Elephant Seals and Yurts and Christmas

Because I seem to be completely overwhelmed at the moment and can't seem to post with any sort of consistency, check out my dear friend's blog... someone who has their act together just a little more than I do! :)

Merry Christmas!

Hotel Fort

Happy Thanksgiving

You wouldn't know it from all the yelling that's been going on at our house, but I am so truly thankful for my kids... And this moment:

Quiet Kids=Trouble

It is nice that Squeaker and Little Lady are now playing together nicely, but they are also getting into trouble together nicely.... This is what I found this morning right before school on the floor of the garage -- Bad picture, sorry, but it is of the two trouble makers eating through a sleeve of oreos and a couple of halloween nestle crunches. Squeaker says, "Mom, don't come over here to look!" Little Lady says, "Choca!" Caught red handed!

Rotten Egg

The following conversation was overheard while Squeaker and Little Man were getting in the car the other day.

LM: Last one buckled is a boiled egg.
Me: (thinking to myself - boiled=rotten egg? 6 year old mistake?)
S: I am not going to be a boiled egg.
K: Yes, you for sure will because I am almost buckled!
S: No WAY - I am super speed fast!
K: DONE! I'm the rotten egg, I was FIRST!
Me: (huh?)
S: I'm the boiled egg!!!
Me: (whew, everyone's a winner)
K: Yah, but you'll die first because you'll be eaten. I'll take longer to die because I am going to just sit there rotten.
S: sigh. OKAY!
Me: (sigh - i was outsmarted by a 6 year old - how does he come up with these things?)

Out with the old

First Trip to Disneyland

Click here to view this photo book larger

Musings

This must be about the age Little Man was when I wrote those posts on his "musings". The three-year-old brain is hilarious!!!! Not only this, but Squeaker has the facial expressions to go with his crazy statements. He cracks me up! Here are a couple of recent musings a la Squeaker:

S: Dad, does everyone have green boogies?
Dad: Um, not really sure, Man. I guess some people might.
S: Oh, cuz I have green boogies.
Dad: Interesting.

Mom: Why isn't your underwear on?
S: I went potty.
Mom: But why didn't you put your underwear on after you were done going potty.
S: Because it is hiding under the stool.
Mom: Um, underwear doesn't go under the stool.
S: I put it there (every time, by the way) so that I can come flip the stool over and find it.
Mom: Wouldn't it be easier to just put it on the first time?
S: Um, no.
Mom: I just don't know why you put it under the stool.
S: Maybe it is because I run so fast.


By the way, I keep meaning to post more, but I get sidetracked by these kids that hang around the house... and the craziness of Little Lady's nap schedule. She is transitioning from 2 to 1 and I have to provide my full attention so that she does not a) fall asleep in the middle of the kitchen/bathroom floor, 2) Run into walls/furniture because she is so delirious, and 3) she LOVES pushing the "off" button on my computer! and, when she is asleep, I realized that this is truly my only time to GET STUFF DONE! Three kids are exhausting and time consuming. Sleep is good. I am seeing a Disney movie in Squeaker's near future -- I need a rest!

Fort

Goodbye living room, hello Fort! Happy Sunday!

Apples, Wine, Ice Cream, and Bread... Oh My!

Alternate title: Eating our way through Julian, CA

What a busy morning we had... No school for the kids meant apple picking for us. We tried to get there right when it opened since it has been warm the past few days. We headed up to pick up GaMommy and Uncle Joey then trekked out to Julian for some fall fun. First stop, apple picking. Tiny apple trees produce teeny apples. I have already decided it is going to be a "rustic" apple pie or nothing since I can't imagine peeling 50 of these itsy bitsy apples to make a full pie. They are delicious, though!





Next stop (about 300 feet down the road) was a local winery where we split a tasting between all of us since it was 10 am, 2/3 of us are light-weights, and we all wanted to be awake and perky the rest of the morning. I ended up purchasing the merlot... yummy.

Then into town to the soda fountain where we consumed 1 extra large milkshake, delicious black cherry ice cream, a grape soda float and an orange soda float. yummy, yet again. I forget how good really good ice cream actually is. yummmmmmyyyyy.....




Final stop, on our way back home, Dudley's Bakery. Now, I have fond memories of fresh baked Dudley's bread and it has always been a must-stop for me, however, this loaf I bought was way too airy and not as flavorful as I recall Dudley's bread tasting. I was disappointed, but maybe I have too high of standards. I do love my bread. ;)

Anyway, a fun Wednesday and a great way to usher in the end of the week!

Pizza Dance

Can't wait for preschool

Little Lady LOVE LOVE LOVES dropping Squeaker off at Preschool. She thinks that she belongs there and just joins in all the fun. It is a cry-fest every time we have to leave. So SAD! :(

Silver Knights

Here are a few pics from Little Man's first soccer game. It was amazingly good and these kids are just ADORABLE! I remember 'bumblebee' soccer, but they play 4x4, so it wasn't too bad. Some of the kiddos seemed to be a little more comfortable with the ball - and LM was not so sure whether he should go after it (probably for fear of missing) or run to get open or what exactly he should do. Every time he did something good, you could see him get excited then a bit embarrassed. Just so fun to see and made me so proud of him. Most importantly, I am just glad he had a wonderful time!

I tried to embed a photo album, but it was all in reverse, so you'll have to settle for clicking here.

Yard Work

There is something about moving into a new house (which is not in anyway NEW) that makes you just want to make it your own. We were very distracted after moving into our current home. We have been slowly trying to figure out how to arrange our existing 'stuff' into this new configuration. It is trial and error and a very fluid system. As a matter of fact, we just rearranged the family room last night (instead of laundry -yea for procrastination) and it looks much more homey. Anyhow... besides all the BIG things we want to do, and by big, i mean expensive-big, the yard is something we have been itching to make our own. I have been slowly cutting back overgrown plants, only to discover some wonderful (an much more to my liking) plants, vines and shrubs. There is still a lot to be done, but getting rid of ugly grass and uneven lawn was and is a much needed next step. Here we* are in the beginning stages:



*and by "we", I really mean not ME at all!

Where the turf meets the surf

Approximately 15 years ago, I worked at the Del Mar Racetrack in one of their "fancy" restaurants. It was a perfect end-of-the-summer job. I got to brush up on my Espanol, climb several flights of stairs multiple times a day, and sometimes go to the beach before/after work. Since my last day of work all those years ago, I haven't been back. Until this last weekend! A friend of mine gave us a couple of tickets (her dad trains horses) and we took the gang for the afternoon. The boys got to bet on a couple races and came in 1st and 2nd (... not too shabby) in one of them. We met up with my friend and her family and the boys got to go meet he jockey and we were able to see the horses up close. It was definitely a learning experience for all of us, but I would definitely go again. It was fun and exciting and something new and different.

Soccer Practice

Little Man is playing soccer this fall. We are all very excited and he loves it. Granted, he is more like a bounding St. Bernard than a finesse player, but it is all about fun at this age! They play 4x4 on a small field with no goalie. It is great. It will be a great year. We have been practicing for a month and games start this Saturday. We, siblings and parents, are practicing our sideline sitting. I swear this is an unposed picture of Squeaker.

First Day of School

Okay, so I am only 2 weeks behind... we've been busy! Here are the boys on their first day of school

Meet Dino

It took us a week to come up with an appropriate name... Dino it is.

Pardon the Interruption

We have been busy cramming as much as possible into the summer. One day left and we are going to spend it with friends and then... the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL... WOO HOO!

Fought some bad guys:

Played some soccer:

We roasted some marshmallows:

We caught some sun:

Practiced 'fancy' tricks on our bikes:

Hung out with family:

Went to the zoo:

Looked cute:

Climbed some trees... or at least superman did:

Slideshow test

Teeny tooth

Little Man lost his first tooth this morning. We are all so proud and excited. I'm just not sure how he is able to chew his food with teeth this small! I am surprised they haven't all fallen out by now- look at the size if this thing (Sorry- took picture with my phone):

Long Blogging Hiatus=Fantastic Vacation

We are headed home today. The kids and I have been on vacation from July 4th until today. Here is a recap:

Camping near Santa Barbara
It was not exactly the sunny beach camping trip we had in mind, but it was a great trip. We packed up the minivan with camping gear and some excited children. My mom and I had 5 wonderful days of campfires, chilly days/nights, and filthy dirty dirtball children. Little Lady was not so keen on the whole sleeping at night thing (which I am attributing to teeth in the hopes that future camping trips are a delight with her). Squeaker was in his own nirvana. He was covered in dirt, played hard, rode his bike, climbed trees, and slept like the dead. Little Man was equally covered in dirt and mastered off-roading on his bike. He spent the rest of the time climbing trees. We spent very little time at the beach since it was quite chilly and that was just teasing the boys. But we took long walks, swung in the hammock and roasted marshmallows. I can't wait to camp again. Just next year, I hope to go later in the summer to ensure warm weather.

Myrtle Beach, SC
After driving back from camping, we unloaded the car and repacked with suitcases and headed to the airport with Daddy. We met his family at Myrtle Beach and had the most wonderful time. The weather was HOT, HUMID, and perfect for spending a lot of time in the water. We did a little sightseeing and a lot of visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Em and Uncle Will. It was fantastic. We were VERY VERY sad to go. And, we are all pining to go back!

Northern VA
Following our fantastic week in SC, we headed up north to VA where we let Daddy go visit his coworkers and earn some money for all our gallivanting. The kids and I got to hang out and visit our friends. We have such wonderful friends and I really wish they would all realize that they need to move to San Diego because we miss them terribly already and we haven't even left. I don't know how the kids will do living so far away as they get older, but for me, these friends are the best and I think they will always have a permanent place in my heart. As one friend said, when we are around each other, it is like we never left. Perhaps all those memories of our first-borns playing together for 3 years, nearly every week... perhaps it is that we were there sharing and helping when we needed it the most, I am not sure, but I have loved this week and I am not ready to leave here either.


All in all, we have had a great July and look forward to spending the rest of the summer at the beach and getting the kids back into a routine before school starts in a month. Oh, and LAUNDRY.

Hope you are having a great summer, too!

Wish You Were Here

One benefit to early mornings is a deserted beach.

Not exactly the warmest week we've had camping - but we are still having a great time!

Gross

So, routine "quick" trip to the grocery store - with all three kids-- and half way through the store I was getting suspicious about all the chocolate cake I kept stepping on. So, finally I peeked into the car cart, where both boys (who were surprisingly good) sat, and found one boy covered with chocolate cake. Hands and face, completely covered. Since I had not given them anything to eat, and I had not gone through the bakery section, the only conclusion I could come up with is that someone had left a partially eaten cupcake in the cart. Plus, I saw the cupcake paper in the bottom of the car. Well, who knows how long it had been there, but it is now all over Vons. Unfortunately, the store employee didn't get my "wink wink" and was not as upset as I would have hopped for the huge mess we made. :( Oh well.

Lessons leared:
1. Check all nooks and crannies in the cart before children enter
2. bring paper and pen everywhere to write a note to store employee for desired reaction to child's apology
3. Cross finger and toes that my children's immune systems can handle anything!

Baby "Talk"

Little Lady loves to use her signs. She loves it so much, I worry that she is jumping the gun a bit if she can't get something right away. Here are a few she uses frequently:

Help
Daddy
More (recently she has been more precise... used to clap)

Other signs with no photographic evidence: eat, milk, cracker (intermittent), hat, dog, bird, monkey, 'night-night', water.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Little Lady!

You are such a ham, a wonderful baby, and a pure delight!

Productivity - Day 2

No day 1 post... sorry -- it didn't get done yesterday. Sometimes I am productive... though mostly I feel like I am just treading water. Yesterday and today were a couple of those "Productive" days.

• 1 Push wagon repaired - new bottom required after I smashed the original (It was sabotage, by the way) - required a trip to Home Depot with all three children to get appropriate piece of fiberboard cut to size* (was not quite "to size"- used file to sand edges down, took too long, so used dremel and went much quicker but not quite straight... kids won't care)
• 1 Toilet cleaned (didn't I JUST clean it? -- and now I ran out of toilet cleaning supplies)
• 1 toilet seat replaced and old nasty seat properly disposed of in outdoor trashcan (new toilet seat purchased from Target since I was unable to access toilet seat row at Home depot for the length of the visit and did not want to wait for them to remove the blockade)
• 2 boys properly scolded for peeing all over the bathroom after it had just been cleaned (not the first reprimand of this type)
• 1 princess dressed in adorable tu-tu outfit (which was exchanged at Babies R Us yesterday for a 24mo size... 24 MONTHS... she isn't even ONE! - Such a big girl.
• 8 audio books uploaded to iPod shuffle for Little Man
• 0 videos uploaded to Blackberry because after 2 hours, I still can't get it to work. I need to do more research or stop using free software to convert files and break down and spend $30 to do it right and quickly.
• 1 soccer game watched while making pancakes and eggs -- WOO HOO USA
• 1 paper mache lady bug partially created, with some minor mishaps and should finish up tonight - hopefully
• 2 grocery store visits because even with a list, I still miss things, or just like hauling 3 kids to the store.

Now, off to the dentist, then pick up a weekly produce box, pick up pizza, then game night. Perhaps a glass of wine will be in order when this is all done. I am exhausted just typing this... ooooo "1 blog post after about a week!"

County Fair

This afternoon I felt brave and decided to take the kiddos to the county fair. I have great memories there, from years past, mostly from selling ride tickets... but, I did spend a lot of time there. I wanted to share this with the kids. My sister met us there (yeah) and we trekked around Kiddieland and some exhibits. We saw animals, food, and TONS of people. It was perfect weather and I really should have taken more pictures of the fair itself. Alas, this is all I have:

Updates

Okay, so it has been a couple weeks and then just a random complain-y post, so here is some fun stuff:

• Weekday working is done for me (I still work on Saturdays) -- can I get a HALLELUJAH!!!
• Summer vacation is here
• Little Man is reading, riding his bike, coming up with the most creative stories that we should really write them out and publish them. (summer project?)
• Squeaker has not broken his glasses in 2 months-ish
• Little Lady is a walking, talking fool. Mostly a walking fool with a few garbled words and a great deal of signs. It is amazing how smart these babies are!

(she moves too fast for me to get a decent picture)

Special Breakfast

Squeaker suggested we eat breakfast on the balcony-- so I am making raspberry-cream cheese filled french toast... Yummmmm

Slacker Mom and Sleepover

My brand not-so-new title. I blame my kids and work almost entirely. It is perhaps 3%, well, i can go as far as 12% my fault - lack of exercise, staying up too late (partial blame to the kids), not eating well.

Evidence:
- no blog updates for days/weeks
- not recording (in any way shape or form) Little Lady's milestones
- yelling WAY too much at my wild and crazy children (yes, all three are wild and crazy - lucky me)
- falling out of touch with friends
- avoiding healthy eating and exercise like it is my job
- needing to make various appointments for various things and just not doing it
- not having fun with my kids as much as I want to
- I am not sure when I last read a book
- purposefully forgetting to use the video camera because it is a hassle

That is plenty for now.

So I don't further drag myself into the pits of despair, tonight we are having a sleepover in our room, complete with brand new jammy pants (courtesy of yours truly) for the boys:



We figured that Little Lady needed to get used to being in the peapod before we took off camping and hoteling this summer. We also figured, since daddy has a long meeting first thing in the morning (before our wake-up time), this would be a great opportunity to hang out and be silly. Of course, all the kids went to bed at different times, but they are all asleep and we are soon to follow.

All By Myself

I love this stage... But someone else needs to clean it up.

Playing

I love these rare occurrences of all three kids playing together nicely. It is totally spontaneous and they get in a groove. Unfortunately it never lasts as long as I want, but soon I will tell them all how wonderful they are and that they must be such good brothers and sister to be playing so nicely... Then send the boys outside to get their wiggles out before dinner!

Audiobook Bliss

Who knew they'd sit still for so long???

Before