Jumping on Beds..........

Day 5 (Wed.).....week in life......

I forgot how much I dislike the week in the life.....I think it is the recap of each day that drives me batty......trying to remember stuff is hard for a nit wit like myself ;)

But I have 2 more days and I am done.....I do LIKE the fact that I will have a snippet of a week though, it will be worth it.

Cam had a great day yesterday!!

I on the other hand, am tired and feel like this is the longest week of my life.  I think because we have had a few late nights with the kids so each day feels like it is never ending.

Funny thing was that the last thing I remember thinking to myself at bedtime was "Is this day ever going to end??"......and then I fell asleep and then I actually woke up at 11:50 pm and I was thinking to myself, "You have to be kidding me!!!" it was sort of amusing.

So, yesterday......

woke around 7am.....got the kids off to school.

Cam and I ate something, I can't remember what now.......then we played soccer in my room.  She is really REALLY good at soccer......very aggressive and relentless but she doesn't want to play organized soccer because it is "too hot".......sort of a bummer because she actually does have fun playing it.

But anyway, then we took a break and watched Dinosaur Train together (one of her faves)...

Then I dropped her at school.

Then.........what? what did I do???? I am sure I checked email, facebook and blogs......I talked to my Mom for a long time.......was good to talk to Mom. Then I put in some laundry, organized Cam's presents, ate lunch.......organized Cam's dresser.....got rid of clothes that don't fit.

Pick up from school....and then we ran home to grab some water only to turn around and go wait in the long car line for pick up....except I was early so I was number 5 in line.  I wanted to be there so the kids didn't have to wait.....to me, yesterday felt like the hottest day yet! I am not sure why, but it was stiffling for me. 

So, after pick up, it was home to do QRT and then homework. 

After, Mannie got home from work and he showered and got ready so we could go to the Rainforest Cafe to celebrate Cami's bday.

But first we sat in the backyard under our cooling tree (love that tree) and  let Cami open her presents!  She loved it all.....even the clothes, which basically she needed a few cooler weather items anyway, but I figured we could sneak that in as a gift. 
 

Cara got one of the turtles  out of their little "den" for present opening......

She gave Meteor a much needed bath too.

Then we piled in Felicia and headed to Costa Mesa for the "big dinner"......It rained on us on our drive.

Dinner was fun.....
.but I have to say, I felt like a grouchy old lady at times b/c that restaurant is SO LOUD!!! Oh my gosh, if I had to listen to the elephants blare their trunks one more time, I thought I would go insane.  I must be having  a hormonal thing between the stifling heat and  the noise sensitivity thing.  Oh and speaking of the heat......the Rainforest Cafe is seriously, the coldest place on earth.....I always forget that when I go, it is like an ice box in there......we were so cold.   But dinner was fun.....the service was crazy SLOW but Cara had us literally crying, I was laughing so hard and so was Mannie because she was joking around about how Cami was going to be 11 by the time the "Volcano Cake" arrived.....she was SO funny, you had to be there, but I will remember that.....but in typical 8 year old style, she let the joke go on and on, into the parking lot.....kids. see blurry, terrible photo......but caught the laughing anyway: 
 

Anyway, Cami wished on her Volcano that her family would stay alive forever!!! That is the best wish......she used to wish, that her mom would stop being allergic to cats. Now I know she actually would rather have me around over a cat!!! Heart warming......the little victories in life ;)

By the time we finally got out there, it was late!!! But the night was not over!! No, no, no.......one of the kids had decided that Cami should have a spa night since it was her special day........the last thing I wanted to do was give a bath at this point.........but ya, know, it was her birthday so we didn't say anything or complain and set up the little sweetie with a nice bubble bath.......complete with little birthday brownie and a candle to blow out.......we all address her as "Ms. Adams".......
"Would you like a glass of chilled water Ms. Adams?".....and so on......anyway, 
so I told her she could have another wish......she hesitated, smiled, and mumbled something about {not} really wanting to wish for a cat....but obviously she did......I told her she could wish for anything, and she went for the living forever wish again!!! HA!!!

She is a funny little kid.

Anyway, we tucked them in by 9 pm.......somehow, I am not sure how we pulled that off.....but I collapsed in bed and watched Modern Family......then clicked around until 10 when I decided, I needed to just go to bed already!!

Today, I am completely unmotivated to do anything......so I am sitting here typing away.

I keep hearing noises in my quiet house and I am wondering if we have mice again.....other than that, I think I will sign off and get some more laundry going and then try to keep the house clean before it gets out of control. 

Hope you have a great day!

 

Day 4.....(Tuesday).....Week in the Life

It is hard for me to do this week in the life a day behind...I feel like I forget so much.

yesterday....woke at 6:30am

got the kids to school.....

grabbed a bagel and then got Cam to school.

Set up for Owl playdate in backyard.....it was hot but overcast so it could have been WAY hotter.

I had to run out to get ice for the drinks which I left outside for the kids.

Made the little owl cookies like Living Locurto except I couldn't for the life of me get the marshmellows to melt in the microwave evenly so I changed it up....

Then picked up Cami and the playdate started....

We made owl puppets and little owl hats.....the kids also played with playdough, put on a little puppet show, ran around, checked out the turtles.....the mom's mingled. 

The moms in Cami's class rock.....they all kept asking what they can bring so they brought owl cookies, watermelon skewers, dip, drinks and grapes.....it was AWESOME!!!

The kids had a blast and the mommies got to chat. Really nice group, I am happy. 

So, then Cara and Charlie got home from school and we hung out with our carpooling family for a little bit. 

Then it was QRT.....quiet reading time, then homework.....then leftovers for dinner.....then I had to run out to get Cami a birthday present.....I hadn't done that yet!!!!

So, I ran to the mall and got her a couple of outfits and a Zum Zum pet, a Webkin doll and a hamster Webkinz.......

Then met up with Mannie and the kids at Cara's soccer game.......7pm, that was late, but perfect, it was actually a little chilly.......felt good to be out late, gave us a reason to do so. 

These two crack me up.....
One minute they were sleeping......the next minute they were wrestling....

Then home for showers and bed by 9pm........I was exhausted. 

Today is Cami's actual birthday and after yesterday's big playdate, today seems like  a let down, although, Cam doesn't appear to feel that way. 

She is such a precious angel........I can't believe she is 6!!!!  We will open presents later after Mannie gets home from work.......then out to dinner. 

Feels weird to not make cupcakes or anything. 

Oh well...will write about today......tomorrow. 

Week in the Life....Day 3

What was I thinking picking this week for this thing????

Not only am I ridiculously busy but my computer is not working at the moment so I have to do everything on Mannie's computer which is so much slower than mine!! (pc's......;)

Can I even remember yesterday???

I don't have pictures yet....haven't loaded.

6:30 am .......woke up.

Got kids out the door (first batch...) had a.m. drop off.

Cam and I got a bite to eat at Cinnamon Productions......nice little date.  It was hot yesterday...109 degrees.......not very fallish.

Dropped Cam at school.

Ran to the bank........Lakeshore for some construction paper and a book for Cami to donate to class.....then Michael's for a couple of craft items for Cam's playdate. 

Then the party store for plates and napkins......found a cute Owl balloon too!  All will work perfectly for Cami's birthday tomorrow too!!

Trader Joe's..........found adorable mini hamburgers and buns to try for dinner.

Home to unload groceries.   Made myself a turkey sandwich and then an extra for Mannie's lunch for tomorrow.

Pick up Cami.

Put away laundry.......read the new book to Cami.......start making potato salad for dinner.

Kids get home from school.

Set timer for 20 min. quiet reading time......start tracing owl stuff for playdate.

Mannie came home early......ran to grocery store to get ketchup and a couple of other non Trader Joe items that we need.

Back home to over see the rest of Cara's homework........work on dinner.

The burgers were a huge hit!!!!

Charlie told me he had a FUN day at school......he was having fun with his new friend that he met at the block party.  I think the days of not wanting to go to school are gone!!

Back to work on getting the owl stuff ready for today and "cleaning" for the cleaning lady.....made lunches for tomorrow.

Kids showered......kids and I put laundry away.

Bed by 9.

 

 

Week in Life....Day 2

6:30 am....wake up! yuck, why do I wake up so easily on the weekends?

I spent the day at home....I feel like I have no time to even be on here right now blogging and I don't have time to upload my pics.......tomorrow I hope.

I have a busy week ahead.....Cami's birthday week!  No party but a big playdate and then our little family party (the 5 of us).

I have a huge headache right now, I suppose from the heat and not drinking any water.  It is so hot today.

What did we do today?  It is all a blurr since I stayed home.  Mannie trimmed the tree in the backyard and I tidied up the back yard.  The kids built a shelter from all the tree leftovers....Man, Woman Wild at work there.

Then we ate lunch.....turkey sandwich. 

Then Charlie and I had a date day.  Mannie and the girls went to the lake for a "beach day" with the Adventure troop thing, I can't believe I still cannot remember their name...the YMCA group anyway.  

They had a blast, spent all their time in the water.  Then they had a few races/obstacle course type games.   Mannie won the Daddy relay race.....I think he was pretty proud of himself, Cara was anyway.  Cami was over tired by the time she got home, red cheeks and all. 

Charlie and I are just two peas in a pod.  We sort of hung out trying to think of something fun to do and then basically decided that staying home was all we really wanted to do.  So, we built a train track in the playroom.  Can you believe it?  We played Thomas and friends.  Thomas, Emily and Lady were driving across the country to NY to go see the Statue of Liberty. 

Then we snuggled up and watched some Thomas videos that we found.  He still remembered everything and knew everything that was going to happen......amazing memory. 

Then he played on the computer while I watched the Kardashians again and then  I finally got dressed. 

Then we built a Lego castle and  we made banana bread....he actually made it, I just put it in the oven. 

Overall, a fun and mellow day.

Then we all sat down together and had a chicken, broccoli, carrots, rice, watermelon and banana bread dinner. 

Then we tried to hang our Halloween lights outside but we need to find the right extension cords.

Now, time for bed.  Time to get a COLD bottle of water and hope my headache goes away.

good night.

 

Week in the Life.....day 1

Week in the Life 2010.....

7 am....woke up.

7 am - 2:30.....in general.....ate breakfast (cereal, I am on a apple cinn. Cheerios kick)

kids did a little more Halloween decorating......PLAYED in the playroom :)..........Mannie watched the UCLA game.......
checked computer stuff on Mannie's computer, my Mac still needs help.......lunch.....TJ mac and cheese.....helped Mannie with bills........watched a little bit of t.v......some Kardashian......got dressed.

3 - 4:45.......Cara soccer......hot as blazes today.....in the high 90's.

grocery store.......bought quick neccessities.

5:30 - 8:00 pm.......block party.......met some new neighbors and chatted with ones we already knew.....best part was seeing the kids run around with new and old friends....kids everywhere.....awesome kid fun.......watermelon eating contest, jumpy house, glow stick necklaces...... a kid from Charlie's class lives right behind us!!! They had a blast running around, I never knew this since I never met them before....I was so happy about that!!.......feeling REALLY good about where we live and fitting in a bit more......a perfect day!

Now, showers and then bed! 

I will post pics tomorrow....didn't take that many considering it is a Week in the Life......but i got started anyway.

Time to go veg out.

Nighty night.

towels from Friday afternoon swim:

Time Machine today!

 
Today I got to step back in time for just a moment.

Cam and I went to get my morning bagel and when we returned home, our fairly new neighbors were out in front of their house.  So, we got to chatting and then invited them into our home so that the kids could play and the mommy's could get to know each other better.

She has 2 boys, ages 3 and 5.  She is a sweetie and so are her kids.  So, we came inside and the boys and Cam played in the playroom while we (the mom's) sat on the floor in the playroom. 

We don't hang in the playroom as much anymore.....seems like there is never time to do that.  It is school, homework, dinner then upstairs for the night.   The kids choose to either watch t.v. or play video games in their spare time....or Legos upstairs in their rooms. The only time they gravitate toward the playroom is the first day or two after I have switched over the science table. 

I cannot even begin to tell you how many hours I spent in the playroom while the kids were little.....countless hours.  It was like a big playpen when they were babies with a gate as the door to keep them in so I could get the dinner made at night. 

So, I ran Cam to school and my new friend and her kids stayed and played.  Her kids were in heaven.  You know when you go to someone else's house and there are all these NEW toys to discover??  When I came back we sat there and talked and the kids played.  They were building train tracks and airports.  It just brought back sooooooooooo many memories for me.  How many train tracks we all built there???

It is so funny how time moves on and the little things that slip away from your life without any notice.  As I sat there on the floor of my playroom talking about life, I remembered how many times I have done this with my girlfriends in years past.  We are all not there anymore......so we don't sit in there while the kids play.....I felt a bit of  a tinge of longing for those days and then at the same time, remember how exhausting and mentally challenging that time was.  I could see it and hear the familiar stories/worries/feelings of where she was at right now.  I was partly glad for having past all that and then at the same, thinking how happy I would be to have all 3 of my kids in that room with me at that very moment....with the possibilities of the day ahead.......Disneyland?  backyard play?  the petting zoo??  no schedules......just the 4 of us working out the day together.

I have been soooooo enjoying this new freedom I have with the kids all being in school.  I feel like I can finally get stuff done because I have 5 days to do it all.  But, a part of me would give it all up just have that time back to sit in the playroom again.

How does it all go so quickly?  As my new friend said, "The days are long but the years are short!"

Perfectly said. 

I also got to see my past self in her today.  I sat there in my playroom and almost felt as though I was watching an old video of myself with my kids at a younger age.  It was quite amazing to have that feeling like I was a ghost.  I had no kids therefore no distractions so I could sit and chat and play.  I could see her talking to me while her kids climbed on her and she was talking but of course distracted a little.  I am always reminded of one of my favorite Jana Alayra songs, "The Coffee Song", and there is a line in the song so perfect for mom's hanging out together with young kids, it goes something like, "Sharing deep convictions as we watch our children play, countless cups of coffee, hearing half of what you say!"  so true.   That song always reminds me of you JULIE!! ;)  Anyway, it made me actually appreciate myself as a stay at home mom.  It is hard work in a tricky way.  Mannie will joke around alot with me about my life is like a vacation.  Although, I do know he  appreciates all I have done with the kids....and I can see that looking in from his perspective, it would come across that my side of things looks like lots of fun and games.  But, my life as a stay at home mom has been what I MADE it to be.  Yes, I could have literally stayed at home and cleaned all day and had the most organized home on the block.  Actually, there have been many days when it felt like that is what I tried to do anyway.  But, I mostly choose to play with the kids and take them on field trips......which seems like a lot of fun, vacation time to those not in my shoes.  But, watching my neighbor today, I was given a chance to watch my former self.  It is mentally draining trying to be the mom, keep them safe, keep the house looking okay, keep them entertained and enriched.  I am  SO THANKFUL for this time today.  It really validated all I have done over these years.  My life is way easier right now and I can see filling my day with a paying job for sure but I now appreciate myself, the stay at home mom, so much more.  It is a TOUGH job.  Sometimes, if you listen to the "quiet" innuedos from others, you start to believe that is is  piece of cake, a vacation.....ect.  It isn't.  I am glad I got to see that today and remember how tough it is to have young kids and just have that moment of appreciation for what I have done and gratitude that I was given that opportunity. 

Glad I got my glimpse of the past today.....feeling a little sad but REALLY looking forward to hugging my kids when  I pick them up and then asking them to go play with me in the playroom today!! 

And I am feeling HAPPY to have a new friend!!!

The above blurry pic is from a file I found, titled, A Week in the Life......although I never completed the darn book, I have all the pics from that week in our life, 2008.  I actually feel very grateful to have that glimpse of our life in pictures. It has prompted me to do the same for this week.  But no pressure on myself to actually DO anything with the pictures.  Just to have them.  It was really fun to just look through all that.....I took totally random pictures....look what I found for instance:

this was the purse that was stolen at the beginning of the summer!  How funny to have the picture of it hanging where I always hang my purses. 

i am all over a Week in the Life this week!!! I will start tomorrow.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Housework Spa

Have you ever buried your face in a clean, hot out of the dryer, shirt?

Try it!!

I had on soundscapes (which is a spa like music channel) while folding laundry today. Then I wrapped myself in the clean laundry fresh out of the dryer..........ahhhhhhhhh.

Who needs to spend the big bucks?????  I have my own spa right at my unpolished finger tips!

Now, off to put cucumbers on my eyes while I chop the salad for dinner.

I need to get out more......just sayin'

Hope you are having a relaxing day of chores too! :)

P.s......thanks for the well wishes on Charlie, he did great today and I had the teacher move his seat. Let's see if that works.

Okay, back to the chore spa!!! 

Today - Tuesday

 
Such a creative title, I know!

On my mind today:

Today, we are decorating for Halloween.  We were going to wait until the weekend but I wanted my little nervous first grader to have something to look forward to today!

It has to get better for him........HAS to!!!  My mind has been racing trying to figure out how I am going to fix this.  He hasn't cried since that last time, last week, but he doesn't like school and I can't handle that.....sending him off with a stomach ache for 6hours to be unhappy or uncomfortable is not cool with me.......especially since I used to teach first grade and I know how fun and exciting it should be!  Actually, I should be careful how I say that, I am not blaming his teacher, just the long day and different kids/activities that he needs to get used to.

Other than that.........making bacon cheeseburger meatloaf for dinner!!! It is the perfect day for that!! I think so anyway.  If I can actually finish it without eating all the darn bacon that is!

I turned on the t.v. to listen to music while I cooked and it took me about 10 minutes to realize that I had turned on the t.v. and walked away without even thinking about the fact that I left on the Disney channel......Mickey Mouse Clubhouse no less.

Planning a "late owl" playdate for Cami with an owl theme!!  I am also turning the science table theme to owls, perfect timing.  We will make owl puppets, headbands and a cute owl snack I saw somewhere.......maybe Living Locurto,  i will have to look and see again.

I also have an idea for Mannie(and his business) that I am going to start working on...a community project idea I have. 

Oh, and Mannie and his friends made up their own Dad/son troop.........I am so excited for them!! Mostly for Charlie actually! (the selfish mom in me!)

That is all for today........I am excited to start decorating for Halloween today and excited to pick up the kids from school, especially Charlie!!! 

Hope you have a fun day today!!

P.S..........old picture from the "Vintage Annie" collection ;)  back in the day at Dland!

 

Relaxing

We are enjoying a relaxing day here today!
Gia gave us a new pumpkin candle......we are slowly getting ready for Fall!

We set up Mr. Scarecrow and I put out our fall flowers in the flower "baskets".

The kids want to decorate for Halloween but I think we will wait until next weekend for all that.

Today the kids are "camping"....we have a lot of camping talk going on in our house as of late.  Cara and Cami joined a new group.....it is the "Indian Princess group" through the YMCA...I think it has a new name though, not sure what it is yet.  But they had their first meeting on Friday and have lots of camping trips with Daddy planned.

Mannie and I want to find something for Mannie and Charlie as well....although, Mannie's time is really stretched between work, coaching soccer and now Indian Princesses.  But to be honest, probably the most important of all these things would be something for Mannie and Charlie so we will continue to look into something or just come up with something that would encourage "guy time" anyway......actually I bet Mannie and his friends could all just get together once in a while with  their boys for little camping trips here and there.  

I was disturbing their campout in the above picture as you can see!!

We also have an upcoming "campingish" trip planned in honor of Julie's 40th coming up in October. Between those two things, camping talk has been the big topic of our weekend.

Cam and Charlie had a sleepover at Gia and Gramp's house on Friday night.   Cara was just the cutest sister.  She missed them so on Saturday morning she set up this little hunt for the kids to surprise them on their return home.  She dressed up dog stuffed animals and hid them around the house to surprise them.

What a sweetheart!

Then once the kids were home, we decided to head out to Downtown Disney to check out the Car building store........they LOVED it.  Although, I have to say, the whole car building process does not take all that long.  I was sort of amused by the kid working there trying to make it more of a big deal than it actually is.....like having everyone clap when they would finish something.  

 
And of course we HAD to stop at the Lego Store.....the kids were like "kids in a Candy, I mean, Lego shop!!" Especially Charlie........he was just ga ga over it all.

I have Cami and Charlie's birthdays coming up and I was struggling to get my enthusiasm up to put together a big ole party for them.  I couldn't get psyched up for it all.  I have other plans I have been working on and everytime I started to think of ideas for their birthdays, I got an overwhelming feeling...so we asked the kids if a day at Legoland would sound like a good idea to celebrate instead of a party!!  They thought that was fab!!!

Looking forward to  more low key birthdays this year anyway! :)  I like the every other year party approach some of the other mom's have mentioned.  After 8 years of birthday parties, I think that is probably a smart way to go.

Well, that is all......I will get back to our beautiful Sunday......absolutely gorgeous day here today.

I have plans to meet up with my friend, Cindee, for dinner!!  Can't wait to see her!

Lego Party

 
I am sitting here at my computer.....tired from running around all day.

I can hear the kids upstairs laughing (never a good sign ;) and talking loudly....most likely yelling since I can hear them from here......they are supposedly taking their showers......ugh.

I have a feeling I will go up there to find they are doing slip and slide in my bathroom.....yes, it has been done before......yes, it is very messy and wet.  Yes, I get very angry when I see this has gone on.

But right now, I could care less if there is a tidal wave in my bathroom, I just need a second of quiet reflection here.

Anyway, so today when the kids woke up , Charlie cried and told me he didn't want to go to school.  {heart breaker for me!!} This is so typical because he would not fall asleep last night....he was up till at least 9:30.  SO, he was exhausted this morning and then was telling me he didn't want to go. I asked him what his least favorite part of school was in hopes of pinpointing what the deal was(besides exhaustion).  He said, "All of it!"

I can't even take it when the kids cry about something like this....I am a big wuss. I told him that I totally understood how he was feeling, that when I was little sometimes I didn't want to go to school.....I gave him hugs.....then I told him that it was the LAW though and he HAD to go.  He needed to get himself dressed and downstairs for breakfast.  He cried harder.

I kept imagining leaving him with his teacher and him sobbing.  SO, in desperation, finally, I said that we would have a Lego party today when he got home.

I figured it would help if he had something to look forward to.  

It worked.  He calmed down.  He went to school.  At pick up he looked happy.  I asked about the day and he gave me all the details.  Everything sounded fine. 

Tonight, I am hoping that he will fall asleep earlier.  I don't want another episode in the morning.  

Mannie came home and saw everything and mumbled something about "Charlie getting what he wanted".....that bugged me.  

First off, how could Charlie know that I was going to pull "Lego Party" out of the air. 

Second, I really don't think Charlie has ONE   manipulative bone in his body.  

I hate when people say that kind of stuff.   

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.....my mind works that way(plan something fun to look forward to), so that is what I did.

But, yes, I spent most of my day getting stuff ready for the "Lego Party".....it was nothing special but the little Lego type stuff I did do was time consuming.  We had breakfast for dinner which is Charlie's favorite. 

But, what took time for me was a trip to the Lego Store up by downtown Disney.  

Then I went to the candy store to get Lego candies.  

I also printed stuff off the internet. 

SO, it was time consuming.  

But honestly, I would do it all over again, because it made the kids happy.

And no, this won't set the precedent of cry and mommy will throw a party for you.

Cynical Daddy....... :{

I do think Daddy enjoyed his pancakes, potatoes, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit and cinnamon rolls though! :)

Alright, time to go, now I think I hear crying.  Off to tend to my kiddos.

The sun has set.  Another day of school under our belts!!! 

Nighty night. 

I will add pictures tomorrow. (done!)

 P.S>.....at the Lego store, I learned about the mystery pack.......the figures this time are adorable!! I am going to be stalking the store now!!  Love the stickers and masks you can download too!!