guinea surprise

*Sunday was desert day. We hadn't been in quite a while. As usual, Costco was first, followed by Barnes and Noble/mall.

Costco List:
Bananas
Feta
Frozen Veggies
Frozen Blueberries (for Kendall...poor thing has been soooo constipated lately)
Cheddar Cheese
Graham Crackers
Bar Soap
Deli Ham
Eggs
Milk
Spinach

*This past weekend Chris' mom brought some leftover cake she had made earlier in the week. It was one of the most incredible tasting cakes I've had in a while. One look at how much butter it requires and you'll understand why. ;)

Cinnamon Roll Cake

*At Cam's birthday party Kendall blew out his candles before he got the chance. She swore it was by accident. I thought it was quite funny when, upon viewing the video I took, I caught her in the act of "accidentally" blowing them out.

*Today I was SOOO excited to get to my lunch time. I had arranged to surprise Cam by bringing one of our guinea pigs to his class to celebrate his birthday.He was beyond excited and shocked to see Kendall and I waltz through the door (I picked Kendall up early to join in). He felt quite important and special and that is exactly what I wanted!!

Sidenote: Hopefully Kendall found what she was digging for...ha!!

*Chris and I recently started watching Narcos. He has already seen the first season, but is re-watching it with me because he knew I would find it interesting. It's a drama, but also the true story of the Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar. It's a little gritty and definitely has some fast forward parts, but it is also fascinating to watch knowing it's true. So scary what went down in that era.

birthday celebration

I think Cameron is my most avid blog follower and often asks, "When you are going to do another post?" Well, life now isn't THAT exciting during the week...hence not a ton to post about. :) Yesterday, however, was SUPER exciting!! We celebrated Cameron's 10th birthday.

We told him he could invite one friend, to which he chose his good friend from school, Josh. We had decided long ago that this would be a "bigger" party (since it was his 10th) so we decided to go with John's Incredible Pizza.

The night before I got to work decorating a hiking themed cake:

Saturday morning Cam was beyond excited (insert 4:30am wake time!!). Chris' parents had come down to stay so we all loaded up for the party.

Over the moon...

It meant a great deal to us to have so many people from our family there. Josh's whole family was able to come and it made Cam feel incredibly special.

 Incredibear even made a visit.

Chris made each kid answer a math question in order to leave for the games/rides. :)

Riding the rides was the obvious favorite part of the party.

My mom, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law. 

Overall it was the perfect day. Cam felt soo special and loved. I can't begin to tell you how much both Chris and I loved simply seeing his excitement all day long.  Best parent moments.

As a sidenote, this place is the best for parties. They are so well organized. It was soooo nice not to have to organize anything other than his cake! The host they assigned to our room moved the party along, led the kids in a game, cut the cake, helped me with the presents (trash, putting all his presents in a bag, etc.). It was the easiest birthday ever. :)

breakfast bites

*Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day, but we had fun running around town. Our morning started off with a nice piggy walk. We get quite a few comments from people we pass as it isn't often you see two guinea pigs smashed into a baby doll stroller. :)

*Chris had a golf tournament so the three of us went into Redlands for a few errands. I was able to score a couple of dress code compliant/collared shirts for Cam at Marshall's. It took everything in me to head straight to the boy's section. They had a LOT of cute women's clothing. :)

*Costco was obviously on our list of places to go. Even if we didn't have a list, we probably still would have gone since that is one of my happy places. 

My drink below being one of the reasons...

I had packed sandwiches for the kids' lunches, but we didn't even open them due to the plethora of YUMMY samples. Cam couldn't even make it through all of them before stating he was full. :)

Perfect sample ending...popsicles.

*We got home and I started into some meal prep for the week. I got a few salads prepped for my lunches and some breakfasts for Chris. Sidenote: a friend of mine asked how I can prep salads so many days in advance without them getting soggy. My answer was that I don't. I like soggy salads. :)

*When the weekend comes, I'm so ready to do any kind of baking. This morning (Sunday) I was in the mood to make a fun breakfast for the kids. I've made these before and they are a big hit.

Cinnamon Breakfast Bites

Sneaking another one...

*I have been in need of a good Gilmore Girls replacement since I finished up the series last week. I finally took the plunge and started Downton Abbey. I have not quite finished the first episode, but I have a feeling it might be a winner. Sidenote: Chris was not a willing participant so it will be a ME thing. :)

the bad and the good...

bad...this morning I felt out of my element and a bit discouraged. I don't want to go into detail but I very much wondered if a few people were thinking, "Does this new girl know what she is doing?"
good...I have a super nice and great partner (my preschool teammate/Speech Pathologist). She really encouraged me and by the end of the day I was feeling better. :)

bad...I somehow misunderstood the kids' new school dress code policy. We not only just purchased four new shirts that don't follow the guidelines, but we now have to purchase more so Cam has enough to be in compliance (the shirts HAVE to have collars).
good...the school was super kind about letting us know and luckily they didn't single Cam out...he probably would have cried at being even remotely reprimanded (I was the same way at his age).

bad...getting what I used to get done around the house has obviously become much harder since going back to work.
good...I finally got around to re-vamping the kids' chore list and it has really helped. New additions include not only unpacking their tupperware containers from their lunch boxes, but also washing them so they are ready for me to refill when I get home from work (I like to do it right when I get home to have it done). I've also added cleaning their guinea pig cages completely on their own. Here is a pic of them in action. :)

bad...I didn't prep enough lunches for myself this week.
good...at least I had a Cliff Bar stashed in my purse!

Sidenote: I texted this to Chris and he made fun of me, asking if I was going to use a fork since I had "plated" a protein bar so nicely on a napkin. That is actually a post-it note, Chris. :)

bad...I had to work late yesterday to finish up a report.
good...it just happened to be the same day Chris had planned a fun outing for he and the kids. They went to see Pete's Dragon and then to dinner.

rubidoux

*Yesterday morning we decided to go on a family hike up Mt. Rubidoux. Kendall was quite excited when Cam told her she could use his Camelbak (she sure needed it because it was hot!).

*Here is a new favorite snack. I like one grape + one cherry tomato in each bite. :)

*Today we went out to lunch with some friends after church. I've decided Chinese food, despite not remotely healthy, is quite the economical lunch. :) We bought a 2-item platter and both kids and I were able to share it. $7.50 for three people? Nice. :)

*Yesterday I needed the kids to go with me to pick up Chris at the auto repair place. They weren't really excited to go, however they both dramatically changed their tunes when I told them they could bring their piggies. I'll have to keep this in mind the next time I need to sweeten the idea of having to go somewhere. :)

*I love this pic of my sweet 2nd grader.

my office

*This past Tuesday Chris took the kids out to the desert. His brother was staying at a hotel for a work conference and Chris was able to take them to use the pool. They loved it and were quite impressed with the resort. :)

*Thursday was the kids' first day of school. They were super excited. Chris and I split up and I took Cam while he took Kendall (they are on separate campuses).

*So this is my office. It's located at the district's main office, where I'm at three days a week. I share it with a speech pathologist, who is basically my partner in our preschool assessments. Kids ages 3-4 will come and we will both meet with them, evaluate them, and then decide (based on observation and testing results) if they qualify for either speech therapy or a special education preschool class.

My other two days are at the elementary school across the street. I basically do the same thing but with elementary aged kids.

A few things:

1. The white styrofoam cup was my third cup of coffee. I LOVE that my office is right next to the breakroom, which is stocked all day with coffee/creamer.

2. The salad next to the cup was made a few days ago. I've started prepping 2-3 salads at a time. I rarely take an actual lunch break. Knowing my kids get home at 1:30 each day makes me want to be able to leave on time and not work late. Lunch while working always makes the most sense.

3. I use my headphones when I need to really focus and not be interrupted. My go to's are nature sounds and piano hymns (Pandora). I can't do songs with words.

I was super excited because it was time for the weekend!!! 

frosted coffee

*Knowing we won't be the only parents to have purchased backpacks from Costco, Chris came up with a smart idea. He ordered patches off Ebay and now their backpacks will be more recognizable, plus extra cute. :)

*For the past few years, we've had a tradition of taking the kids to the Palm Desert Aquatic Center the day before school starts. Obviously that had to be altered this year due to my work schedule. Luckily the kids were okay with going the weekend before instead of the day. Chris' brother was visiting, so while he and Chris golfed, the kids and I headed out to the 108 degree heat! :)

 Cameron probably spent 80% of his time jumping off the high dive.

Afterward, I had a motherload of a Costco list to conquer. The kids' enthusiasm for Costco has begun to fade as of late, so I bribed them with smoothies (and a latte freeze for me...never been a smoothie fan).

Sidenote: Speaking of iced coffee/frappe drinks, I recently tried Chick-fil-A's, "Frosted Coffee". It was excellent!! It seemed a tad pricey for the size, but it was still fun to try. :)

questions

Where is the most beautiful place you've ever been?
Yosemite

If you could time travel, which decade would you visit?
The 50's

What is the last thing you ate?
I'm eating it right now. :) Frugos frozen yogurt. I haven't had it in months and I've got it three times this week (kids have been at my in-laws all week so we are a bit in, "vacation mode" when it comes to eating).

Favorite TV show right now?
We started, "Stranger Things" on Netflix last night. We are hooked.

Best thing about your week?
Getting to come home from work every day and plop down and relax. Also Chris and I got to go out to dinner TWICE!!! :)

Worst thing about your week?
Missing the kids and having to tell Cam his guinea pig passed away (but we got a new replacement!)

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I have zero desire to travel the world (except to see my sister) :) I want to go to New York and the Grand Canyon.

If you could be good at one sport, which one would you choose?
Running. I really wish I liked running.

What product have you tried and recently liked?
I got Chris a microfiber cooling towel for when he golfs. He let me use it for our San Gorgonio hike and I was AMAZED. That thing stays cool for a couple hours!!! How does that work???

Recent clothing purchase?
I bought this shirt for work and wore it for the first time today. It's so comfortable.

What book are you currently reading?

I honestly cannot remember the last book I read.  However Kendall and I are almost through the first book in the Little House on the Prairie series. We started taking turns reading a chapter a night, however now she has decided she'll do all the reading. :)

What is your current favorite exercise?

My Fitbit has probably wondered what happened to its owner. My steps have been terrible. I guess my once every few month hikes will have to suffice.