Preschool and Pismo

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I'm horrible at keeping up! Too busy, too tired, too much Facebook! Anyway, here's what I remember from the last week....

D started her new school on June 22. She was a bit apprehensive but willing. And what a great place! The teachers smile, are engaged in what they are doing and all of the kids are happy and compatible with D. The director is awesome too. We see her every day! It does not even compare to the old school. The first week was camping week. There were tents set up on the playground! They made bags, tie dyed shirts and supposedly made s'mores although I never heard about them. Every week there is a water fun day on Thursday. She wore her little tankini, which I will have to take a picture of, and had fun playing in the water with her new friends.

This week is Ocean week. I was snack mom today. When I got there the kids were learning about tide pool creatures. An organization brought crabs, sea stars, and even a shark for the kids to see and touch. It was great! When I got there, D was with her teacher looking upset. Apparently the scuba tank had scared her. Fortunately, I was able to get her back to the table to see the creatures. Then she came to the room with me to help set up for snack. I bought goldfish and "tunafish" along with raisins and string cheese. The kids gobbled it up! I wanted to bake or something but it wasn't meant to be. D hadn't been feeling well the day before (after Pismo) and I went with what was easy. Turns out, the kids loved it. D is enjoying her school. Right now she is in bed and I can hear her in over the monitor seeing the goodbye song that the teachers sing everyday when the kids leave. WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN SCHOOLS!

So last week, I had a spontaneous moment of wanting to go to see the Prestons for T's first birthday. I booked us a room at the Embassy Suites in SLO for the weekend and on Friday, we loaded the car with all of our stuff, and got on the road. D was a great traveler as she has always been. B was fussy, no surprise there. But he did much better than he did on our first road trip with him when he was 5 months old. We stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch and then drove to SLO. D napped, B did not. Thank goodness for the DVD player which kept D's attention once she woke up. We got to the hotel around 3:15. T's party at the Sea Life Center was at 4. We unloaded and saw the room, changed and then drove to the aquarium. It was in Avila Beach and what a gorgeous day! Grammie and Grandpa were there and it was nice to see D warm up to them immediately. It was a fun party. D enjoyed the sea life and the ice cream cake! We ate Costco sandwiches and said our goodbyes as we were getting on the late side for bed. B took a bit of convincing to get him to sleep but he slept all night. D did great in her queen size bed with bed rail. And as for potty training? She is trained. She did GREAT the whole day! Even went pee in the potty in the big toilet at the hotel. After a few books and cuddles, it was goodnight for the 3 of us...at 8!

The next day, we had a chaotic and early morning. D woke up to pee at 5:30 and didn't go back to sleep. She kept wanting her pancakes and we told her the cook was still asleep but that didn't seem to phase her. After showering and mass chaos to get out the door, we went and had breakfast. Afterwards, D and Dad went to the Farmers Market and I tried to get B to sleep. HA! He wanted nothing to do with it. So, after 30 minutes of listening to him cry, I gave up. So I got him up and dressed. Dad came back with D and roses for me...hoping to make me feel better. I was not a happy camper. Too much chaos. After much craziness, we headed to Avila Barn to meet the Prestons. It was fun to hang out with them and play with T. And D peed there too! We then went to lunch at a place near the water. It was getting late and the kids were fizzling. We probably should have gone somewhere else but alas, we went to a very loud place that wasn't really good for little kids. D kept wanting to go to the bathroom but it would freak her out because of the noise. I was on the edge of crying much of the time and finally, David P took me outside and I melted down. Big time. Then, we saw David B carry D out. She had fallen and whacked her head on a chair. Could it get much worse? I ended up having to take their food out to them on a bench because D was afraid of everyone cheering for the World Cup soccer game. Somehow B was unphased, ate all of his food and then some and we managed to leave without a major issue. D had a knot over her ear but nothing a little tylenol couldn't help. We went back for nap. D slept, B did not. I took B out in his stroller while D and D slept. And of course he pooped while we were taking laps around the courtyard. A fun time! D could have slept all afternoon. We had to wake her to go to the Prestons for playtime and dinner. Grandpa paid for Alex's and the kids had mac and cheese. B did exceptionally well and we didn't get back to the hotel until 7ish. He cried for exactly 30 seconds before he went to sleep. D crashed as well. Frankly we all did after a couple of books. Oh, D brought a Hanukkah book and she was singing it while pooping. It went something like this...."on the 5th day of Hanukkah my daddy gave to me, two pieces of toilet paper...." She cracks us up at the oddest times!

So Sunday came after a great night of sleep for all of us. D slept until almost 7! The chaos was less. Of course the last day of the trip and all was easier. We should have stayed another day but Dad had to work. We had our breakfast and much to my amazement, B actually took a nap! Once he was up, we packed up and left the hotel for the Prestons. We were going to take family pictures. The photographer that took their great family photos was going to come and do ours along with pics of the grandparents and everyone together. The kids were difficult to say the least. All weekend, D was really tired. She had been like this for several days before the trip as well. The littles were just fussy but food seemed to help keep them busy and not crying. I'm sure I'll have teething biscuit all over my shirt in most photos. After photos were done, the kids ate and David P and I went to get food for the rest of us so that we could get on the road. We finally did around 2. Thankfully the kids both took naps. Traffic was horrible, we had to stop twice but we finally got home just after 7. The best part of the drive home was that B napped and D peed in her potty in the back of the minivan in Camarillo. Picture to follow. What a trip! The pisser of it....Dad ended up not working on Monday. We could have stayed! However, D wasn't feeling well. Some stomach thing. She ended up pooping a bunch (it was green!) and felt much better today. In fact, it's almost 9 and she's still awake!

One more funny from D...

While playing with B who was playing with a bowl which was "made in China," Dad said, "don't chew on that, it was made in China." D then said, "I'm made in China." She was holding her vagina. We snickered and said, "No, that's a vagina, not China!" D said "oh" and looked confused. Goes back to when she was about two and China and vagina were confused in the bath. Too cute!

Cute-isms and Fathers Day

D: "I am wearing lots of bells!"
She was referring to her undies which had Belle from Beauty and the Beast all over them.

D: "I have a baby in my tummy and I'm going to breastfeed it"
Me: "What's your baby's name?"
D: "Area"
Dad: "As in Rest?"
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Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day. It was a nice day. Dad took the kids in the morning to the Farmer's Market and I was able to run errands and get some things done in preparation for the afternoon. One of the things I did was take hot dogs and chips to the local fire station to give them a nice Father's Day too. They were very grateful. We had a lot of chips from the Vons fiasco from the night before (story to follow). So I picked up some dogs to round out the meal. Anyway, lunch was Poquito Mas and then the kids napped. Around 3:30 the grandparents (all 4) came over to join us for dinner. Dinner was a success and the kids had a great time. We actually did too.









Vons fiasco....
I wanted to get Dad a day off and a trip to the MLB Fan Fest in July. I got John to say yes to going with him and then a couple days later he let me know about a promotion that Vons was doing. $20 in Pepsi products would get 2 free tickets to the Fan Fest. A great deal since two tickets were $60! So I went to Vons. Little did I know that nobody there knew anything about the promotion! And it was selected items so I had to go through the check out line twice and then stand with the supervisor for 45 minutes to make it work. I ended up with 4 cases of Aquafina and 4 bags of chips! Thankfully John was home and I talked with him on the phone while dealing with the whole thing. Fortunately, the gift was a success and I look forward to D going and having a fun day out!!

Funny comments from a 3 year old

Watching me change B today as he's playing with his penis, D said "He's playing with his pilly dilly!"

While making a u-turn in the Gelson's parking lot in Encino with D in the car, I was cut off by some lame-o driver. I exclaimed "D, some people aren't very smart!" She quickly said, "I know!"

Sibling love

For all the times we have to tell D to share with B or to stop yelling at him, there are so many times when she is so sweet to her little brother. I can't wait to see how they will be in a couple years.

Reading to B (a Hanukkah book in June!)



Pushing her brother on the swing.

The germs keep coming

Well, the bug that got Dad and B appears to have attacked D and me. Oh joy. Colds are never fun but when the weather is hot and you go in and out of air conditioning, ugh. I feel so badly for the kids. Poor little B can't blow his nose. His naps have become so short. I know he's teething too. And on top of it, he's headed for the one nap transition. And the separation anxiety is crazy! So he's got a lot of things going for him. D just started with the runny nose a couple of days ago. We went to a playdate yesterday to meet (re-meet) Alexa who D was in My Gym with and now will be going to her new preschool with. Her nose wasn't really running at the time but now that it is and she claims her ears hurt, I feel badly for taking her. I hope they don't get sick too! I really hope D is well for her first day of school next week. Fingers crossed.

I haven't really taken a lot of pictures lately. We haven't done a lot. I feel like a bad parent for not getting out much but when it's so hot, I really don't feel like it. I feel like B will overheat in the car seat or stroller. Maybe I'm just making excuses. With D only going to school for 5 weeks this summer, we're going to have to get out!

Here are some cute pictures taken recently of B. The first one is when he decided to wear his spaghetti in his hair. So cute. And the second is of him trying to escape into the garage. Already? He's growing so fast!

Cute stuff

I haven't blogged in a few days. I've been tired, lazy, headache-y, whatever, just haven't done it. I took the paperwork and D to her new school today. She was so excited! She was like a fly...buzzing this way and that to check out everything. She even hugged the director goodbye. I couldn't be happier. Can't wait to leave GP. Good riddance! She was so tired and crashed for her nap. I heard her wake up and went to go get her. I got to her door just as she was opening it. I bent down to her level so when she opened the door we were eye to eye. She jumped and just started giggling. It was so cute! I love those moments. Pure happiness.

D's reward for staying in bed for the last few nights was a trip for ice cream (or frozen yogurt really). Grandpa met us there. Dad had to work so it was just me and the kids. D was all excited and we had a good and yummy time. See pic!



Her cute moment of the day was when Dad said "Wassup?" and she said "Sup starts with S!" She cracks me up....when she's not driving me crazy!

B said "up" to Dad today. And right before bed, he said "Mama." Finally! :)

Just our luck

Well, the black out shade might have worked had D not peed all over herself and her bed and awakened all of us way too early. Apparently the diaper wasn't adhered correctly. Of all the luck. So I got her dressed and made her come to bed with me because of course, it was only 6am. At least she stayed in bed except to pee in the potty a couple times. But Dad got up. I was going to take D to school and then do stuff without children until picking her up. I ended up meeting my dad for breakfast at IHop and venting my spleen about life with the little ones and having a horrible weekend. Good ole Dad put my stress at ease. And then, Weekday called and told me there was a spot for D for the summer and fall. Goodbye Granada! At least the day was going fairly well. Unfortunately the summer cold has hit our house and got Dad. Here's hoping that none of us get it, especially the kids. I took his dentist appointment though since he couldn't go so I got my teeth cleaned and had the TMJ consult, which I do have. I have to make another appointment. When I got home, I was nearly attacked by my children. B just wanted my boobs which I wouldn't give him. He was really hungry though and was quite elated when I finally fed us dinner. D was excited to show me the pee she made on the potty. I think Dad was just happy that I was home to help.

A crazy day. Cramps and a headache later, an early bedtime sounds pretty good.

We all need more sleep

This weekend was not high on my list of good weekends. Ok, it just wasn't a good weekend. D has been overtired because she wakes up with the sun and then gets up. Of course that means we wake up as well. Not good. We probably did not make the best decision by making a water fun playdate with her friend from school on the same day as a birthday party in the afternoon. On a hot day no less. She fizzled by the end of the playdate, had a short nap and then fizzled (and cried because she fell) at the end of the birthday party. Today was not much better. Listening skills, not good. Drove me insane, pushed all of my buttons and I wanted to kill someone. No, not one of my children. But I did manage to throw a toy against a wall (which then broke) and scream in my closet. Not the best parenting day ever. Ugh. On the bright side, D did poop in the potty again but did have an accident at Borders. Oh well, can't have everything I guess. Dad put up a blackout shade in her room today. Seems to have helped with bedtime. Let's hope it helps in the morning.

What is generous?

D learned a new word today. Generous. Where did she learn it? In the bathroom. She went to close the toilet lid for me before flushing our pee down and I told her she was generous. The conversation went like this:

Me "How generous of you"
D "What does that word mean?"
Me "You mean generous?"
D "Yea, generous"
Me "It means to be giving. Like when you give B a toy, you're being generous"
D "Oh, you mean like I was generous to give you my pee when I went potty"
Me (trying hard not to laugh) "Yes, that's right. You were very generous with your pee"

I love my kids!!!

Rewards or bribes?

So I just bribed D to poop. What is this world coming to? Ok, not the world, but this house! For some reason, she waits to poop until she in a diaper and in bed after we've said goodnight. This means that usually less than 5 minutes after we've left her room, she poops and comes to find us. And that's when we've told her to call us, not to come and find us. It's so annoying! So tonight, we were cuddling and we were going over how many stars she needed on her chart to go to Travel Town. Dad came up with the idea to give 2 stars at night and 1 star for nap since night time seems to be more difficult and for nap she stays down all the time. For some reason, I decided to be brilliant and say, "I'll give you 3 stars if you poop before we put you to bed!" We sent her off to her room and she puttered around a bit before she came back but when she came back, we asked her if she pooped and she said yes. Of course I didn't believe her and needed proof. Amazing. There was poop! So I gave her 3 stars. While it did help in getting the poop out before saying goodnight, she did get up again twice before finally settling in...or at least we think she has settled in.

On a bright note, the peeing has been going so well. Even during dinner tonight she said "Mama, I have to pee." So I took her and we peed! Seems like as long as I pee with her or we do the "Ok, pee and yell surprise and we'll come get you," it totally works. I just hope she can do it at school. I think she gets distracted and pressured there since there is only one toilet. Damn school. That's a whole other entry. Although I will say that we're going to go check out another school on Friday that I'm really hoping works out!!

As for B, he is just cute. Squealing and squeaking is how we communicate. The best part is when it's in the car and I can see his face in the mirror. He does it when he's in the stroller too but I can't see his face. That boy is crawling faster and faster and pulling himself up easier. Not sure when he'll start walking but I don't think it's too far off.