Monthly Update

Okay, so I'm realizing it's taking me a month to post... sigh... Here are some pictures of the kids over the last month. Love to you all!

Time for catch up!

Okay, so it's been a while since I've blogged... I have such good intentions though... but I know, I know, good intentions pave the road to hell - is that the saying? I don't remember. Anyhoo, the recap of the last several weeks is that we had a great time visiting everyone in California. I did break my "vacationing cardinal rule", though... we stayed at a different house every single night - NEVER doing that again! Now I remember why I have that rule! The kids did great on the trip - I was really surprised at the overall success of the trip!

When we got back, we spent the next week with my mom, hanging out, playing with the kids and of course, shopping! Wow, it had been almost half a year since I had gone shopping - Retail therapy is always so nice! It was so sad to have my mom leave. I was reminded again why it is I want to move closer to home...to be with my parents. There's just something that happens, I think, when you get older and have kids. Maybe it's because I never knew my grandparents and I want my kids to know theirs. Maybe it's just because all my life I have been so independent and now I'm realizing how much treasure there is in my parents. Maybe I'm realizing that time and life is short and I don't want to have ANY regrets... Okay, enough of the philosophy.

Tyler started T-ball a couple weeks ago and is having a "ball". He loves it so much! What a change from the soccer season experiences. No more crying before practice and playing air guitar and martial arts during the games. Hmmm, could it be just a maturity factor or does he really love t-ball? I dunno. But this one thing I know is true - he's still a 5 year old boy. So he has his moments. Just last week, he was playing army men with one of his team mates, the bats were machine guns and everyone one in the outfield were the enemy. Sigh... will he grow out of this stage or will he be one of those guys that always has a little 5 year old deep down inside? Oh, Lord, help us!! :)

Kelsie is growing like a weed!! Her legs are almost sticking out of her car seat already and she's got another 7 more months before we can turn it around!! She's int he 90% for height - I have no idea why my kids are so tall!! She started solid foods 2 weeks ago. I was adamant not to start her until she turned 6 months, but all of a sudden, my baby who was sleeping through the night for 2 months, stopped. Sure enough, she met all the milestones needed to start solid foods. So I gave in, went out and bought some organic oatmeal and apricot nectar and gave her a little taste. I was surprised that she didn't make that funny face like most babies do. She tasted two spoonfuls and then downed the whole bowl!! Yup, she was definitely ready. My baby is growing so fast, it's so exciting and so sad at the same time. I think this is the last baby for us, so I'm trying to treasure every moment and little milestone she hits. Last night was her first night in her own room... I was a little sad and hesitant, but wow, I am feeling so refreshed today!! I actually slept better. Don't know why since I had the monitor on the loudest volume!

So that's a wrap for what's been happening here... Here are some pictures from the last month or so:

We're Home... Phewwww!

It was a wonderful week down in California!! We got to see pretty much every family member down there (sans the extended cousins and Chris' brother & fam). But I do have to say that everyday at a new home with two kids is quite overwhelming. That's the first and last time that's going to happen! I always had a rule that we would stay at one house and anyone who wanted to see us would have to visit us there or just meet up for a day excursion. Well, although that sounds really selfish and snobby, I now stand even firmer, that this snobbish plan is the only one that works with kids in tow. I was so surprisingly blessed, though, at how great the kidos were. Super well behaved and pretty content! Tyler is such a helpful and kind big brother - I pray that he continues to be that way towards his little sis for many many years to come.

So now we're at home, the laundry is all done and groceries once again occupy the empty fridge (hard to believe that my fridge could be empty, huh?). Well, you know, it was as empty as any asian fridge, there are always bottles of sauces, garlic, and the other essentials! :) So here are some pics from our trip. Had to do a slide show because there were too many (mom is here, so she's taken over 220 since a week ago!) ha ha ha! Love to you all!

What a week!

I can't believe a whole week has gone by since my last post. Wow, time flies so fast when you're a crazy mommy, I mean, when you're having fun!! Well, I've spent the last week preparing for tomorrow - the day we take off on our first road trip with the little pumpkin. Laundry, house cleaning, errands, etc... has consumed my week and now the day has finally come. You'd think after all that time I'd be ready, of course not!!!! I still have to pack the food and toiletries, but
everything else is loaded up ready to go! My mom is flying in tonight and she, the kids and I are making our way down to Cali!! So. Cal, baby!! Hubby can't take time off of work, so he's "batching" it this week. We'll stop in the East Bay area to visit Steph, then down to my sister-in-law's, to my cousin's, to the Santa Barbara Zoo with my other sisters and kids, to Susan's house (sister), to my mother-in-law's house, then to my aunt's house for a rest time before we head back home on Thursday. What a whirl wind trip, but I wanted to everyone to be able to see Kelsie and the rest of us. It will be a LOOOOOONG time before we make it down again. Anyway, it'll be another week before I'm on again! Love to you all!!

Aaaaahhhh Slime!!

Okay, so I have been trying to be more domestic and do art projects with Tyler since they don't do alot during their 3 hours of Kindergaten. Today was slime day. Our neighbor's daughter comes over once a week after school and I promised them that we could make slime again. Today was the day. I got the recipe off this awesome website (familyfun.com - if you need any fun ideas to do with your kids from Preschool through grade school, it's all themed by seasons and holidays). Anyhoo, we got all the things ready for making the concoction. But, it didn't turn out!! Unfortunately, I was lazy and guestimated on the amount of Borax... needless to say, the slime wasn't slimey, it was like a hard piece of chewed up bazooka gum. Yuck!

So, for all the efforts, it was only a 5 minute blurp of our day. Sigh... what could have been a 30-45 minute play time turned into a failed recipe... Oh well, at least I tried. I guess I'll have to make more next week!! So we scraped our hands and then played with Kelsie a little and now they're off to the yard to stomp in the slush.

Eyes Wide Shut...

There are many days I'm so grateful for technology... today was not one of them! Why is it that day you NEED a nap, the phone rings constantly and there is someone at the door every minute? And the days your dying for some adult interaction, the phone is silent and there is no one at the door? I wish I would have been smart enough to turn the phone off this morning so I could have gotten a little shut eye (baby is in a growth spurt, I think, so she has been waking up through the night.) I've been spoiled since she's been sleeping pretty much through the night for a couple weeks now.

So even now, I'm debating... Do I wash the dishes and pick up the house before I crash or just lie down? I really really want to be lazy and just go to bed right now, after Tyler falls asleep. We'll see what happens. Until then, I will walk around my house with my eyes wide shut like a zombie!

Snow Day!!

When you were little and it started snowing at night, didn't hope, wish and pray that the next day you would turn the tv on and wait for that exciting announcement, "Schools are closed today due to the weather." Today was our first Snow Day and boy was Tyler excited when we told him. The only difference is that our news came from his teacher calling at 6:30a.m. a little too early for me!! But it was nice that they called, another bonus to being in a private school. I didn't have to wonder and wait for the news to tell me that the foot and a half of snow outside was going to stop us from getting out.

It started yesterday afternoon with a total white out, wind blowing like crazy. And of course we live on the higher elevation side of town with not a lot of mature trees around. Chris got home and I asked if he could shovel just in case we had to go to school the next day. So after dinner, he and Tyler went out to unbury our driveway. They came in for hot cocoa and brownies and we went off to bed, all the while, the sky was still pouring out tons and tons of snow!!

So after breakfast and a little play time, we ventured outside to attack the backyard on the very first snow day ever!!! As you can imagine, the pictures only captured a glimpse of the sheer joy he had playing for hours in the snow!

Baby Orangutan....after a bath this is what she looks like! ha ha ha Here's a before and after: