5 minutes

It is a rarity that I can sit down and relax in the morning, as with all moms. Right now I'm able to because I'm sitting on the floor being Cam's "trouble helper" (meaning I watch and yell if any of his trains are about to collide), and a sick Kendall is upstairs sleeping. She had the worst night of sleep in a looooong time last night. Chris let me sleep in the other room while he was on duty. Poor guy got about 3 hours of sleep.

Anyway, yesterday morning I also got a few minutes to sit and drink my french vanilla stuff due to trains for Cam and standing at the cabinet playing with sippy cups for Kendall. I love when she finds something that, for some reason, really peeks her interest. This occupied her for 20 minutes. Granted, I had to be sitting right beside her so she wouldn't fall down, but it was still a nice little break from being playmate, lunch packer, breakfast preparer, teeth brusher, etc. in the morning. :) And isn't it amazing how even 5 minutes of something enjoyable/relaxing can recharge you for the rest of the morning? :)

*I'm preparing for Cam's IEP (meeting with the district to discuss Cam's education for next year) on Friday. While I'm not nervous, it is a rather big deal as to what road we'll start down and what things we want to ask for that will make the road easier for our little guy. My mom, Chris, and I will all attend together, so between the three of us, hopefully we won't leave any stone unturned with our questions. :)

*Cutest moment of the day: When Chris and I hug in the morning (because I'm usually up earlier), Kendall always says, "What are you doing? What are you doing?" over and over. This morning, as we told her that we were hugging, Cam yells, "Family hug!" and runs over to us and we all four hug. Such a sweet, sappy little moment for our family. :)

*Still working on getting health insurance. We thought working with a broker would make things easier. In reality, we've been really disappointed and question if we should have just done it on our own.

*Costco list today:
Chubs (Five 1 lb. tubes of ground beef)
Bananas
Frozen veggies
Eggs

*Dinner tonight: Lettuce Wraps
This time, I'm going to add some broccoli slaw and brown rice to bulk up the filling. Chris left feeling very hungry after the last attempt because the portions were smaller due to it being all meat.

*We are planning family pictures and I have teasingly told my sister that I've had it up to here with analyzing what we are going to wear. :) Final decision: jeans on bottom and black, white, or gray on top. Biggest disagreement? Whether you can have solids AND prints, or just solids. I said as long as it is in the same color group, prints will add interest to the picture.

the last several days

Thursday: My mom, sister, and I headed up to Big Bear for the night. I'm not sure there was more than 10 minutes (besides when we watched a movie) that we weren't talking. Such a fun time! We went out to dinner, made homemade pizookies while watching a movie, relaxed, talked, read, and that's about it. :)



Friday: The kids did great overnight with the dads. In the morning, they headed up to Oak Glen for a hike. This was a big hit with all. They headed back to our place for lunch, then parted ways to wait for the mammas.



Saturday: Nice family day including a trip to Palm Springs. I had learned about a new park that we were eager to try out. So after braving the Easter crowds at Costco for lunch, we headed to the park. It was about 85 degrees, so while it was a little toasty, it was very fun and we'll definitely put that on our "frequent park" list. :)

That night, my mom and dad split up to watch all of the kids and my sister and I, with our husbands, went to meet some friends for dinner. Very fun.

Sunday: Church started at 7:45 this morning, so it was a little hectic getting out the door in time. The kids looked ADORABLE (thanks to Chris's mom). After church we went to Barnes and Noble to kill some time until Kendall's nap.



After Kendall's nap, we hung around the house until the family arrived for our afternoon Easter celebration.

Here are the kids watching golf with dad. They (especially Kendall) were actually quite into it. :)

Easter was very fun with an egg hunt and play time with the cousins. I could tell both kids were very ready for bed by the end of the day. :)

thoughts on clothing

*I MUCH prefer to wear shorts as opposed to pants. They are just much more comfortable.

*I hate having to tug at clothing throughout the day because it doesn't fit right or falls down, etc. For this reason, I love high necked shirts. Nothing annoys me more than having to constantly pull up a tank top I have to wear because a neckline is too low. I want to be able to bend down and pick up the kids without worrying. Chris's mom got me this cute shirt for my birthday this past weekend! This is a perfect neckline for me (she got it in a cool teal color).



*I really like Tori Spelling's style. If I had to choose a celebrity to dress like, it would be her. Yes, there are some items she wears that are...a tad immodest. But overall I love all of the things she wears and she always has the cutest tops. I mainly saw them when I watched her reality show (yes, I'll admit it was one of my favorites). :)



*I've been looking for a cute pair of rompers for a couple years, but have yet to find the perfect ones. The problem? They are always WAY too short. I'm not into daisy duke rompers...which most are on me. :(



*I don't remember the last time I wore a skirt.

*Chris has picked out a large portion of my closet. He has really good tastes and actually enjoys buying things for me.

*I would do a lot more catalog shopping if it weren't for the shipping.

jam-packed fun

We had SUCH a wonderful time this past weekend with a visit from Chris's family. Saturday morning was golf for part of the family, while the rest of us stayed home. We all met for Cam's T-ball game in the afternoon. Cam LOVED having such a huge cheering section with Chris's family as well as my parents.


After the game, we came back for an early Easter celebration since we'll be with my family next week. I made the dessert I discovered this past Christmas, which was, is, and will always be one of the best recipes I've ever tried. :) Layers of cheesecake, chocolate cake, and German chocolate frosting. Yum. The kids opened their Easter baskets from their grandparents and had an egg hunt in the backyard.



Sunday we went to church. Cam got to walk down the aisle with all the kids, waving palm branches. He was a little overwhelmed by the loud music, but did awesome overall, even commenting afterward, "That was amazing!!". :)

After lunch, we headed out to Palm Springs to ride the tram to the top of the mountain. I'd always wondered about this and was excited that a friend of mine was able to get us free tickets (because she works there).




Cam was sad to see his grandparents go, but was happy to know they would be back in a few short weeks for Kendall's birthday. :)

birthdays

Funny how birthdays are MUCH less a big deal as an adult...and even less after kids. I used to ask for things like a giftcard to Express. I might be able to find a shirt or two from there now, but that is NOT my everyday wardrobe anymore (try Target!). I also am asking for things that are more in the "need" category. Here are a few things I told my mom I wanted this year:

*New measuring cups--I have two old sets, each with missing cups, one with a melted handle

*Key chain: one that you can wear around your wrist for times when I just carry my keys (like school pick-ups)

*Two books:
Engaging Autism
and
The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships

As far as celebrating? When I told Cam that Sunday was my birthday, he got SUPER excited, thinking it meant a big party. I explained that adults don't always have parties like kids do. Chris and I might try to sneak a dinner out in the next few weeks, but most likely it will be a dinner with my family at my parents' house, which is just fine with me. :)

p.s. I also must mention that I'm going to be 32, not 31. Thanks, Jen, for correcting me on my recent blog post. I honestly didn't do it on purpose, just forgot! :)

three cute kid moments

#1 What is it about a little child snuggled in a blanket on a couch that is so cute? I just love this picture. Kendall's favorite show is Little Bear and she always requests a blanket to snuggle in while she watches. :)


#2 Today we went to the Oak Glen petting zoo and had such a wonderful time. The new herd of goats were mostly babies, which was cute, however they LOVED biting our clothes. The kids liked it to a certain extent, but then it got a little old. :)


#3 A while back my sister posted on Facebook asking for ideas on how to help our kids become more global/missions minded and understand more about what so many Christians do around the world (meaning going to live somewhere else to share the gospel). She got some great feedback and I just decided to use one of the ideas, tweaked a little. The idea was to get some Popsicle sticks and write different names of missionaries on each one. Each night, the family would pick a name to pray for. I'm not sure how much Cam would grasp of the missionary concept, so I used family members instead. I wrote the name of each family member on a heart, so he could pick one each night for us to pray for. Cam LOVED it and immediately requested that we not only do it each night, but each morning when I go in to get him as well. :)

*The past few days have been filled with fun cousin things. We met Chris's brother's family for lunch on Sunday. Cameron was so excited to see his cousins and did great at the restaurant. We met at Slater's 50/50, a place we had heard about which specialized in hamburgers made with 50% beef, 50% ground bacon. What could be better than that?? We were actually a little disappointed because we both agreed it was slightly dry and we've had better burgers elsewhere, but it was still fun to try. :)

*Monday we had a fun time at the park with my sister and her kids, then yesterday one of her girls accompanied Cameron to one of his speech sessions. They helped Cam interact/play with her and Cameron was LOVING having his cousin attend with him.

*Last night I babysat for my sister's girls and decided something as I was reading to them. I think Dr. Seuss books are the weirdest books around. Not a big fan of how they really don't make sense at all.

*Costco list today:

English muffins
Shredded cheese
Bread
Women's products (hehe)
Wheat Thins
Batteries (we fly through these now with Cam's trains who, "always need to be fixed"...meaning they need a new battery to go faster)
Paper plates

*Kendall has started a little, "I'm going to be a turd for the first hour of being awake". Luckily it doesn't last all morning and it's hard to be annoyed with her when she starts talking with her cute little words and mini-sentences.

*My sister and I had a debate as to whether Clementines were the same as Tangerines. I said they were. I did some research and, if you are familiar with a phrase she and I used as kids...I need to scratch my dirty neck. :)

numbers

2 songs the kids and I played "freeze dance" to today (I just pause it every once and a while so they can freeze) from an old Dixie Chicks album. I love 90's country. :)

0 number of bites Kendall took at dinner. I swear she eats breakfast and that's about it lately. Grr....

30 seconds it takes for Cam and I to drive by our local high school on our way to Pre-K. I can never stop myself from feeling anxious as I stare at the different clicks of kids...feeling nervous for the whole social scene my little guy will have to navigate one day... :(

3 magazines I checked out from the library for tonight since Chris will be occupied with The Masters for the next few days

100 really interesting cooking tips included in my latest Food Network Magazine..."Do not use oil in the water when boiling pasta: It will keep the sauce from sticking to the cooked pasta."

31 years I will turn this month

2 times I drove by a condo complex this week. My best friend and I used to go and lay out there all the time in high school. Oh, the days when our lives were so carefree and finding time to lay out was actually on our agendas

2 times we walked by a dead possum. We like to walk in a ravine at a local park, and both times this week the same dead possom was staring at us. Cam called it the, "strange thing"

1 movie I have Tivo'd for tomorrow. It's supposed to rain and we've already used up Target and mall outings this week. Hopefully "The Incredibles" will hold their attention for a while

1,001 calories which I learned are in IHOP's New York Cheesecake Pancakes

12, the age this toy is geared toward I saw at Target the other day. Really? I want my kid watching Glee? Good gosh am I really going to raise teenagers in this society? (No, I've never actually seen an episode, but I saw a clip which shocked me that this show is actually advertised to kids...of ANY age)

*This morning we were worried about how Cam would do at school drop off, seeing as he had been away for a week. He did better than we expected. :) It helps him if I tell him to do something...such as, "Can you tell Ms. Karen what you did yesterday?" This gives him a task to complete, in addition to the task involving someone he feels safe with.

*Speaking of Cam, I mentioned a while back how we had bought him some new train tracks to make a huge one in our kitchen. He has been in heaven, directing all the trains and using all the switches. Take a look...

*Afternoon agenda: Park, speech for Cam, home for bath/dinner/bed. Dinner: Leftover pizza from Gourmet Pizza. We used our coupon from restaurants.com on Saturday and got our new favorite, It's A Gouda. I've decided that while I like the flavor if cilantro...you can definitely overdo it. This pizza had so much, that it was all you could taste in a few of the bites.

*Kendall LOVES pushing her toy stroller. This morning she insisted on taking it on our walk. So we both walked with our empty strollers. I know how long our usual route is, so I calculated that she walked over 1/2 a mile! That is a lot for those tiny little legs!!



*This morning at the library play time, they had homemade playdough. They had put glitter in the dough while mixing it and it was sooo cute! I'm going to need to get out my mom's recipe and make some. :)

*Did you know that when you BBQ steaks, you should only season them RIGHT before you put them on the grill? I learned this on a cooking show. Interesting.

*Having to buy your own health insurance BITES. We are almost done with the process, but have had a few snags along the way. Sure was nice when I worked and we just signed a few papers and...presto...we had insurance!

sweet tooth

Usually people are one or the other, "salty" or "sweet". I can say I am 100% a sweet person. When I crave things that are unhealthy, it's always dessert. Whenever we go out to a restaurant, I allow myself to eat whatever. However I never fill up on dinner and am always slightly still hungry when we leave. That's because I'm saving up for dessert...when I really make myself full. :)

However when I do eat salty things, I like them SALTY. I found these chips at Costco and LOVE them. They are salty and yummy. The best part? For 30 chips, they are only 100 calories!

some cameron things

Cameron has gotten a lot better dealing with Kendall's crying. She rarely REALLY cries, just the typical 2 year old fussies. Sometimes, when she is a little fussy, he'll reprimand her with some pretty interesting punishment options...

*(On our way to Disneyland a couple weeks back)
"Kendall! If you don't stop fussing, we will turn around and take the 60 to the 57, and go home!"

*(On our way home from my in laws last week)
"Kendall! If you don't stop fussing, you will have to get out and walk home!"

*(A few minutes prior, we had been talking about how it was a new month)
"Kendall! If you don't stop fussing, the month will turn back to March!"

Last night I was telling Cam that he would not be attending Sunday school today because there was a kids' program he would be watching with Chris and me. He was VERY excited and said, "God does not want to take me away from you tomorrow!!!"

Once a week Cam gets, "Choose your own dinner" night. He always chooses the same thing: flour tortilla, wheat thins with peanut butter, and a banana.

I think Cam's favorite part of T-ball is getting to run. He doesn't even look where he hits the ball before he is off to first base. :)

I love this picture of coach daddy and his boy.

happy friday

This has been Cam's spring break, however I decided to take him 2 days for their play time, so he would stay used to going. He still struggles each day I drop him off, so I didn't want a huge gap before he headed back next week. However when he started getting upset, I looked around and didn't see any of his teachers (who normally comfort and help him ease in). For some reason, I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him today, so I didn't. We headed back to the car and we both felt relieved.

A little later we took a walk and stopped to wait for a bike race to head down our way. They both LOVED seeing about a hundred speeding cyclists race by. Here they are waiting under a shade tree since it was quite hot today.



This afternoon consisted of a trip to the library, McDonald's for play, and Kmart. I had seen a shirt in the Kmart ad, however was disappointed that the real thing wasn't as cute as the picture.

This evening my sister's family and my parents came over for a barbecue and now I'm staring at the clock (8:40) excited for bedtime. Nothing says living up your weekend like being in bed before 9:00!! Ha! :)