Friday, January 22, 2010

Rainy Days and Mondays

We've been rained on pretty much non-stop since Monday.

Not that that's a bad thing. We need the rain in So Cal and it's been a nice change of pace. I just wish I could stay home in sweatpants, watching movies in bed curled up with my cats--and not driving around taking kids to and from school and making trips to Costco. I just kept telling myself that people who live in Washington and Oregon do this way more often than I do, so I can handle it for a few days. Yep--I'm a trooper!

Monday was MLK Jr. Day, so the kids were off school--YAY! Sammy has been wanting to go to a Clippers game for quite sometime, and since they had a day game for the holiday, Samuel and Sammy finally got to go.

The plan was for them to take the subway down to Staples Center, but it was raining so hard that I ended up dropping them off instead.
Hannah was feeling left out since she didn't get to go to the game (we all would have gone, but I couldn't find 4 tickets together on Ebay in a decent section--and I figured Hannah would get bored of it after a while), so I told her we would go do something fun of her choosing. So the plan was lunch at In-N-Out and games at Chuck E Cheese's. No big surprise there, right?

We ended up doing the drive thru at In-N-Out (along with a million other people) because it was pouring so hard there was no way I was getting the kids out. Lunch was yummy and even Helene ate a grilled cheese--yep, we start them young in our family. Then it was off to Chuck E Cheese's to meet up with Krista and her family for some games.

The girls had such a great time and it, surprisingly, wasn't too crowded (at least when we arrived). Hannah and Ally were really cute to watch. They would buddy up and do stuff together and then go their own separate ways and do their own thing. Even Helene took a little ride on one of the kiddie rides. Krista and I enjoyed chatting while consuming all the diet coke we could from the self-serve soda fountain. (Sadly, no pictures because I gave the boys my camera to take pictures at the game.)

Tuesday was back to school for all. It was kind of a hard adjustment since we played hookey for part of last week while Val was in town. Helene came down with a mild fever late Tuesday afternoon that turned into a 105.5 degree fever (!) by Wednesday.

Stupid Chuck E Cheese germs.

Totally my fault. I was a hand-washing nazi making Hannah wash her hands a million times, but didn't even think about Helene since she was either in a high chair or being held almost the entire time. Except for when she sat in a train ride for about 30 seconds--although I guess she could have caught it from the high chair as well.

Hannah finally had her very first haircut on Thursday. When I wash it, it's past the middle of her back and it's just gotten out of control and so tangled--it needed a good cut. There was some drama (was there any question there would be?) when Erika tried to get her over to the sink to shampoo her hair. The plan was to deep condition it so she could get the tangles out, but Hannah would have NOTHING to do with getting her hair washed. So back to the chair for some good old-fashioned hair combing.

Erika was so patient and gentle (unlike when I comb Hannah's hair) and while there was still some crying and screaming at the beginning--we managed to bribe Hannah with some chocolate and promises of horchata on the way home to get her to sit still and be quiet. It really turned out so cute!

With all the non-stop rain, there has been much Wii playing, TV watching, and cookie and banana bread baking...and eating...mostly by me.

You'd never know this little one was sick. Just look at that face!
She LOVES balloons!
Friday, all the Kindergarten classes at Sammy's school put on a "Popcorn Parade", based on the book by Tommy De Paola.
He was one of the chefs.
It was cute to see him up there and see him be so sociable with all his little friends.
That about sums up our crazy wet week. Looking forward to the sunshine this weekend and some outdoor time at the park.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Hanging out with Val

My BFF (I just can't pull that off, can I?), Valerie, was in town this week for a funeral and decided to come out a few days early so we could hang out. We can't believe it's been almost two years since we last saw each other.

She and the kids (all 4 of them) stayed with us which was super fun for all...and a little crazy at times in my tiny place, but it allowed us to stay up late chatting, watching movies and eating brownies. YAY!

While she was here, we managed to hit almost all of our usual hang out spots...and even threw in a few new ones.

Wednesday we went to Souplantation (of course) with
Tasha who just had a little girl in December.
I was a mean mom and made Hannah and Sammy go to school, so they missed out on this (don't feel sorry for them--they went on plenty of other fun outings the rest of the week)!

Can I just say how pleasant (and easy) it was to just have one child to take care of.
Helene had mac 'n cheese for the first time and loved it!
LOVE the piece of pasta stuck to her face!
Then it was off to Singer Park after
I picked up the kids from school.
Hannah didn't want her picture taken
Noah and Sammy
Thursday we went to the Arboretum and let the kids explore.
It was a gorgeous day in the mid-70s--I LOVE SoCal!
This is the kids' favorite tree to climb.
Sophie showed Hannah the perfect branch to swing on.
Can't believe she is now 8 and so grown up and so pretty!
What is it about kids and water?
This little one was in the stroller the entire time and didn't complain at all.
Celebrity Sighting!
(OK--only a celebrity sighting in you live in LA
and have watched KTLA for years).
Stan Chambers was there doing a feature
story on the LA Arboretum.
Then it was off to Chuck E Cheese's to hang out with our friend Shauna, her daughter's school was having a fund-raiser there.

Shauna and Val
This is Sammy's new favorite game.
Hannah on the carousel being a diva.
Yes, that's a microphone in her hand.
Valerie's daughter Lucy with a popsicle
that is almost as big as she is!
Friday we went to the Getty.
Absolutely stunning!
I am embarrassed to admit that I have lived in LA for 17 years, and even worked in West Los Angeles for 4 years, and had never been there before.
The kids were most excited about the tram ride to
and from the parking area to the museum.
I'm pretty sure this was the best part of his day!
Breathtaking view of West LA
Another great shot!
This time you can also see Downtown LA as well.
There were so many fountains there--and the kids played in almost all of them!

Sammy took this shot of one of the fountains and I thought it turned out so pretty.
Do you like our color coordinated outfits? :)
I thought this was so cute of the three of them
Cute little Lucy
These next pictures are from the kids area.
Sammy loved putting all these pipes in the wall.
Fun stuff to look at
There was this cute little cubby area that was like a big bed and had a little bookshelf with books. I would LOVE a little hideaway like this to curl up and read. It was a great spot to let Helene out of the stroller and crawl.
And for Hannah to lounge around
She's standing!
Helene is getting steadier on her feet
every day--I expect she'll be walking soon!
Hannah liked this area where you could write on the wall
Helene wanted to help out
And...it's time to go!
Poor thing, her nap schedule had been non-existent with all of our outings this week and at this point it was almost 2pm and she hadn't eaten since about 9am.
Love this shot. They had a great view at the back
of the tram on the way back to the parking garage.
Then it was off to Lacy Park to play and meet up with some friends.

WHEW! It's been a busy, fun-filled week! We all had such a great time and the kids were thrilled to have playmates around 24/7 for 4 days. Val and I have vowed to not let 2 years go by again until the next time we get together--I guess it's my turn to head out to Utah for a visit.