FINALLY!!!!!

Finally!! OMG I cannot even tell you how awesome it was yesterday to have no more construction actively happening (but the house is NOT done yet).  It was such an invasive project - I was overwhelmed last week with trying to stay out of the house ALL day, get the kids to nap, keep them happy and do this all without spending money. I did pretty well, thanks to family letting us use their homes like our own.  Kids were MONSTERS because of the lack of routine that happened last week and so we are all very happy to be tucked back into our own home.  The majority of the living room, and dining room (is that what I should call where the table is? I guess..) is done.  We are going to do a small remodel on our kitchen - new lights, new cabinets. Which hopefully will not kick us out of the house like this last project did.  Our guest bathroom is going to go under remodel as well. But I think we feel the #1 project next is the kitchen - afterall, the tile we put down is beautiful and the kitchen looks in dire need of some TLC when compared to what we have right now.

Bobby's room - we ordered carpet and of course I picked something popular so hopefully we can get the stuff in by Thanksgiving - cross your fingers.  Today I meet with Costco's rep for interior design for window coverings.  I really want shutters but they are outrageous in price ($500+ for one window :( ).

So nice to have a normal home again.  I am in love with the way everything turned out.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

We have been kicked out of the house for nearly a week now.  Saturday we had the interior painted so we decided last second to take our trip to Disneyland.  Finally.  It was good timing anyway since we needed to be gone.  Then starting on Monday, prep for our tile has been done and installation of the tile we hope starts Thursday.  Our poor kids, Bobby yesterday looked at me while driving to Grandma's house and said "Mommy I want to go home." Aw kid.  Soon enough.  I can finally start making a "girl's room" and a "boy's room" now.

Back to Disneyland.  So, basically once your kids reach 32" there's stuff for them to ride.  42" inches even better.  Brooklyn measures 33" (maybe 1 inch more with shoes), Bobby is 41".  So this time around we threw Brooklyn on nearly every ride we could stand in line for.  We bought park hopper tickets because CA Adventure has roller coasters etc., more for an older kid.  The lines there were RIDICULOUS.  Once we made our way to Disneyland, the most we ever had to wait was 20-25 minutes. CA Adventure was at least 50 minutes for most of the rides.  One tire ride there was super lame and had a 1 hour wait.  The most exciting ride (this was all in "Cars Land") was a racing type of ride (or something near that) and it was a 2 hour wait!  Yeah.  I dont think so.  So we rode these and had as much fun as I could squeeze out of Derek & the kids:

CA Adventure:
*Mater's Ride (lots of fun!)
*Luigi's Tires (sooo stupid)
*Ariel's Ride (me and Brooklyn rode this while the boys ate some food, Brooklyn LOVED this one)
*Toy Story Mania (LAME only because it was not really a ride, and you have wear 3d glasses to see anything. The kids liked it, but I was disappointed that it wasnt much of a ride)

Disneyland:
*Buzz's Ride (cool as usual)
*Autopia (Brooklyn LOVED this, this is Bobby's favorite we think)
*Pirates of the Carribean (kids did good, but when I looked at the decorations I thought it would scare them - skeletons with knives in their chest..etc....lol but its a nice long ride and kids liked the pirate song)

We stayed only til 8pm (we arrived at like 10am) and I bet we could have stayed a little bit longer but before the kids got cranky and started freaking out I wanted to head home.

Here's some photos from our trip.  We were able to see a Parade at Disneyland - REALLY CUTE and worth the wait, the kids loved it! And by accidental perfect timing, Brooklyn and I ran into Minnie Mouse and got these up close pictures with her.  Brooklyn ran over to her and gave her a big hug and kiss...I couldn't get my camera out fast enough.

And for Brooklyn's birthday we didn't do a party this year, just because of all the other stuff we've been doing. But we did get her a little cake to sing to her (her actually bday was Sunday).  Despite it being alot of work for us to take the kids to Disneyland (or really anywhere), I had so much fun with them.  Brooklyn is animated, and she has no problem letting us know when she is happy (or mad lol).  She adored seeing the characters, giggled on the rides.  Some rides (according to Derek) Bobby didnt like, and Bobby liked watching some of the rides more than even going on them.  All in all, I would go again but only go to Disneyland until the kids desire the fast rides.

Here's a video of the opening to the Parade, it was really cute, and not even that long - maybe 15-20 minutes:

Opening to Mickey's Soundsational Parade

Favorite time of the year

October - December are my favorite times of the year.

On Friday we went to Raven Hill Orchard up in Julian.

One of the prettiest places I've seen in San Diego.  Rows and rows of delicious apples....

The kids had so much fun running around and just picking straight off the tree whatever they wanted to eat.  One small bag was $10 to fill up but each bag probably held 30 small/medium apples.

I cant wait to go back there....

:)

Not much to report.  Kids are growing and learning new things everyday.  Today Brooklyn was dying to get her little wanna be crocs off and I had my hands full. I asked Bobby to help her - he took off her shoes, and she said "Thank you Bobby." HA Dang she talks alot.  She is constantly answering her phone and saying "Hello Mommy." Really really cute!

Even though I really want to send the kids to school - just out of sheer boredom I feel like they get during the week, we just cant do it yet.  Our house is a big mess.  Some of you have seen it.  We keep trying to get our painter over but he's been busy.  Our flooring is still out for another 3-4 weeks.  But today we didnt do much of anything. We ran to 2 stores (both kids were so behaved - it was great), but sometimes I feel like all they want is me to sit with them and play legos, trains, heck anything.  I stress all the time that they are not getting what they need, but they are....all they want is mommy and daddy to play trucks.  Some days are easier than others (not gonna lie here, there are days I want to lock myself in the shower for 3 hours) but when I just focus in on what they want - its usually just me sitting there with a book or puzzle helping them along.  I cant believe Bobby is 3 &1/2 and Brooklyn nearly 2.  These precious years have gone so fast.

Yesterday I woke up with a pinched nerve (or something) and have had muscle spasms in my upper neck/shoulder area. Went to the doctor yesterday and received pain meds and muscle relaxers.   So painful, I'm still in a ton of pain but taking the meds makes me so sleepy (have to wait til naptime for relief).  Even though it helped me sleep last night I'm still in pain, so something else is wrong - my pillow? our bed? I'm not sure.  I think we may need to consider getting a new mattress.  This is the 2nd time its happened in less than 2 years and its just not making sense to me.

A friend of mine has been using coconut oil for LOTS of stuff. She puts it in her coffee with a little bit of butter and grinds it up. Sounds nuts but it actually tastes pretty good. (I just dont like the idea of butter but IDK). Anyway, coconut is a great oil for lots of things - one of them - making your own deodorant.  I saw her homemade thing, and thought I had to try it - we hear so many negative things about today's deodorant - whether its the clear stuff or the white stuff - plus, if the kids were to 'accidentally ingest' this stuff, it would be safe to eat.  Here's the website I went to for the recipe - they even have a thing about making your own baby wipes (I'm tempted to try once this brand new box I just bought dwindles down).

In November we are doing family portraits just us 4 and the dogs.  We are not sure how much time we have left with our oldest dog, and she has been in our lives for nearly as long as Derek and I have been together so I think it would be neat to have her in these pictures.

Have a great rest of the week...

Bobby

Just wanted to write this down so I could remember one day.  A few weeks ago, I noticed "something" in between Bobby's 2 front teeth. When I went to floss, and remove the "food" it did not come out and upon closer inspection it looked like the beginnings of a small cavity.

I had a cleaning last week, so I scheduled one for Bobby today.  I was nervous, as, well, I was expecting them to fill the cavity today.  They actually recommended coming back, and just doing a cleaning today so he had a positive experience on his first visit so he wouldnt be terrified about coming back.  We went to Ramona Family Dentistry (on 3rd street I think, around the corner from Sizzler).  They dont specialize in pediatric dentistry but they are so close to home so I took him there.

Bobby did EXCELLENT.  He sat still, let them take an xray, let them clean his teeth, floss the whole nine yards.  We took little "breaks" in between the cleaning and flossing (like 10 seconds) because he was a wiggle worm toward the end. But for a first timer, being 3, and not having this place really cater to young kids (another place we went to has like TV's, kids games, etc.) he did so well.  I was so proud of him, and everyone there couldnt believe how well behaved he was....we go back for this little filling in a few weeks. Hopefully it will be just as easy as today was...cross your fingers!

Now Brooklyn on the other hand will DEFINITELY give them a run for their money.

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Like my title? I didnt know what to call this one, and that's kind of how the brain has been feeling these days!

Look at little Brooklyn this time last year, she wasnt even walking and just barely crawling around!

Now she is a professional at walking, climbing, running, jumping (almost), telling me "no" and yelling "Bobby."

So next month she turns 2, I think we are just going to do picnic type of party - unless for some crazy reason our home is done in time we may have everyone over here so everyone can see what we have been doing with ourselves but I'm not sure if we will be completed by then.

Speaking of our home, we did just order our final lighting fixtures and ceiling fans.  I couldn't wait to be at this stage - the decorating part. BUT, it was overwhelming! Too many choices, too many places.  It was almost too much, and then of course the stuff I like is all expensive.  We have a budget for all of the things in the house, some things have gone over so then we have to scale back. For instance, our tile. About half of what we needed was graciously given to us, I think we need to give the donor some money for it, but its expensive stuff! $4.50 a square foot, OUCH! We are hoping a tile contractor we know can find it for a little bit cheaper, because we just were hoping not to spend that much.  Painting hopefully will be done this week, the walls are all primed, the ceilings are done.  We had a pretty easy time with paint colors, brought home 4 samples and nearly immediately knew which ones we liked. We want to purchase a new t.v. but its not a necessity, and may have to be our christmas present if we really get the urge, but you can start to tell our little plasma is getting old.  I cant wait to pick up stuff for the kids room, have a normal floor, and just have a normal living situation again. Things are everywhere, toys are everywhere, the table we ordered cant be shipped to us yet because the tile isnt in..(the kids have their little picnic table), just everything is messy.

Here's what we picked for our dining room/to go over our table:

Here's what we picked for our living room: (The light can be removed and a bronze cap and replace it which is the look I want. Love this fan)  Most of the lighting in the living room will be can lighting which will look great.

I started school 2 weeks ago and I love it.  I was really nervous how I was going to juggle the kids,  our business (I do need to still do books, insurance, etc.) and then add school to the mix, plus all the other chores all on my own (like today I had to mow, laundry, clean everything, ahh just like every other parent out there) so far its been ok.  Its kinda lame to say but I dream about graduation day with the kids and Derek and on days that are harder that's what keeps me in gear.  I haven't been able to work out as much which I hate, but I'm not trying to lose weight just keep my shape.  I try to devote mornings to mid afternoon to the kids - no email if I can, no phone calls/minimal, nothing else except a few chores squeezed in but lots of playing time or some other activity so I dont feel like I'm neglecting them.  Its working out ok, especially since Brooklyn is older the 2 of them play great - most of the time - together.  Some days are harder than others, it just takes alot of energy, and now that both kids do not go to school right now I rarely get much of a break, Derek is not home til 5 on most days and then from 5-7 or even 8 he has lots of work to do - and now fantasy football is a distraction as well - so - even when he gets home sometimes I'm still on my own for a little bit.

I think we are still planning to go to Disneyland's California Adventure this month for my birthday but I'm not sure - I'm waiting to hear from Derek when he wants to go.  My aunt comes in from Georgia next week, so that will be fun to spend time with her.  She loves the kids.  I think also in December I'd like to do another Disneyland trip while Derek is in Colombia.  Stay 2 freaking nights like I want, enjoy the holiday crap, and keep me and the kids REALLY busy while he is gone. :(  Or do something sorta big while he is gone. I just cant bring myself to leave the country for that long without them at this age.  Call me a wimp, I dont care, I just dont want to do it.

Not much else, just juggling life and trying to keep some sanity.  I'm looking forward to these next few months, I absolutely love the holidays and cannot wait to do so much cheesy holiday stuff with the kids...

Holy Sweat Balls

Another brutal hot heat wave sweat your balls off in Ramona summer. Guess what? For a majority of this disgusting heat, we had NO AC and only ceiling fans and 1 small floor fan. Sweated at night. Sweated in the shower. LOL It felt like that anyway!

(Unfortunately I didnt even lose any weight from all this sweating dammit LOL) 

We completed our drywall and installation of a new thermostat over the weekend and by Saturday night we were able to finally turn on some cold air and RELAX. Amazing how grumpy and irritable you get when you are HOT.  

As long as this remodel has taken, its actually so nice to know we didnt finance one drop of it and that lets us rest easy at night. Even though it has taken nearly 2 years to complete (this all started in spring 2011), its well worth knowing we dont have to pay anyone back...

Now the fun part: DECORATING! CANT WAIT!

Bobby's first time boarding with Daddy...we have a new surfer buddy at the beach!! He LOVED IT!