Day-cation

It took me 2 hours to find my former self. Maybe longer. My legs were stiff I was scared. I was the slow person. After falling and getting a small case of whiplash I wanted to go home. But I got up, we drove all this way. Mammoth is 4 hours there and 4 hours back from my parents where we left the kids that morning. I had to get up. I used to love this what happened? Where was I, I mean me? The person who was fun and good at snowboarding was just a whisper compared to the bah humbug who was a much, much louder voice. I've been pregnant or nursing for the last 3 years so I haven't gone much. So, I got up and kept going. I was better than Jamin at this I taught him how to snowboard and right now it was him teaching me. I had to go my own way for a while until I remembered what I was doing but I came back. Soon enough I was flying down the mountain and loving it! I forgot how much fun snowboarding was. Like, I remember telling myself I liked it but at this moment I can still feel how much I like it. Mammoth was great! The day was sunny and beautiful. The snow was great and it was not crowded. We even parked really close to the lift which made it easy to get stuff or put stuff away. I loved it! The eight hours of driving was worth it after a day like that. I really needed it, just to see Me again. I miss me sometimes.

Holiday Cheer

This holiday season has just been too much fun and has gone by way too fast. We have really gotten into the spirit this year. Zoe is super excited about everything so it makes an already fun holiday for me even better. It's been fun decorating the house and enjoying all of the festivities like gingerbread houses, santa visits and decorating the Christmas tree. Jamin also put lights on the outside of the house which look fabulous. This is our first year of being able to put lights up and I'm just giddy about it. We also had carolers stop by, what? So great. I'd like to wish you all a merry Christmas, happy holidays, and happy new year!

Trick or Treat?

I love the Fall! It's so much fun with these little ones. We took the kids to the pumpkin patch by Westminster mall. It was great for pictures and Jude was introduced to a new hero: Batman. Poor little guy is surrounded by princesses it was like he finally found the mother ship or something. Jamin and Zoe carved the pumpkin for Family Night and I think it turned out pretty good. We went to our ward trunk or treat to do a test run for Halloween the week before. Jamin's work had a kid party during the week that had a bounce house and that's really all Zoe needed, but there was face painting and cookie decorating too. On Halloween we typically would go to Mains st. so we stopped by but to my disappointment the bounce houses were lacking and there was no petting Zoo. Stores were giving out candy though. I was so impressed that Jude kept his costume on. He actually like having it on. While on Main st. 2 people seriously stopped me and asked if the could take pictures of Jude or with him. Funny, huh? I was curious to see how trick or treating went in our new neighborhood. Much to my delight it was great! Kids were out knocking on doors and houses were ready to offer them candy with warm smiles. Zoe got really good at it too. She was a little skeptical her first few houses but once we caught up with some other trick or treaters she fell in line and was at the front knocking and yelling,"trick or treat!" Jude was a trooper. We eventually gave him a sucker to help him endure all the trick or treating. Another fun time was had. Now what to do with all of the candy....?

Halloween Time

Happy Anniversary!

I woke up this morning to find this on our table. What a great surprise! It hit the spot on the "awesome things my husband does" scale. Thank you Jamin. I love you! Happy 6th year anniversary!

House Update

before

after


Here is what our house looks like today. What a big difference from when we bought. We have painted it ourselves with a lot of help from family but I think we did a pretty good job. Now we just need some plants. I'm still trying to figure out what those will be though. Any landscapers out there have any ideas? We were thinking tropical but aren't really sure what will work best in the space or against the wood siding. To be continued...

He's 1!

Our little Jude is a year old!! Let me tell you, it went by so fast! He's been walking for a few weeks now and he's 1! What happened to my little baby? How did this go by so fast? Zoe's first year wasn't nearly this fast or painless. He is such a sweet little guy! I just want to eat him up. I want it to slow down. I want to play with him on the floor more and have those moments when I had to feed him in the early morning. Those intimate moments that begin the relationship between mother and child are so precious. I must say, I don't miss the no sleep part. To be frank, it makes me slightly insane. I'm glad to be feeling like myself again. Having done a 1st birthday party before I wasn't up for all of the hoopla and potential drama. We had a little family party at my parents house that he shared with his cousin because their birthdays are 4 days apart (who's 14). It was perfect and their are plenty of pictures for him to look at to show that we did something. Currently he is walking pretty fast to keep up with his sister. He doesn't say much except "mama" when he is really hungry. He saw his first airplane in the sky 2 days ago and went,"whoa!". He will play by himself or with Zoe. He is a picky eater and will quickly spit out food he doesn't like. If he wants something he will bring it to me or me to it, he's pretty cute. I think I''ll keep him.

Friends to creatures great and small

I can't ever remember the day anymore but some day not too long ago we decided it would be fun to feed the squirrels or at least go look at them. There is a long patch of grass by our house that is home to many squirrels and we told Zoe we would take her to see them. My experience with squirrels has been with the timid ones. I have to say I was a little scared and feared that one might quickly scamper up my arm and perch itself on my shoulder. These squirrels were psycho and more aggressive than I've ever seen one be! As we raced away on our bikes I seriously looked behind me to see if we were being chased. Maybe it's evolution? Kind of like teenage girls?

I am now at a respectable age where people don't ask how old a girl is, they just wish her a happy birthday. Disneyland is free on your birthday and if you already have a pass you get a $72 gift card to spend on merchandise. So, really I went to Disneyland and got a free Billabong jacket. Thank you Walt Disney, it was just what I wanted. We spent a long day there it was a sweaty lot of fun. As we were leaving I remembered to take out the camera and that's what we got.

D.I.Y.

It's Monday morning Jamin has taken the next two days off to help celebrate my birthday and I'm thinking,"finally some help with the kids". Jamin is thinking,"why don't I replace that faucet this morning, it'll only take an hour". So, with that, I am already annoyed. Jude has been sick all week so we have been home bound with a crying baby (no offense Jude). It's apart of life, it happens but my light at the end of the tunnel was the next couple of days that I'd have Jamin home. So an hour turned into like six hours and I think five Home Depot trips and the new faucet was not fitting properly. I was stuck at home again with grumpy kids and a grumpy husband from a do-it-yourself project gone wrong. I was not having a good day and could not foresee myself feeling better anytime soon. I WAS WRONG! Jamin eventually got the faucet figured out. When I saw it working I got excited for my gorgeous new functional faucet. I was so proud of Jamin for figuring it out too! He and some guys at Home Depot collaborated on the project and he did it.

Part II "I'm 3 years old!"

Zoe loves birthday parties. She has been talking about her birthday for the last 6 months. For her bedtime stories after a book or two I tell her one non-book made up story. She usually requests her birthday story where she can add her input, like, " and Scooby-Doo was there with ice cream cones and sprinkles". Because we had been talking about it constantly I had a lot to live up to. I must say it turned out to be a great day. Being 3 has never been so good. We started out with a Tinker Bell party where Zoe got to wear her new Tinker Bell outfit from Grandma and all of her friends came over, good right? There was tiara decorating, necklace making, and cup cake decorating where you could put on as many sprinkles you like. There were balloons and presents. This could have been the perfect day with just this that ended some time after 1pm. Well we just kept the party going. We had a lot of family in town but I really wanted her to have a kid party so some of the family went to the beach and we celebrate later with a bbq. We all have to eat anyway and it made room for Zoe's friends in the morning. Zoe did a costume change into yet another Princess type dress she got for her Birthday and was amazed when she got a Scooby-Doo cake. Why aren't store bought cakes good? I didn't want to eat more than a bite. No matter, the point was it had Scooby-Doo on it and I didn't feel up to decorating one myself. I did the Elmo head last year and it took a while but the Scooby mold was way more complex and I didn't have the time. Zoe was just beside herself all day. Third birthdays are meant to be enjoyed where there imaginations are just developing and the world is a magical wonderland. While it's this easy to please a child, Party On! Unfortunately, the over indulgence will end when the cost of amusement goes up. Sorry Zoe, in advance for no Super Sweet Sixteen party. It's for your own good.

Part I "I"m 3!"

Putting in the lawn

Summer has swept us away. So much to blog about so little time. I am going to document in the right order. We have since painted the front of the house but haven't finished the trim so that is for later. Here is a long awaited update on the house. There was no grass in the backyard and the front yard was weed in infested so we killed it and put in new grass. When I say "we" I mean Jamin. He put days of work into preparing this yard to have sod lay on it. He rota tilled the back and front yard, added top soil, and rolled it. We had my dad and nephews drive down to help lay the sod but as we began our process one saturday morning the same men who trimmed our trees happened by and offered to lay our sod for a couple hundred dollars so we went to the beach instead. A proud moment for us when a few weeks later we actually got to mow the lawn. I'm sure we wont always be excited to do that. Most of the plants were taken out of the front yard so it looks quite different from when we moved in. The front door is new too.

Precious Moments

It was one of those days I was really tired so I asked Jamin to watch the kids while I took a nap. The nap was amazing! Thanks Jamin! What was even better was finding these two cuddling on the couch when I got up. It was just one shot too. The darn camera woke Jamin up, sorry about that. My cup runneth over. I have so much to be thankful for especially for my sweet little family.

We love the Farmer's Market

Zoe made it into the the OC register for being a prominent sampler at the the farmers market. She is our little celebrity. (She thought she was even before the picture but now there's proof) There is a guy who gives out samples of the BEST balsamic vinegar and dipping oils and Zoe is no fool she just asks for more. I love the farmers market! I have started getting most of my produce from there because not only is it fresh but it is cheaper than the grocery store and somewhat organic(claim no pesticides or other stuff???) There is a new gelato place on Main st. that is unbelievable! Not super cheap but super good and a small is more than enough. Their claim is that they use 2% milk instead of whole milk and heavy cream so it's less fattening than regular ice cream-if that really matters to anyone. Taste is not compromised anyway and you can sample all you like. This last week we had family in town so Zoe was spoiled at the farmers market. There are attractions for kids. So here is what we did: the SharkSlide $5 (way to steep for a little one/she didn't want to go again), the Bounce House $5 (couldn't get her out of it), and a Train Ride $2/pers. I don't know how we bypassed face painting a balloon animals. I normally say no to all of these things because they are kind of a rip off but there was a grandma willing to pay so I wasn't going to stop her. Normally I just walk up and down the street and enjoy being outside and people watching. There are a number of street performers that Zoe likes to watch and a lot of food to sample. You can just get full on sampling everything without spending a dime. One las thing...the strawberries grown locally are amazing! I don't know why I buy them from anywhere else. Another worthy note are the little bunt cake samples. I got the butter rum cake and topped it with strawberries and whipped cream-delicious! I lost the art of haggling but have done it before and think it's worth a shot if you go down there most people only take cash.

Too Cool

My daughter is something else. She frustrates me sometimes but she makes me laugh most of the time. She is almost 3 and still sucks on a pacifier. There are many mothers out there who are thinking what a horrible idea this is and why did I let it go on this long. The answer is this: I haven't been up for the fight. She is a tense little kid and shows no signs of being prepared to detach herself from her paci. I don't really know what to do. My neighbors told me the attached their child's pacifier to a balloon and let the child send it away with a note. There is NO WAY Zoe would ever be cool with that right now not to mention we have like 6 pacifiers laying around for Jude too so saying good bye to 1 isn't going to work. I've kind of adopted the idea that every child is different and true success as a parent is learning and doing what is best for each child individually. Is is wrong that I haven't taken away her pacifier yet? She is going to need braces anyway, right?

Stuck at home for 4 days

I am finally getting cabin fever. Today is my 4th day of workers being at my house. I can see why house arrest is a punishment. I am ready for some freedom. Our backyard was an overgrown forest that besides taking up space was harboring way too much insect activity so we finally bit the bullet and hired one of the many tree services that have been stalking our house to clean it up. It is much better. The last 2 days we have been getting a new heater installed and relocated to our attic. On top of that a GE repair guy has come by both days to fix our new stove and then again to come fix what they broke while repairing our new stove. He is coming back again next week. So much for calling the landlord and having him worry about it. Things are actually coming together with the house. It keeps Jamin and I very busy. My little ones are loving the new place. Zoe is having a little bit of a hard time but it could be a combination of things. She closed the bedroom door on Jude's fingers and got yelled at pretty bad.(not my best parenting moment). His fingers were really indented so I rushed him to the ER. He's fine. Plus, she has been ignored a bit because we have been busy unpacking(still). These last few days I have tried to make an effort to be her mother and not someone who just moved into a house with a big to-do list. Jude is loving the crawl space. That's right, he crawls! He has been for a month. One day he started crawling and a few days later he was pulling himself up to a standing position. It was time to lower the crib. Sad for me because his bedding looked so cute but such is life. Anyway, he loved watching the tree guys working in the yard and seriously climbed along the window staring at them for a long time. It was pretty cute. I think I'll take a little nap if Jude will stay asleep long enough for me to squeeze one in.