we are off

Tomorrow the four of us are off on our first family "vacation". I put that in quotes because in reality, this is more of a family trip. Vacations have taken on a new definition for me. They involve relaxing, doing nothing, eating out, etc. Those things don't really go hand in hand with two little ones. So instead, we are headed on our family trip, which I'm very excited about. We are meeting two other families up at Hume Lake to stay in a cabin for a few days. I'm excited for Cam to experience the mountains, boats, lake, etc. I'm also excited to spend some time with friends and hopefully get some good adult time once the kids go down each night. I've gotten Kendall to a 7:30 bedtime, so hopefully that will give us a nice evening. So here is to hoping for a smooth trip up! We've got the car rides down pretty good in that I sit in the back so I can keep Kendall content, which in turn keeps Cam content (because he still has not gotten used to the crying). Ta-ta for now!!

Cam's smile cracks me up. This is his "smile on command". A little goofy, but still cute. :)
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the scavenger

Last night both of my parents came over to babysit while Chris and I went out for the evening. A friend of ours was having a big 30th birthday party. We had a great time and even got to sneak in a very late dinner at the Cheesecake Factory afterward with Jen and Eric. It was nice to have a good chunk of adult time. :)



However the main topic of this blog post is my dad. Every time he comes over, he ruffles through my cupboards looking for things to snack on. We like to call him a scavenger. It is funny because to look at him, you would never think it because he is super in shape...I think that is why I can poke fun at him on this post. :) Anyway, last night really topped his kitchen excursions. The funniest thing is the variety of what he eats.

Here is a list of what he devoured. Keep in mind he already had dinner...

*1 piece of sandwich cheese
*peanuts
*sugar cookies
*chocolate cookies
*Wheat Thins
*2 chicken hot dogs
*vanilla pudding with whipped cream
*Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi
*Crystal Light

He actually was thinking about digging into our unopened deli meat, but decided against it. I'm thankful for this, because we had just purchased it for our trip up to Hume Lake this week. :)

Is that not the funniest thing? Hey, for free babysitting, he can eat whatever he wants!!

disneyland

Today we decided to brave the crowds and heat and go to Disneyland. The morning started out pretty rough. We had a very frustrating time with Cameron. I won't go into details because it would take too long to explain what we many times deal with, plus I just don't feel like rehashing it. Anyway, the day shaped up pretty quickly once we got a couple rides under our belts. Here is a pic of Chris and Cam at the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse live show. It is such a cute show and incorporates his two favorite TV shows, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins. Sorry the pic isn't too clear. :)



Kendall was a champ and contently sat in the Bjorn for the majority of the day. I love this thing and it makes trips like this so much more doable since she is happy almost 100% of the time in this. She can sleep or just hang out. It does tend to get a little heavy (and hot!) after a while, so you can see having both mom and dad take a turn is quite nice. :)




We got home and were pooped. I was planning on having frozen pizza, but Chris offered to make dinner. He made the yummiest things we decided to call Philly Cheese Pockets. He sauteed green peppers, onions and flap steak. He then chopped it all up, added some cheese, and wrapped it in pizza dough to make a kind of pocket. So good! And even better was that I didn't have to cook it!

grateful

This morning I arrived on time to Kendall's 2 month appointment, only to find they had me at an earlier (and wrong I might add) time. As I sat there slightly irritated, I realized a few things. A) We have health insurance B) I was sitting in a nice, clean office waiting to see a pediatrician we adore C) I was sitting with an amazingly cute, sweet little girl. Considering there are people in the world who will die because of curable conditions simply because they have no medical care, how dare I get irritated at having to wait a few extra minutes?! I know comparing our lives with others isn't always good, but sometimes, it seems necessary for me so that I don't take for granted what I have. :)

p.s. Our little girl got a great report and is growing bigger and cuter each day!
(I just love these little side smiles she does sometimes)

staters

Chris's dad has been visiting the past few days. We have enjoyed having him and Chris has enjoyed having a golfing partner. Yesterday morning while they golfed, we decided to take a walk since it was such a pretty morning. We stopped at Staters so someone could get a treat...

p.s. "brown vs. black" is really maple vs. chocolate. :)

rambleings

Yesterday I had a little time and was looking through all of our pictures. Sometimes it will just hit me that I'm a mom of two kids. That seems so strange as many times I still view myself as a 22 year old. I was looking back at some pictures before Cam came along and it's hard to even envision what life was like before kids. Everyone says kids change your life like nothing else. So true. I couldn't and wouldn't want my life without them!

I was telling my mom the other day how I laugh at a memory I have back when I was a school counselor. I remember calling her on the phone on my way home from a late night sports supervision. I had to be back the following Saturday morning for another event and I was crying because I felt sooo overwhelmed with all I had to do. I honestly laugh now at that thought. Overwhelmed by too many school supervisions? Nothing is as overwhelming as being responsible for two little lives and all the worries and anxiety that come with that! However even as I write this, I know that 5 years from now I'll laugh and think, "I can't believe I was overwhelmed by naps, crying, and handling two babies. That's nothing compared to ________". I guess every stage of our lives will cause us to look back and laugh at things we thought were overwhelming then. :)

This whole train of thought was brought on by looking at this pic of Jen and I before kids. Oh the life! Jaunting off to Palm Springs for the weekend. Trips like that happened more often than I could ever dream of at this stage of my life.



And while we would both agree that life was a lot more free back then, I don't think either of us would change ANYTHING about having our precious little kids...anything!

he said she said

favorite restaurant meal
Chris: Espe's (favorite Mexican restaurant from home) chile verde
Kelly: Spaghetti Factory's Mizzithera

favorite car
Chris: Toyota Tundra (white)
Kelly: some little Volkswagen convertible (red)

weddings
Chris: hate going with a passion
Kelly: like going even if it's only to see the pretty dresses

all time movie
Chris: Dumb and Dumber
Kelly: Notting Hill

rather give up meat or desserts permanently:
Chris: desserts
Kelly: meat (this is a TOTAL no brainer)

favorite meal Kelly cooks:
Chris: White Chicken Enchiladas
Kelly: Sunny Pasta (chicken, sundried tomatoes, onions, bacon, etc.)

favorite actor:
Chris: Edward Norton
Kelly: Hugh Grant

favorite restaurant dessert:
Chris: Applebees Blondie
Kelly: Spoons Brownie Sundae (is Spoons even in business anymore?)

girl name other than Kendall wanted
Chris: Brook
Kelly: Emery

something most people like that I don't
Chris: American Idol, any show involving dancing
Kelly: In & Out (it's ok, but what's the obsession???)

two things I can't live without
Chris: Tivo, podcasts
Kelly: Frappuchinos, microwave,

too cool

Cam is very into wearing daddy's hat right now. He'll wear it in the car, watching TV etc. I just couldn't resist this shot...

dear family...

Dear Cameron,
Thank you for saying, "Leave Daddy!", when he dropped you off at nursery this morning. We had a rough couple of years getting you to remain in nursery, so we'll take you not wanting us there any day!! Thank you also for giving us over a 2 hour nap today. We were feeling all lazy after church and just wanted some down time.

Dear Kendall,
Thank you for coordinating your nap today with Cam's and giving us a little break also. It was very much appreciated. I don't want to be ungrateful, but could you stop crying right now? I'm trying to move your bedtime to a more decent hour (is 8:00 too much to ask?) and I would love it if you would comply sweet girl.

Dear Chris,
Thank you for going to get me Frugos right now. I can already taste the vanilla yogurt with oreo, brownies, and Reeses. Now if only Kendall would drift off to dreamland, we could enjoy our treat while watching our Tivo'd Clear and Present Danger (can you believe that movie is about 15 years old already?)

Love,
Kelly

5 things

I've been tagged! I decided to do five things instead of eight, but here goes...

Five Things I Look Forward to:
1. Going up to Hume Lake with friends in a few weeks
2. Seeing Cam and Kendall's relationship grow and seeing her personality
3. Going to visit my sister in Germany, whenever that might be
4. The next time Chris and I get to go out to dinner together
5. Hearing the number of Cam's words/sentences, which increase all the time

Five Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Relaxed with Kendall in the morning while Chris took Cam to the park
2. Swept and cleaned garage
3. Loved Cam taking a 2 hour nap!
4. Went to Costco with Chris and kids
5. Made peanut butter pasta for dinner

Five Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Wake up and not feel rushed to get ready before the kids are up...just lie there
2. Go shopping by myself
3. Go visit my sister and see Cam and her girls together
4. Think up inventive meals more often, rather than make the same ol' thing
5. Get my hair done more often, but I just don't want to spend the money

Five Shows I Watch:
1. Tori and Dean
2. The Next Foodnetwork Star
3. Southern Belles Louisville
4. Cooking Shows (Semi Homemade and Paula Dean are my favorites)
5. Micky Mouse Club (this is the only time Cam will let me snuggle!!)

People I tag:
Susan
Karen
Jen

bean pancakes??

Cameron loves pancakes. I make them myself because A) It saves money and B) I can make them as healthy as I want. Seems like I have been getting more and more daring with the things I've added and so far, he is none the wiser. This latest batch takes the cake. In addition to making them with whole wheat flour, I added:

*Pureed peas
*Pureed white beans (Northern beans)
*Oats
*Wheat germ

In my defense, I do add a little more sugar so they don't taste bad. Actually, I think they are quite tasty. :) Not sure how long I can ride this train with Cam, but as long as he'll eat them, I'll make them!!!

randomness

*From my recent Taste of Home magazine:
During which of the following events did the pizza industry report the highest number of pizza deliveries?
A. the final episode of Survivor I
B. Superbowl XXXXVIII
C. the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase
d. the opening night of the first Gulf War

*We bought some SPF spray for the first time. I'm NOT a fan at all. I think it is much more greasy and I end up spraying it onto my hands before I put it on anyway because I'm not convinced just spraying it on Cam's legs will be good enough.

*Went to feed the ducks yesterday at a park and I gave Cam a whole piece of bread and told him to tear off a piece. In went the entire piece. Hmmm...we'll need to work on that.

*I love The Next Foodnetwork Star. It combines the best of both worlds for me, reality TV (good, clean reality TV) and cooking. :)

*Chris and I sold one of our cars a while back and have been down to one car for a few weeks. Yes, it does take some getting used to, but it hasn't been too bad. Allowing our Altima to just sit in our garage (since we go most places together), not used much, seemed like a waste as it just kept decreasing in value as time went on. When Chris is gone for a weekend (like this past one), I borrow one of my parent's. Otherwise, when he is gone we just take more walks. That is getting a little harder with the heat, but we seem to manage. :)

*Answer to my quiz? The O.J. chase. Thought that was interesting. :)

boys weekend

Chris and Cam had a great time at my in-law's over the weekend. Between golf, swimming, and eating loads of fabulous food, they were both pooped by the time they got home. Here are a few pics:

This is probably what Cam spends 90% of his time doing at his grandparents...running outside and playing with the dogs, or as he calls them, "the girls".


He LOVED the pool.


I thought this was a cute pic, however Cam actually wasn't too enthralled with the fireworks. That is always a little of a bummer when you have your hopes up high that your child will like a certain thing, then it turns out they could care less. :)


Chris's mom is known for her wonderful homemade ice cream. Here is Cameron enjoying her Almond Joy flavor. He also enjoyed picking off the Magic Shell with his hands before diving in. :)

just the girls

This past weekend, Chris, Cam, and Craig (Chris's brother) went up to his parent's house for the weekend. Kendall and I stayed back so we could have some girl bonding. I had a nice time just the two of us and enjoyed being able to devote so much time and attention to just her.

Saturday we went to the park with my mom. Every year they set up booths and have a patriotic band play. We also met Jen and her family and hung out for while. It wasn't too hot and was very relaxing to just sit on the picnic blanket and listen to the music and talk.



I feel like I look like an amazon woman here. Jen and I are actually the same height, but must have been standing on uneven ground. :)



That night Kendall and I spent a couple hours outside with our neighbors at a bbq. Kendall was GREAT, considering it was typically her fussiest time of day. She allowed me to sit and visit and I had such a great time.

This morning hasn't turned out to be quite as fun as the previous couple of days...

9:00 Woke Kendall up from nap and headed to church. She cried most of the way.
9:30 First we hit the mother's room so I could nurse. After feeding, her pants literally exploded and completely covered her clothes as well as my dress.
9:50 Headed back home due to the fact that while I had brought an extra outfit for her, I had not brought an extra dress for me. The stain was so big and gross looking, I would have felt funny walking around with it.

Nothing like driving 20 minutes just to feed and turn right back around! :) Overall, though, we have had a fun weekend together and I'm anxious to hear all about the boys and their time when they return.

would love some advice

So we have been dealing with something for a while, and it has gotten worse over the past few weeks. Many times children don't like it when their parents talk on the phone. I've heard this is due to the fact that their parent's attention isn't on them. I can understand this. Cameron has taken this to an extreme, it seems, and I hope I can accurately describe it because I would love some advice on how to handle it.

Many times, Cam will literally not let Chris or I talk to one another without fussing. We need only say one small sentence to one another (i.e. "What time do you think you'll get home?") and Cam immediately starts whining and won't stop until we stop. It isn't as though we are interacting with him and stop to talk to one another. He could just be eating his lunch when we are in the kitchen with him. It could be dead silent. But as soon as we begin to speak to one another, he starts.

I have to admit this gets REALLY frustrating for me. The other day my friend Ana was over, and I literally put him on 5-6 time outs and sent him to his room twice due to this. No, I wasn't expecting to be able to sit for extended periods of time with her and visit. I know that is not realistic with a toddler and expect a certain amount of interruptions. But I do expect to be able to ask her a simple question without him getting upset. And don't even get me started on the phone! I have given up talking on the phone at all when I am in the same room as him. "You should just do it and he'll get used to it", you might say. Honestly, that is impossible as he gets so loud I can't even hear what the person is saying.

Anyway, if you have had any experience with this, I would love some tips on how you handled it. Time outs don't appear to be working and neither does sending him to his room for a while. I wish I knew what caused it because again, he doesn't do it all the time. But because it has gotten more and more frequent, I need to do something! :)

died and gone to heaven

So what restaurant did we choose? We had decided on Claim Jumpers, however as we backed out of the driveway, Chris told me he had another idea and asked if I wanted to be surprised. Yes! So he took me to Spaghetti Factory. I had not been in ages and it was divine! I was surprised mainly because this is not Chris's favorite, by any means. However he knows that I adore their dish, Mizzithera, and rank it among my top 5 meals of all time. What a sweet husband :)

He actually ordered the same thing and ranked his meal a 10! Not bad! It was a nice night to get out just the two of us. I realized I was quite the jabbermouth as we just don't get good chunks of time to talk much anymore. :)