Melissa’s Blog

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.

Wow I over scheduled us today but it was a lot of fun. This morning we played at home for a bit. We played outside, painted, mixed the sand, rode trikes, etc. Then we headed to the lagoon, the kids had a great time. They were in the water pretty much the entire time. We brought their kick boards and they really liked them. Although I only got them to kick with them a couple of times. They did try to stand on them. Justin also liked to push his like a truck through the sand. There was a hole in the sand by the water and the kiddos loved to fill it up with buckets of water. It was cute to watch them. And Nicole decided she liked goggles, she looked so cute in them. It was a great morning. I decided since we were so busy and I had know idea when I was going to bathe the kids, I gave them showers before we left the lagoon. Insured no sand in my car and clean kids. They ate lunch at the lagoon as well. We came home and the kiddos watched Barney while I ate lunch and packed for the next outing, and dries towels and bathing suits. After Barney we headed down to Carin and Sofi’s and went to the Ladera Ranch water park. That place is so cool. The kids were a little scared though of the big red bucket pouring water down and splashing. We found a place where the kiddos wouldn’t get splashed. But it still took them a while to get in. They were only in for a little while then had to get out for a 10 minute break (required every hour). We got out and had snack and played in the fountains. I bet next time we go the kiddos will like it even more. We got dressed and headed over to a nice shady park. The kids had fun playing and call it white park. After we headed to grandma/pa’s house for dinner. Nicole told them all about white park and how she hung, etc. The kiddos had a great time, they jumped off the ottoman and onto the floor and played in the tunnel, etc. They hid from us. They also got all the pillows from the family room and brought them into the living room to jump on. Grandpa said to get the pillows from the family room and Nicole said ok I get them from the family room and off she ran but then she said where is the family room, silly girl. Justin and grandpa went out to see the ocean and take a little walk. Nicole and I went out too. The kiddos had a great time on the way home, drawing and showing me everything they drew. They were exhausted, Justin started melting down, so upstairs to bed we went. They both wanted to sleep with their kick boards.

Well this morning, we watched daddy pedal his bike to work. We read a ton of books which made me so tired. We are working on learning letter. Nicole knows the letter O and Justin knows H and a few here and there. They love to learn and it is fun to teach them. They played outside a bit too making baskets. The silly kids sat on the landing of the stairs just hanging out and talking, it was funny. We had a nice morning at home. We went to the Irvine Park RR this morning. Justin was so excited for the train. We met lots of friends there-it was a mom’s club event. We got there and rode the train first. It was fun. Then we went for a walk and ended up going to the little zoo there. The kiddos had a blast feeding the goats. There wasn’t too much at the zoo, Nicole started melting down so I left to go feed the kiddos. They were having fun just playing around the picnic tables with the dirt and the trees. Guess Nicole’s melt down was her way of saying I want to play. We ate lunch and the kiddos played. Then we walked back to the car. The kiddos took a little nap on the way home, where is my nap? HA. After nap I did a few errands. The kids were so good that I stopped at Toys R Us. The kiddos had a great time playing in the store. Nicole wanted to play with Elmo and Justin trains. We came home and just played for a bit. We also colored with crayons and markers. I actually snuck in some scrapbook time while the kiddos colored. Paula’s hubby is out of town, so her and her kiddos came over. We walked over to Northwood Pizza for dinner. The kids were so cute walking together, Nicole wanted to hold Mikey’s hand as she crossed the street. And Nicole really liked Katie’s baby, ironically named Katie. Nicole and Justin had fun hanging out with Paula’s kids, they all copy each other. The kiddos found lots of stuff on the walk, rocks, leaves, flower, sticks…Daddy met us over at the pizza place. The kiddos were pretty hungry and ate well. Then they played with the video games for a while, air hockey, driving. We walked home and then played ball on the greenbelt. Justin got inventive and used the frisbee as a bat to hit the ball while Nicole bounced on the hippity hoppity ball. It was pretty warm today. I still hear the kiddos upstairs talking, hopefully they will go to bed soon.

Well this morning I decided since the kiddos are liking the Bob stroller, I will try to walk again. Vena and I went. The kiddos did great. It brought back so many happy memories walking with the kids. I did it every morning for the first year of their life and they napped in the stroller. This time I had to bribe them with a trip to the park if they would stay in the stroller. They did great. Vena and I walked to Hick’s Canyon Park and the kiddos played for a bit. Justin and Nicole were pretty much on the see saw the entire time. We did play catch a bit too. On the walk back, Nicole was getting antsy but with snacks she did great. After we went to story time at Hush Baby at the District. The kiddos had so much fun. Instead of a little bunny they had a little doggie. So the the puppy bopped them on the head and gave them kisses, rather than bunny fu fu. It was cute. The biggest smile on the kid’s faces when the dog comes over. During the song, you’ve got the whole world in your hands, Justin and I clapped our hands together, so cute. Then he was so cuddly, so cute. Nicole turned around in her chair and faced me and wanted cuddles too. Justin got a yellow doggie painted on his hand and Nicole got a pink one. After we walked over to In N Our Burger for lunch. We had fun. We were on an end table, so people were waiting for tables behind us. Justin and Nicole loved entertaining the people, lunch wasn’t eaten too much but the kids had fun. We went into TJ Maxx for a bit and Justin got a new pair of jeans then Michael’s. The kids were so excited to buy glue. Looks like we will be doing crafts this afternoon. The kiddos watched Barney and Elmo’s World. After we went and met some friends down in Ranch Santa Margarita at some fountains. There was a Kohl’s there so I stopped in to exchange daddy’s pants. Can’t believe how long errands take with the kids, we had fun though. We had to ride up and down the escalators and look at all the clothes, hide in the clothes, etc. Then we went over to the fountains. The kids had a great time. I bought cups, water guns, and the tracor and the kiddos had a blast playing with all the toys. They both got really wet which equals lots of fun. We came home and the kids just wanted to play. They barely ate dinner, guess they don’t like my cooking-HA. Then it was craft night. We used their scissors-they like cutting although it does require us holding the paper while they use two hands with the scissors. Then we did stamps. I can’t believe how much they love stamps. Then glue. They both used up the whole bottle of glue, in their defense it was a little bottle but they loved it. We glued phone letters/numbers on the paper. It was great fun. Then bath. The kiddos are getting very splashy in bath. Water everywhere and we are wet. They were pretty tired tonight and went to bed pretty easily-we love that!

I heard the kiddos this morning so I ran in to get them back to sleep so daddy could sleep in on his birthday. The kids were happy it was daddy’s birthday. We played all over the house this morning, read the paper, ate breakfast…usual morning stuff. I wanted to go to Target, so the kids and I went and daddy went to get his oil changed in his car. We were at Target for a long time. The kids were happy in the cart, so I was able to shop. Then they got out and got to look at the clothes and played with all the toys. Daddy met us in Target. We found a little basketball for the basketball hoop in the backyard. The kiddos had fun playing with the new little ball, even played catch together with it. But it is a heavy ball so they both kept on saying their fingers hurt. So they went back to dribbling and making baskets, no catch. We had lunch and realized the kiddos wouldn’t nap. So I gave daddy some alone time in the house and I took them to LakeShore Learning Center. We played in there a bit and shopped. The kiddos liked the carpet in there and liked jumping on all the bugs.  I bought the kiddos some scissors and they were so excited. So excited in fact Nicole is sleeping with hers (still in package). Then we went over the Laguna Hills Mall. We did the usual mall stuff, escalators (up and down a million times), rode the cars and other toys, watched TV in Gymboree, played on the lights, ran around, etc. We came home to pick up daddy and off to Grammy’s we went. Grammy had a little birthday celebration for Bret and grandma/pa came as well. The kiddos had fun playing with Grammy’s toys. Asked us to go in the play room with them. They both went in the pool for a bit, surprisingly Nicole was more into than Justin. I had fun with Nicole was she was on the steps of the pool, she would kick, make it rain on the pool by splashing, dip the back of her hair in, kick, etc. But every time a plane would come, the kiddos would run out of the pool into a grandparent’s arms. Daddy was fortunate enough to be able to clean out Grammy’s fountain for his birthday. We opened presents and daddy got a money change counter thing, so the kiddos asked for more money to put in it-they had fun. We had a nice dinner and once cake was mentioned the kiddos were done with their dinner. It was so cute-they helped blow out the candles and sang happy birthday. After dinner, the kiddos played outside and got to see the Goodyear blimp. Nicole wanted to go back in the pool. She loved putting on this towel with a hood after she got out. Justin was playing in grandma’s lap liking watching the blimp and getting  a back rub. Then it was time to go home. Kiddos are sleeping right now and I am going to follow soon.

We spoke to Auntie Buffi late last night. It was great hearing from her. We are considering meeting her in Vegas. Well this morning we played at home for a while. We made tunnels and played with blocks. The kids pushed the trains on the blocks. They were drawing and kept on saying look what I drew. They also drew with markers. What a mess, luckily it is all washable. Their work is on the fridge 🙂 We went to the Great Park Take Flight Day. It was hot! The kids did a few crafts. They glued bird seed and other seeds to paper. Then they made kites or should I say daddy made kites for the kids. They had a great time with the kites. It was great family fun. I guess a real kite is in their future. We will have to fly them on the greenbelt sometime. Justin was so sad when we had to get lunch and he couldn’t fly his kite any more. We had a picnic lunch. Then the kiddos got orange sherbert (orange balloon to mimic the big Orange Balloon). We had a good time but the park is spending all this money and it doesn’t look like there has been any progress on the park. We came home and had to get a few things done, so we let the kiddos watch Barney and Elmo’s World. After TV we just played with the kiddos. All I know is we played a lot as toys were all over the house. The kids seemed to be getting bored so we went and played on the greenbelt. We brought balls and frisbees out. Also we blew up the Thomas hippity hoppity ball the kids got from grandma/pa for Chanukkah. The kids are still a little small for it but Nicole found a way to jump. She had fun on it. Justin was busy throwing two frisbee’s. We played catch with the kiddos as well. They are throwing and catching so well these days. We came in and had dinner. Then got ready for our friends to come over to help celebrate Bret’s birthday. Victoria, Todd, and Penny came. It was nice just hanging out with friends, hard to talk though with the kids being so noisy. We just had dessert (birthday cheesecake) with our friends. After they left, it was time for a bath. The kids were sweaty, full of sun screen, and sticky. The kiddos were wild in the bath and continued even after bath. They played in the tent room for a bit and finally settled down. Of course they went to bed a little later than normal.