Just hanging out in the backseat

I don't frequent the back seat of the van a whole lot...and it's been about two weeks since I've really made notice of the condition of it. Apparently I need to be frequenting it more often.

Yep. That's pen AND marker.

Guess we're keeping this van until it dies. While I think I can get the pen off the side area--I'm pretty sure that pen and marker on the upholstery isn't coming off.

I should really do another post documenting the walls in Hannah's room and her personalization of the sheets and pillows too. The girl loves to mark her territory--that's for sure.

It's always hot in October (and other musings)

Why do I always seem to forget this fact? Maybe because we were spoiled last week with cool temps and some rain--a definite rarity in SoCal in October. It was 110(!) just two weeks ago, last week was rain and temps in the low 60s, and then back up to the 90s this week. Ugh.

I took the kids to the park on Saturday forgetting how hot Hamilton Park is and that there is no shade--and so we only lasted about an hour. Long enough to tire out Helene for a nice nap when we got home.

Yep. She's officially a toddler.
Ummmm....can you believe he is going to be SEVEN in 4 months?
How is that even possible?!

Her middle name should have been Sassy...and that's all I'm going to say.

Ok. No, it's not. Quick story (if you're on my FB, you've already heard it, sorry). So, the other day she points at my stomach and asks me "who's in your tummy?" I quickly replied "no one", but was truthfully was so speechless (i.e. offended) I wasn't quick enough to retort that it was her fault it looks that way since she was my biggest baby, coming in at 8lbs 9oz and 22 inches (no how clue how she even fit when I'm only 5' 3 3/4" and come on...like I'd really tell her that!) So anyway, looks like I will now be saving up for this.
Yes. That's my Diet Coke.
And yes, it's empty.

Can't you tell by the look of disappointment?
Speaking of Diet Coke.
Can I just say again how much I love the Arcadia In-N-Out? I stopped by for my daily Diet Coke before we went to the park, and got caught in the Saturday lunch rush. I was seventh in line, and the customer placing his order must have been ordering food for an entire soccer team. Ugh! It was going to take FOREVER. And then I get the sign from one of the workers at the "pick-up window" (its one of those old walk-up only In-N-Outs, for those who don't know) who is holding up my extra large diet coke and smiling.
Oh yeah.
Thank you very much.
So, I go the window, get my drink, quickly give them my money and walk away happy.
Totally made my day.

And while I'm making random convo here, I am so loving Mad Men this season. And if this picture posted on Facebook by my friend Farrah doesn't convince me to get back into the entertainment industry--nothing will.

Ummmm.....Yum. E.
(oops...did I just say that out loud?)
Seriously. She is one lucky lady.

Yep. It really is May.

So THIS is what we awoke to this morning.

Happy May 24th.
Gotta love crazy Utah weather.
Now if I had only brought a sweater and/or coat with me, I wouldn't be complaining.

Well...I would...but maybe not quite as much.

Finally....an update and a few random things

I haven't been in the blogging mood lately. Mostly because it's the same routine day after day with the kids in school and there's really nothing new to talk about.

But here's what's gone on in the past few weeks:

* Helene turned 9 months on the 16th. She loves to be on the floor playing and is a slowly crawling around. She still isn't too sure about it--and I'm totally okay with that. I'd rather have a less mobile baby than one who is all over the place. She is still the happiest baby I know despite the continual constipation issues and napping-around-everyone-else's-day nap schedule.

* I had a birthday. Yep. I'm officially a year older. (GASP! I know, I don't look a day over 24, right? haha. Although funny story, I DID get carded at the movie theatre last summer. Ummm, thanks for the compliment movie-ticket-taker-guy, but I really don't think I look under 18. Especially since I'm pregnant, but thanks for thinking that I'm a knocked up teenager.)

* Found out that the cyst in Hannah's neck needs to be removed. You can read more about that here. We met with her ENT last week because I noticed that there were 2 or 3 little lumps next to her cyst. The doctor thinks that they are lymph nodes reacting to the cyst or possibly little satellite cysts feeding off the first one. Either way--they need to be removed. I am planning on having it done while she is out of school on her Christmas break.

* Had a Parent-Teacher conference with Sammy's new teacher. I really like her--she is friendly, nurturing, and enthusiastic. Who knew that would be so hard to come across in a Kindergarten teacher? She mentioned that Sammy was really advanced in his academics (thank you Pre-K!) and that he was one of the class leaders. We also discussed what he needs to work on most which is holding a pencil/crayon/etc. correctly.

She gave me a few tips to help with his fine motor skills, so we will see if that helps. I've noticed since Pre-K that he has had problems with that, but was hoping it would work itself out by Kindergarten. I've heard it's also a boy/girl thing, which especially shows true as Hannah has never had any problem holding a pen or crayon since the first time she picked one up.

* Had a Parent-Teacher conference with Hannah's teachers. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that there has been pretty much no drama from her. She had one minor tantrum the first month of school and she's been great ever since. She is also quite advanced in her academics as she already knows the alphabet by sight and knows the sounds they make. Her teachers were nice and tried to give me credit for it, but I had to give the credit to Sammy and Starfall. Well, okay, we do read quite a bit everyday, but I still think it's more Sammy and her computer time (i.e. mom is going back to bed so entertain yourself with this).

* Hannah's favorite CD is the Wicked soundtrack. We listen to it on the way to and from school. She loves to sing along, and while "Popular" was originally her favorite song, she has now moved on to "Defying Gravity" as the song of choice (i.e. put on repeat). She asks to listen to "Glenda" and "Alphabet" everytime we get in the car. Sammy really like "Popular" as well, but doesn't like any of the other songs. I'd like to take her to see Wicked if it comes back to LA.

* This is totally random, but speaking of music. My kids have three favorite songs that they ask to hear almost all the time. These are songs that they have either heard me play in the car or they've heard on the TV (e.g. when Samuel is watching a Clippers game). Either way, they are pretty random and I'm not sure what they say about my parenting. They are: So What'cha Want by the Beastie Boys, Yeah by Usher, Crazy in Love by Beyonce.

In my defense, the Usher song is the lead in/out for all the Clippers games, so Sammy just calls that his "basketball song." The kids like to watch Wow Wow Wubbzy on Noggin and one week last year they had a bunch of episodes featuring Beyonce as "Shine" from an all-girl band called the "Wubb Girls". One day while listening to a mix CD that Dana made, the Crazy in Love song came on and Sammy recognized that it was the same voice as "Shine" and so he wanted to listen to it over and over. And What'cha Want...well..what can I say? I like the Beastie Boys.

Don't worry--it's not all they listen to. We still hear plenty Laurie Berkner and Primary songs too.

* Just an FYI: Eggnog shakes are back at Jack in the Box! YAY!

Ok--that's all I have for now. I'm sure there will be the obligatory Thanksgiving Day post at the end of the week. See you then!

another fun week

Nope--this week wasn't any better.

Been dealing with our ceiling and walls being torn apart due to plumbing issues.

Good times.

We had to be out of the house all day today--got home at 7pm and they STILL weren't done.

Sigh.

Here's hoping next week doesn't entail:
* finding 6 apples in the trash, each with three-year-old teeth marks nibbled into them.
* Hannah coloring all over her stomach, pants, and the bathroom door with marker. (THIS is why I buy the Crayola washable markers and crayons!!).
* finding old sippy cups full of curdled milk.
* having the first three things listed above happen all in the same day, in less than one hour.
* spending over an hour making dinner and plenty of leftovers and packing them up to freeze for meals later in the week--only to find out the next morning that you didn't actually put them IN the freezer, they are still sitting on the counter.
* having to pick up Sammy early from school because the fire alarm went off (maintenance guys working on the system) and it freaked him out and he refused to go back to class.
* going to the General Relief Society Meeting Broadcast only to find out that the satellite isn't working at church, so we're all sent back home.
* being told that my ceiling and walls won't be patched up until Monday. And today is Thursday.
* taking Sammy into the lab for blood work and having him cry hysterically enough to dislodge the needle and make the vein enlarge and puff up. (Not sure what that's called, but it looked terrible).
* staying up until 2:30am because Helene has a 102.7 degree fever--and still having to get up at 7:30am to get kids off to school.
* having to write another post about my crappy week.

Yep. Next week had better be better than the past two, but I won't jinx myself by saying that it can't get any worse...because I'm sure it can. And it sure is nice to have a blog all to myself where I can whine and complain all I want! Yay me!