. I shut off all the kids lights and read a book by flashlight. It was fun and the kids loved holding the flashlight. I went for a walk with a friend. Now time to relax.

Back to our routine. I dropped the kiddos off at school this morning. Dad worked from home. I spent the morning grocery shopping and doing errands while the kids were at school. The kids had a great time at school and made dinosaur sandwiches for snack. They are starting to do an enrichment program at school. Justin goes on Monday and Nikki goes on Wed. They sit with Ms. Tanya and do various things. This morning Justin drew a picture of himself with sun glasses. It was so cute.n Nikki played outside while Justin was with Ms. Tanya. Nice for the kiddos to be apart a bit. We came home and dad was home. The kids wanted to play with dad but did get he was working. We had lunch then I read a lot to the kiddos. The library books are due soon so I wanted to read them. The kiddos watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I did laundry and prepped dinner. We had to stay at home since the exterminating company was coming to do our annual termite inspection. He had to spot spray a tiny area outside. During this time I worked on a shadow box thing I have been wanting to do. I put the kiddos birth announcement in it plus the molded hands the kids did when they were 18  months. I love how it came out and it is easy to change at anytime.

Well our server went down so dad was on it. It seemed like a really stressful day at home for dad. He had to deal with the server, work, the kids, and me 🙂 The kids and I played lots of games, Cootie and Don’t Break the Ice. We also played the marble race. I couldn’t take the kids asking me to play anymore so I decided to take them outside. It was cold though and the kids insisted on wearing shorts. We played tennis on the greenbelt for a short time. The minute dad came home the kids were all over him to play the Wii. They played while I made dinner. After dinner dad was off to a welcome to kindergarten meeting. I hope he gets some useful info. The kids decided to play with tennis balls. First Justin was a dog chasing the balls then the balls became their babies. Who knows! Here is a pic of Nikki-she decided to pose so I snapped.

She is wearing her favorite shirt. We played cars upstairs then read a lot of books. I had fun spending cuddle time with the kids. They went right to sleep. Now I am just waiting for daddy to get home.

Our little munch kins are driving us a bit crazy. I can’t believe they can’t seem to play with each other at all on the weekends. This morning we took it easy, tried to read the paper, play Cariboo, and Memory. We played doggies in Nikki’s room. Finally dad and I needed too get out as being home was driving us crazy. We went to Whole Foods and had lunch. There was a really nice family who started to talk to the kiddos. When they asked Nicole her name she said Nikki but then she said she prefers Danielle.  We walked over to Target as we need to find the kiddos cleats for soccer starting next weekend. No such luck though as they were out. We also stopped to get seeds for the garden. We got cucumbers, carrots, watermelon, and green beans. It was nice walking over as we took our time sat by the fountains at the District and took it easy. We braved the lines at Costco to get gas. While waiting we let the kiddos unbuckle out of their car seats. They thought it was the greatest thing ever. Funny how the little things make a difference.  We came home and the kids were all over us again to play. Dad planted the seeds with the kiddos. I think daddy wanted to make sure they get into neat rows. The kids loved putting the seeds in. I hope things come up kind of quick for them as they were so excited. It stinks when it takes a while. We played the Wii with the kiddos for a bit. The kids did play doh for a short time, trying to get them to play on their own. Daddy set up the marble race thing for Justin and Nicole and I played on this magnet thing. Nicole also helped a lot in the kitchen today. I let her slice the bananas to put in the jello. She loved it! She also helped measure the rice for dinner and put the chicken on the pan. Also she loved cutting open the sauce and pouring it into a bowl. So great to have a little helper and giving her more confidence. During dinner Justin says “good dinner Nikki”. It was such a cute moment. Well things got crazy upstairs. At first we played limbo. My back will never be the same; the kids were laughing. Then we had this balloon toy and the kids would blow it up a little then run saying it was their baby chick. They were getting along so well and cracking us up. It reminded me of the time when they were little and would get naked at night. So I encouraged them to get naked which made them laugh even more. I can’t believe how big they are now! We played way too long then brushing teeth took a while. We let the kiddos brush and floss then we do it for them as well. But we have started teaching them to spit in the sick. So funny I started spitting in the sink when Nicole did-she was laughing like crazy. Of course we had to do it again. We read books and Justin was asleep when I left him. Nicole required a lot more time as usual before falling asleep.

I just wrote about most of our day and didn’t save it, ugh. So this will be a condensed version. It was all about daddy today. Dad and Nikki went to Starbucks this morning. Justin and I had fun playing Cootie Bugs and a new game Cariboo. The kids loved Cariboo. They played it for a really long time. I decided to start preparing the garden for planting the veggies. The kids helped me turn all the dirt and pull all the weeds. They also saw lots of worms. Dad mowed the lawn and Nikki followed with her lawn mower. We did back yard maintenance which included the jacuzzi. The kids took a bath-Justin went first. Justin and I had fun playing in the tub. Nikki took a bath next and took her Ariel and color changing water doll in the bath. She was having a great time. We stopped for lunch on the way to La Habra Children’s Museum. To our surprise Justin fell asleep on the way. We had a good time at the Museum but are starting to realize the kids might be getting too old for that museum. Their preference these days is Pretend City. They both did like the dress up area and the stage. They were on stage performing together but they didn’t have that many boy costumes. Nicole really liked digging for fossils while Justin of course loved the trains. The kiddos played in the play area for a while. They had some baby chicks there that were so cute; Nicole wanted the  brown one. It was a sluggy day today, maybe due to the weather. When we got home the kids couldn’t seem to play without us. We did some cutting crafts, making brown bag monkey puppets. Of course the kids wanted to play the Wii again so after dinner they each got two races. Justin is so psycho about this game. We went upstairs. We played cars. We got out the carpet and we drove the cars on the streets. Justin loved it when I pushed the little cars over to him and he bonked them with the big cars. We read books and the kiddos are sleeping now. I have such a love/hate relationship with weekends. I love being together as a family but the kiddos get so needy and fighty.

Dad was out of here at 7:30 this morning to sign the kiddos up for a kindergarten readiness class. We got in. I had a long discussion with our pre school teacher and she agreed our kiddos were ready for kinder. I can’t believe they may start kinder in Sept-my babies. I am going to cry my eyes out the first time I leave them at kinder. How did my babies get so big so fast. I am truly blessed. I didn’t have much time to do much while they were in school. I did a little shopping, way easier with no kids in tow. The kids had a great time in school and made dinosaur eggs out of clay. We just need to wait until the clay gets hard and then we can “hatch” them. The kids are so excited. After pre school we had a play date at a friend’s house from pre school. It was so nice. I am so jealous of their house-it was beautiful and a great backyard. The kids all played so nicely. It was so nice as I got to sit down and chat with other moms. Nicole and Justin loved Isa’s little skateboard until Nicole fell on the tile, ouch. I took the kiddos to the dentist today. They got their teeth cleaned and now we are watching two spots on Justin’s teeth-ugh. The kids were brave and did great. When we got home we played outside. I got their cars out and we went around the neighborhood. Nice to get out walking. Dad came home and the kiddos and him raced on the Wii. We ran out to get some dinner. Then dad and the kiddos played Cootie Bugs. I got the kiddos a birthday cake toy thing and they played with that for all 5 minutes, ugh. We went upstairs and dad blind folded the kids while they listened to his voice and found where he was. It was pretty funny. We brushed their teeth extra well and even flossed. Nikki seemed so wired tonight and I tried to sit with her for a bit. I felt like I missed cuddle time last night so I had to make up for it. Justin was so talky in bed. Some of Nicole’s animals (Dale and Thumper) are having a sleepover in our room.