Melissa’s Blog

Dad worked from home today. He snuck upstairs and it was nice to go say hi to him whenever I wanted. The sun was bright and it was hot early. We headed to the pool. It was nice to finally swim when it was hot out. The kids had a great time, mostly splashing me. Both jumped in and wanted me to catch them. Justin was really practicing his strokes. Both loved swimming over to the swim lanes. I can’t find their kick boards though, ugh. They seem to use those the most. After the pool I gave the kiddos a shower and we came home. We had lunch then just played. The kids played with stamps and made some pics. Dad built a spiral track and it was like a new toy for the kiddos. They played on the train table for a while. We waited for Tierney to arrive. Then we just played in the play room with T. T was into everything. Justin and Nicole played cars with the car carriers. We did a few errands. The kids were great and very helpful while we were out. We went to the craft store and I let the kiddos get wood things to paint. Nikki picked out a bird house w/bird and Justin picked out a fire engine. Dad was able to play when we got home. We painted parts of the bird house and fire truck then headed out for dinner. The kids were pretty hyper this evening, probably all the syrup they ate with their Mickey pancakes for dinner. We took them to monkey bar park on the way home. Nikki did the monkey bars once or twice but then wasn’t too into them. We had a nice family time; we all went down the slide together like a choo choo. Justin called this one thing, little climber thing, his booby slide. When we got home I went for a quick walk with a friend. The kids were still pretty hyper so we played car wash. They were running up and down the hallway. Both Bret and I held a towel up so it was a double car wash-they thought it was great. A couple books and off to bed. While talking to Nikki she asked how a baby gets out of the mom’s tummy. After trying to divert her attention elsewhere I finally told her. Once I told her the subject was dropped. I thought there would be a ton of questions. Actually now that I think about it she is probably processing it all and will ask her questions in the morning.

Last night Bret and I went to  bed too late. I didn’t want to get up this morning. I decided I didn’t need to rest so off we went with our day. We met my photography group at the Laguna Niguel Botanical Gardens. It was really pretty and the kids had fun playing together. Nicole and Justin met a new friend they really liked it. They all played at the play structure as well. I got some cute pics:

The kids were troopers with me taking pictures. We came home and had lunch and rested. Nikki made pretty pictures with stamps and markers. Justin used his shake n go car racer set. I looked at all the pics I took. I let the kiddos watch TV, Word Girl and Martha Speaks, while I took a quick nap. Then we got ready to go to Laguna Beach. We parked and took the trolley shuttle to the beach. That was fun in itself for the kiddos. We had a fun night. We went to the ocean first and the kids were in the water having a great time. Justin told me it was cold the first time he went in but the second time it was warm. After the water we went over to the play structure. The kids were having such a great time playing we decided to get dinner to go and have a picnic. The kids ate a little but then said they wanted to take a break to play. It was so warm by the beach and it was just nice watching the kiddos play. I took my camera so I will have to see if I got any good pics. My kiddos were so good today, it was so nice. They had a cookie and a shower when we got home. As usual bedtime was 9:00.

Below are some pics from the beach. I was proud of getting the jumping shot:

This morning we got ready for the cleaners. The kids helped as well. I don’t think the kiddos even ate breakfast until 9:00. We decided to take advantage of the free summer movies, so we went and saw the Squekal, Chipmunks. Justin and Nicole wanted to wear their Chipmunk/Chipette shirts. Justin didn’t care that his was long sleeve and it was hot. I brought a short sleeve shirt for him to change into. The kids loved the movie this time. I tried to read my book during the movie but it was loud. While the singing was going I was able to read. After we went to grandma/pa’s for a visit. The kids were crazy. They took all the pillows off the couch and jumped and jumped, etc. Nicole got her clothes wet from a water balloon so both kids were playing in their underwear, sillies. We had lunch there and then the kids just played. Justin played with cars, Nikki pretended to be a baby. The kids had a great time,. We did an errand on the way home and played at home. Nicole wanted to bake yesterday and we didn’t get a chance so we did it tonight. We made banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, yum! The kids decided to play with the hose. They sprayed down the back patio-I am not sure what they were trying to do. But they had fun being together and getting soaked. Before we knew it the kiddos were naked running around. We ate dinner outside with naked kids. The naked kids decided to go into the jacuzzi. Dad and I enjoyed being outside-the weather was great! I went to Bunco and the kiddos had daddy time.

Not much too blog about today as it wasn’t a very exciting day. We stayed home this morning which was really nice. I tried to get some things done around here and for a moment there I actually got bored. I started spray painting our gates, hid the rust. The kids helped and played all around me. They were pulling off all the couch cushions and making obstacle courses. I took off all our bedding, mattress pads, etc and washed it. I had the mattress pad on the chairs drying so the kiddos made a fort under there. Couch cushions and carpets came outside. They pretended the cushions were dog beds. After lunch we went out for a bit. I needed to go to Target and Lowes. We also ended up at Carters too. When we got back to the car from all our errands it was hot. We decided to go to the pool. The kids are fish. I had a great time in the pool with them. They took showers and we came home. The kids were playing on our bed while I put away a ton of laundry. They were also wrapping each other up as presents. Dad came home and we made dinner. I worked on the spray painting again. After dinner the kids played trains and were in the backyard. We put them in the stroller and headed for frozen yogurt. YUM! I got home and went for a walk with my friend while dad got the kiddos ready for bed. I got the best greeting from Nikki. I played doll house with her for a bit but that meant the kids didn’t go to sleep until after 9:00, ugh. Justin has been kissing my nose at night, so I got him back and he was just laughing, so funny.

It was birthday party day! Dad always missed out on our adventures during the week, so he decided he wanted to go on a hike. We went to Lower Peters Canyon. The kids had a great time. It was a really nice family event-I hope we do it more often. Then it was all about birthday party’s. The first one included a jump house, pool, and a taco cart. Dad was willing to go for the taco cart. I managed to bring everything from towels, sunscreen, etc…but I forgot the kiddos bathing suits. Dad ran to Target to get bathing suits. The kids had a great time at the party, it was really nice. Then we had to hurry out of this party to go to another. I need to stop planning so many things. The next party was a reptile theme. It was really great, it included bounce house, sno cone machine, and a reptile show. The kids held snakes, lizards, frogs, etc. I was kind of glad the kiddos chose not to hold the tarantula. It was creepy for me but the kiddos loved it. Dad was able to stay for a while at this party but then needed to head home to do some work. The kids were in the bounce house for the longest time. They were all throwing balls at one another but having a great time. Justin played with all the trains as well. It was really nice the kids and I walked home from the party. It probably took us about 25 minutes. The kids had a great time in the stroller. They liked walking home in the dark. They wanted the blanket to cover the entire stroller and they were just giggling underneath. So cute to listen to. I don’t think the kiddos got to bed after 9:00 but it was a fun day!

We just played this morning at home. I followed the kiddos around cleaning up after them. We hosted a pre school play date. The kids all played really well. Messy house but by the time the last mom left we had it all cleaned up. Justin was really liking one of the older boys, it was cute to watch. I got to talk to the moms and hang out. After everyone left, Nikki and Justin were hungry so we had a snack and then just hung out for a while. Nikki is really wanting to rock climb again. She keeps asking me how she can do it in the house. The kids have been wanting smoothies lately and since I had a coupon for a free one at McDonalds we went. The little things that make them happy. The smoothie ended up being a $60 one since I went to the grocery store after. The kids played in the play area for a bit then we headed to the store. Justin made a friend in the play area. I love watching him become so independent. He is an amazing little guy! We came home and made dinner. Nikki and daddy played bad guys. Dad would catch the bad guy, AKA Nikki with a hula hoop then tie her up by the play house which was jail. He would tie it so she could get out of it fast and she thought it was so funny. Justin went in the jacuzzi. He is such a little swimmer, diving for things and just having fun. I tried to hang out with him while he was in the jacuzzi. Upstairs we got the kiddos ready for bed. Nicole’s doll house was kind of unorganized, so her and I got it all ready to play. We played for a bit. Then the kiddos relaxed in our bed and watched a little TV. So cute to watch them in our bed, they are the cutest kids ever! After TV we visited quickly and then the kids were off to bed. Justin was so tired and cuddly. Nikki had to make sure I knew she was sister Incredible and I was the mommy Incredible. We need to watch that movie sometime soon.

After our big day yesterday I just wanted to be home and so did the kids. We played a lot, set up marbles, played dog, etc. Dad worked from home-it was nice to have him right upstairs. The kids and I played in their rooms for a bit. I got to organize a little bit while they played. They were playing all over the house. I did some laundry. We ended up going to the toy store to get some gifts. The kids had a great time playing in the toy store and picking out all their b-day and X-mas gifts. It took a long time shopping but the kiddos had fun. After the toy store we headed to Costco. I can’t believe all the samples the kids got. The kids watched the TV a bit and it took a while but we weren’t in a hurry. I think we were at Costco for over an hour. When we got home the kiddos watched a little TV and I made dinner. Dad went for a walk to unwind from his crazy day. Work has been really hectic for him lately. After dinner it was bath time. I feel like we haven’t had a bath at home in the longest time, usually it is showers by the pool. The kids had a bubble bath and were in a long time. They played together nicely. They gave all their bath toys washes with the bubbles. After bath Justin wanted to play cars then Nicole joined in. It was hard to stop them as they were having a great time together. It was getting late though-read a couple books and visited the kiddos. Now to go relax.

Yesterday I was too tired to blog! Plus I went for a walk and dad and I had to finish a movie that was taking us over a week to watch. The kids and I had a blast at Adventure City. It is a small amusement park but it was a nice small size. The kids LOVED it! They went on a ton of rides with no lines. It was a day of firsts as well. Nikki climber her first rock wall. She has climbed little ones before but this was a big one. Justin went on the little roller coaster and loved it! He held onto me to keep me from getting scared. He wanted to go again and again. Nicole finally decided to go on the roller coaster too and loved it as well. I finally had to stop going on it as I had enough. Justin also went on the balloon ride with some friends. Balloons sound innocent enough but it went really fast. It was fun to watch as Justin was all smiles. I only thought we would be there for a few hours instead we were there all day. I couldn’t tear Justin away from the trains. Here are some pics from our day:

Mondays, ugh. I let the kids watch TV this morning for a bit. Then we headed out. We stopped at Target to get some birthday presents. Then we headed over to a birthday party for a kid from pre school (Arya). It was at the lagoon. The kids had a great time in the lagoon. They were loving going down the water slides.  N&J pretty much played by themselves the entire time. We were there for a while and couldn’t stay much longer. The kids missed ice cream but we made it up to them tonight. We came home and the kids were driving me crazy. So I finally let up and let them use the Christmas train. Unfortunately that caused fighting then they needed Santa hats. Now I regret getting it out. I did laundry today and tried to relax a bit. I am just cranky due to this time of the month. We went out front to play. I gave them rockets to play with. That kept them occupied for a bit. Then dad came home, they ended up getting the furniture mover and car d0lly out and took it down the driveway. They wanted them hooked together which was interesting but seemed to work. They had so much fun playing outside. After dinner the kids and I went to get ice cream to make up for not having cake at the party. We brought it home so dad could join us. The kids thought it was great I had to park on the other street and walk down the greenbelt. They are re-paving our street tomorrow. So funny the little things they like. We had ice cream then headed upstairs. We played cars for a bit then read books. Lots of snuggly time tonight. I acted out Nikki’s animals with her. I am sure they will wake up early with all the noise of the street being torn up.

This morning Justin woke up so him and I came down and played. He wanted to read books first then we played trains. Nikki came down shortly after and joined in on the trains. Dad went to Home Depot and got some part to replace his fog light in his car. He worked on that for a bit and the kids helped. They helped by talking all his tools so when he needed them he couldn’t find them 🙂 The kids got some rope and had fun playing across the street with it. The sun came out so we headed over to the pool. The kids got to play a little bit before their swim lesson. They are just loving the pool. After lessons we headed home and had lunch. Then we were off to go to the Ringling Brothers Circus. We went to the pre show, the kids got tattoos and clown noses.

I think the kids enjoyed the circus-it is hard to tell. I kept asking Justin if it was too loud for him. He was sitting on my lap all cuddly, I loved it! Nikki hopped on daddy’s lap and was wiggly. Grammy came with us as well. It was a neat show but I was surprised that there was so much music. They have definitely improved the circus and had some cool acts. I am glad we went. We came home and the kids were tired. Bret read them some books. But then we made the mistake of going out to dinner. The kids really needed to burn off some energy first. They were trying to be well behaved out to dinner but it was tough. After dinner we headed to the park. The kids had a great time. They practiced monkey bars. They started trying to get up the slide as fast as they could. I timed them and they just were laughing and trying to beat their personal best. So funny when Nikki was trying to get up and slid back down Justin was at the bottom catching her. They went down the slide as a choo choo. I think the park made them even more hyper though. We came home and dad played car wash with the kiddos. Then it turned into an obstacle course, they were having a blast. It was hard to tell them it was bed time.