Melissa’s Blog

Last night we spent the night in LA, so catch up time on the blog.

Sat morning I was out early to get my hair cut and highlighted. I hurried out of the salon so I could do a couple things before meeting the family at soccer. I am working on getting some new clothes and stuff. I got to soccer only a few minutes late – I was surprised to see my mom and dad at soccer. They were supposed to be at a park with Alan and family for an Easter egg hunt  but T wasn’t feeling great. The kids did really well at soccer. Nicole is so loving getting goals and has this look of determination on her face. She was running around so much and it was hot. Justin was so excited when he made a goal. His soccer is a little more fun than Nicole’s. His coach is better, so the boys were playing games and having more fun. Where as the girls seemed to be all over the place and not sure of what to do. Justin was the “fox” and he had to catch the “rabbits” while kicking the ball. It was kind of like capture the flag. Justin got the most vests (flags). It was great. He was on the green team for a bit then the coach moved him to the red team. His teammates were lazy and were just sitting in the goal, Justin was a one man team making goals. After soccer we went out to the Hat for lunch with grandma/pa. We came home and packed up for LA. We stayed at a really nice hotel and the kids were thrilled to be at the hotel. The hotel gave them little back packs with toys, snacks, cups, etc. They thought it was the greatest thing ever. We also were able to jump in the pool for a bit. I sat out though but dad and the kiddos went in. Nicole was a fish, so excited to be in the water. Justin was so cold that I made him get out. I even put him in the hot shower to warm up. We got changed and headed to the Grove. It was fun but the traffic and craziness of LA was getting to us. We ate at the farmers market and walked around for a bit. Nicole discovered the American Doll store. This store was crazy and seriously you could spend a ton on a doll, plus the accessories, the ear piercing, the hair style. Nicole really wanted a doll. She took it really well though when we said not right now. I am sure she would be happy enough with any other doll that is cheaper. She may be a little young for the American Dolls. We didn’t get back to the hotel until late, so I don’t think the kiddos went to bed until 9:30ish. Dad was up early this morning to go over to work for a bit. We were able to see the LA Marathon from our hotel room. The kids played really well for me in the hotel, they played with their backpacks, ice, etc while I took a shower. Then we headed out to get breakfast. The kids were so sociable talking to anyone that would talk to them. We got a bagel and yogurt then ate it back in the room. We looked out the window and saw dad heading back to the hotel. Justin took a nice long shower and Nikki took a bath. Justin had fun with the bar of soap and shower glass. Nicole had fun with the shower cap and cups. We decided we had enough of LA so we packed up and headed home. We couldn’t believe how fast we got home, thank goodness. It’s always nice to be home. The kiddos played the Wii for a bit with daddy. I got caught up around here. Then we went around the neighborhood to sell some chocolate for the pre school. It was nice and we visited with some neighbors. Everyone seems a little tired, so we let the kiddos watch TV and dad took a nap. We played memory and watered plants. After dinner we let the kiddos play Wii, 2 quick games then we went upstairs. We went up early to try to get them in bed on time. Justin was so tired he was falling asleep as dad was reading to him. Nikki and I were playing doll house then I read to Nikki. Hopefully she will be asleep really soon.

The kids slept in this morning, so nice. Dad had to leave before Justin woke up. I went to shut the garage since daddy took his bike. Justin came running down crying since he didn’t get to say goodbye to daddy. I e-mailed dad and he called Justin when he got to work. That seemed to make Justin feel good. We were off to the trike a thon at pre school. So fun! The kids had a great time at the park. They biked and biked all around, played with their friends, got their faces painted, and had a picnic lunch. This is the first time Justin got his face painted. They look so cute.

The kiddos had a great time. On the way home they opened their windows and were barking out the window. We came home and the kids played a bit. I caught up on membership stuff and made some calls. I used the TV to get some things done as well. The kids watched George. After they went outside with me and played in the backyard. I finished all the hedging and the kids watered the veggies. We went to the Spectrum. The kids had a great time in the dog store. I so wanted to take a dog home, he looked so sad in his cage. I went to a few stores for me and the kids were crazy. But they were crazy fun. They were going up to all the people saying look at my face-I can’t believe how outgoing they were. They were having a great time and wanting to pet everyone’s dog. Dad met us at the Spectrum. We had dinner. Justin of course wanted to play games. So dad and him went with Nikki and I just walked around a bit. We came home and the kiddos called grandma/pa. Grandpa’s dad passed away. Grandma said he was putting up a good front but was a bit sad. Justin and I read books together while Nicole and dad did. I got to read all the Hot Wheel books. We spent lots of time cuddling with the kiddos and off to bed they went.

It was a rough night and morning with my never ending period-sorry for whoever is reading this. I wasn’t sure but I decided to chance it and go to Disney. We took the monorail in, so we ended up right at the Autopia. Justin was thrilled. The line wasn’t too bad either. We had a person in front of us that didn’t know how to drive or something as they kept stopping. Justin didn’t seem to complain to much but it was annoying. We then switched drivers. Disney was starting to get crowded. But we managed to get on its a small world without too much of a wait. We stopped to eat lunch then headed to the Pooh ride. Of course Nicole and Justin’s favorite rides are on the other side of the park. We ran into some friends at the Pooh ride. We had to wait in a line at the Pooh ride and rarely is there a long wait there. By this time I was done; the combination of the crowds and my period got to me. We walked through Downtown Disney and just looked around. I got the kids a smoothie and they were content. We came home for a bit and the kids got all their dogs and pretended to have a dog pound. They were pretending to play the Wii with their dogs. The kids went and got their haircut. Nicole loves the girl that cuts her hair and wants to be her assistant. The kids look so cute. Justin so needed a haircut. When we asked Nicole what she wanted to do with her hair all she cared about was the french braid. Her hair kooks so cute too. We stopped at the organic farm on the way home to get some fruit and veggies. We watered our veggies and can’t believe they are starting to come through the ground. The green beans seem to be growing the fastest. The kids were so excited and so were we. Dad came home a little late so we had dinner right away. The kids and dad played Wii then I headed out to a pre school meeting.

Busy but fun day. I dropped the kiddos off at school and went to get a pedicure. It was so nice but hard to relax as I had a million things I wanted to do. I wish I took more time out for myself. I picked up the kiddos and we hurried out to meet some friends at Chick Fil A. The kiddos had such a great time and I enjoyed catching up with  my mommy friends. Justin had fun with Jane, so cute. They were totally flirting. The kids played in the play area for a bit. When we got home the kiddos watched one George then shower. We were off again to the Newport library. They did a special thing with crafts for St. Patrick’s Day. It was cute just a bit rushed. We ended up taking most of our projects home and will finish them tomorrow or sometime soon.The kids got a pot of gold, black little pot with chocolate coins, they were so excited. Why didn’t I think of doing something like that? We also read a few books at the library and the kiddos played on the computer for a bit. Then we headed to Fashion Island. So fun and such a nice day. We had dinner there then I let the kids get gelato. Everyone had ice cream at chick-fil-a and I didn’t let the kids so I let them have a treat tonight. They had so much fun playing at the Koi pond area. I sat and read a magazine while they played. It was a perfect night temperature wise and I loved seeing the kiddos so happy. We came home and played with the kiddos. I played doll house a bit with Nikki and Justin and dad played cars. I am off to relax, it was a great day but busy and I am tired.

Busy night last night, Justin coming in our room. I took him back to his bed and he was so wiggly and snorey. Nicole woke up saying “mommy”. She went to the bathroom and wanted me to sleep with her but left me no room. Then there was an earthquake. And again Justin came back to our room. Needless to say we had a hard time getting up this morning. We got ready for the cleaners. So much to put away but it does give us a chance to get rid of some things or get them organized. We headed out to the Irvine Regional Park. We had a class there called bonkers for bunnies. It was so cute. The kids got to pet bunnies and make lots of bunny crafts. The kids painted a bunny, made a bunny mask, bunny/duck puppets. They also learned some things about bunnies. The kids had a great time and were so social. They were so talky to the teachers and volunteers, I loved it. We met Roberta and T after the class. We went into the goat area. The kids loved the petting zoo. Nicole and Justin both picked out their favorite goats and got to brush them too. T was  busy pointing at all the goats. We went to the story time for a bit but it wasn’t that exciting so we didn’t stay too long. We walked around the zoo and had fun. Justin really wanted to go on the train. It was a nice day at the park, but it was warm. The kids are definitely not used to the warmer weather. We came home and had lunch. T had fun playing with the kitchen,  Nikki was wanting to pick her up but she is getting so big and heavy. I had to go to preschool for a bit. The kids all went outside to play, they played in the mud and played on the swings. They love pumping on the swings now. T was a hit-all smiley. I had her on my lap and she fell asleep for a bit. We came home and played. I was trying to teach T how to blow out candles for her b-day. The kids got ring pops at their class so I let them have them. Justin’s mouth and lips are very blue. The kids thought the ring pops were the greatest thing ever. After Roberta picked up T we just watched a little TV and rested. I decided we needed to go outside since it was such a beautiful day. We washed my car. Justin just wanted to spray and Nicole was busy doing all sorts of things. So nice to have a clean car. Dad came home and the kiddos begged and  begged to play Wii, however, we had to have dinner first. I so didn’t feel like cooking so we went out and sat outside it was really nice. We came home and the kiddos played Wii then we headed upstairs. We need to work on getting the kids back on an 8:00 bedtime. It is so warm tonight, so nice! Went for a walk and now going to relax.

Sometime during the night Justin came into our bed. I finally left and slept in his bed. Justin got up and we got him ready for school. Meanwhile Nikki was still sleeping. Since Bret is able to work from home on Mondays we let her sleep. So strange to only take one to school but kind of nice as well. Nicole got there about a half hour late. I was working and of course Justin wanted me to be blue mom. I got the sand. It was such a beautiful day out that we got the water out and the kids had a blast. The theme of the week at school is bicycling. Ms. Donna read the Duck on a Bike book. Nicole was so excited it was a book she knew and she helped tell the story a little bit. Justin shared his seashell he painted and Nicole shared Huey, Louie, and Dewey. It was a nice day at school. We came home and the kiddos had lunch. They also decided to get all their stuffed animals out and made a huge mess. Finally I got them in the shower. They could have stayed in the shower forever. I read some books. The kids pretended to share things at home. They got their dog houses with their dogs Champ and Lollipop. I needed a break so I let them watch TV for a bit. Then it was so nice outside so we headed out. I was about to finish the hedging when Zoe came over. The kids grabbed an empty tennis ball container and put leaves in it. Then they were busy looking for bugs to put in it. They ran in and got their magnifying glass too. It was cute. Justin threw the ball a bit with Zoe. I got them to water the veggies then they just went crazy with water. They were putting buckets of water over certain plants pretending it was a campfire (from Curious George) and they were putting it out. It all ended when Justin accidentally got Nikki wet. I think Nikki changed about 10 times today.Dad came home and we finished outside then the kids played Wii while we made dinner. We had a quick dinner then I was off to my photography class. It is definitely hard to sit still in a class these days, especially with everything I need to do going through my mind. The class is mildly interesting. I just want to get out and practice. I need to take my camera everywhere. I can’t wait to go home and relax. I do need to get the house ready for the cleaners.

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.