I wasted a little too much time

Wait, before I start I have to tell you something. I went to Sprouts today. So I'm holding Alyssa's hand and I see this old lady next to us. Apparently she needed to pass and Alyssa wasn't moving fast enough. Do you know that bitch old lady, huffed and puffed at my 2 yr old daughter and said, "Oh come on now, come on". My head flipped around so quickly and I began, with a very nasty tone, "What...."
I was going to continue, but I don't know where I found the strength to shut my mouth and act civilized in front of my kids.

I must have had flaming red eyes and smoke coming out my ears because that woman hauled ass down the aisle. I was so upset as soon as I got to my vehicle I called the husband. I told him that I almost kicked some old woman's ass. *Breathe* Okay I'm done.

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Well I called to make the reservations today for our 3 day/2 night stay next week and guess what! I won't be staying at the Paradise Pier Hotel. Surprise, Surprise, they're booked. Oh well. My husband thinks I'm crazy to head up there so quickly, but I tried to explain to him that I need to get the kids out as much as possible while I can.

So he'll have a couple days all to himself in an empty, quiet house. All I know is that I better come back to a clean house! My husband is as messy if not messier than these kids. It's a different kind of mess though.


Anyway, after searching online for hours, and I mean hours, the queen of bargain hunting settled on this place. We'll see how much of a bargain it is when I get there. I saw some wonderful photos of their pools. We hope to have a great time. I am a bit ticked with the price of parking. I wonder if I can get around that somehow?

Poor Alyssa

Someone is having a hard time tonight, or I should say last night. I am awake because she is laying on the sofa. I am not sure if she is getting sick, if she is missing bunny or a combination of both. She felt a little warm so I'm keeping a close eye on her

It's been a hard day for me. I am wondering how long it will take me to recover from our little trip. We all overdid it and the kids were such champs for putting up with the madness. For 2 days we spent 9 hours in the park, each day, and I don't know why. My ankles were aching, I had started getting cramps and my back was in knots.

Today I was stuck on the couch unable to do much. My body feels broken. I am exhausted, yet I am already thinking about planning another short 2 -day trip to Disneyland, just me and the kids. Christopher especially has a thing for hotels. He loves them. It has to be before March the 6th in order for me to get a good rate at the hotel.

My husband is not too pleased about this as I told him he better not take anymore days off from work which means he cannot go. I plan on heading up there mid-week.

Call me crazy but I just cannot give up a bargain and you'll see what I mean. Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, regularly priced from around $240 to $400+ per night, depending on the time of year, can be reserved for about $139. I figure we could get an early start this way given the location of this hotel.

You know these kids are only young once and I do want them to have some fun memories. They love the place and to be honest I am not sure how often we'll be going anywhere once there are 3 kids in the mix. So I think I should go for it. Besides, I better make use of these passes and fast too before I swell up and become more lazy.

Bunny's Demise

Bunny came upon an untimely death on this trip. It seems that bunny was destined to perish at Disneyland. Remember the last time she lost bunny and they mailed it back within 1 week? On our last day I went on a ride that a pregnant woman had no business getting on. Call me stupid but I didn't notice the warning sign until I came off the California Screamin' ride and my husband pointed it out to me.

Anyways this post is not about me. When I got off the ride, I was greeted by 3 very unhappy people. Alyssa had thrown bunny over the rail.

The camera shootin' mama that I am, I had to take a few last photos of our dearly departed bunny.


Bunny drowned on Tuesday 26th February at California Adventures

I couldn't understand why bunny didn't sink. In a panic, I called one of the park assistants and told him what had happened. He explained to us that they could not get it without shutting down the ride. So we would have to wait. Understandably so.

Alyssa said goodbye to her baby and for the rest of the day she kept saying:

"Mamum (not sure where she got that from but that's what she calls me sometimes), I threw bunny in the water!" Then she would laugh. Apparently she was ready to let bunny go.


Another guy was called in the park. He told us to come back at 5:45pm They would attempt to retrieve the bunny. My husband and I both decided to let bunny be, but when I got home I had second thoughts. This same guy had given us a voucher to go into any Disney Store to get a plush animal valued at $20.00. You gotta love Disneyland. She chose Dumbo and daddy bought her a pink Minnie Mouse.

I on the other hand emailed them asking for the number to the lost and found department. I am going to call them tomorrow to find out if bunny was ever found. Who knows maybe bunny sank to the bottom of the water and they couldn't find it.

So this story is not finished. I'll post more photos in a few days and snap some of her new luvies. Let's see how great Disneyland really is.

She fell asleep with no trouble and I'm sure she'll be okay. It's me who's having trouble letting go.

Early Planning & our trip

OUR TRIP:

We're off to the Happiest Place on earth and the kids are both in great health (fingers crossed). We don't want a repeat of what happened last time. I made all the plans. Me the secretary. I'm so proud of me. I booked the hotel on Wednesday. We'll be spending 4 days. Unfortunately, this trip is going to cost us way more than I had hoped but better for us in the long run. On the expense list - 3 season passes. I actually got a headache because of this, as if the cost of the hotel wasn't enough. The plus side is I can take the kids up there on short trips and get our money's worth.

EARLY PLANNING:

All these little details are always left up to me. I've always been the one to decorate the baby's room, choose the crib, sew the curtains, make the blankets (my mom made Alyssa a special set though), find a name. You get the point.

Since I've convinced my husband that the room we have in this house will work with 3 kids, I MUST make it work. I can't go through another move again. Funny thing is I have been pregnant in every place that we've moved to. Hmmm....I wonder......what will become of me when we move again?

I don't want to move even though if it means more room. Not right now anyway. So in about 2 or 3 weeks, I'll be moving the kids back into what is now the larger toy room AKA the 2nd bedroom (there's a smaller toy room inside this one). I'll be getting a bunk bed which Christopher has already seen and loves. He was talking to me about it today. He called it the up and down bed and already stated that the top bed is his, which was my plan anyway.

So the smaller room will be the baby's room. This will give me plenty of time to start preparing it. Lot's of time. I think the only thing we need for this baby is another dresser w/changing table

That's Christopher in that tummy :)

I want one just like this. Oh wait, I forgot my insane husband had thrown out the swings and bouncy chairs. So I guess we'll have to get that too. Not much.

Wish us luck and let's hope Mr. Attitude behaves himself. We did much better today as we all had a 3 hour nap. It was lovely.

5 minutes alone with a bowl of Cheerios

My husband usually learns the hard way. I'm with these kids whole day. I can safely say I know their behavior better than anyone. I warned him not to do it, but did he listen? Here's your answer.

He sent them to our bedroom the watch a show. This is what he tells them before he leaves them and heads downstairs.

Daddy : "Now sit on the floor and watch the show. No mess! No jumping on the bed and don't touch the TV. Ok?"

Kids : In unison, "Ok daddy".

I was laughing to myself when I heard this because I knew what would transpire.

A few minutes later, this is how well they listened. What you can't see is the mattress 1/4 way off the box spring. Flat sheet, blanket, some pillows and comforter on the floor. Yep from jumping. The juice, oh I didn't mention the juice he gave them, well it was spilled all over the carpet. If you look closely, the empty bowl is on the nightstand along with 1 side of Alyssa's flip-flops, right where it should be.

The bad thing is, although the husband cleaned up "his" mess, this funky carpet doesn't do well with liquid. I hate it! Not even when water spills. I'm not sure why. So guess who has to shampoo the carpet in the room? And in the hallway. It hurts my eyes to see the stains.

It must be fun being a kid.

When Bargains are just too good to pass up

You know how the story goes. Tonight, I ran off to JCPenneys with the little lady just to get some new bathroom mats. What did I leave with?

This was my biggest score. Now I don't want to blight myself since it's so early in my pregnancy. Normally these things don't show up in our home until I have about 3 weeks remaining.

I saw this on the clearance table and thought someone placed the sale tag there as a nasty joke. Anyway, my intention is to make my own crib set for this one if all goes well. I just couldn't leave it for someone else to grab. Who knows maybe I'll be so lazy it will become mine. Or I could go with my initial plan of giving it to someone who needs it.

This is the price tag. Questionable, yes, but that is what it said! Why are these things so expensive?

Look at the clearance sticker. I grabbed up some other things and headed for the checkout. I asked the lady if that tag was correct or did someone place it there. She laughed and scanned it. It was right!

I also got these for the boy who got left at home because of his awful behavior. He screamed from the time I started getting dressed until I walked out the door. Not my problem anymore, let daddy deal with it. And to answer a question in the comments, yes he screams and carries on with both of us. It's a bit of a relief for me seeing that he hasn't singled me out.

I actually know what goes on with this child. He just turned 4 and he thinks he doesn't need a nap but really, he still does. His meltdowns always start around 5pm. His eyes get red and he gets that tired look on his face. I can get this child to nap when I want to, but today I spent the entire day cleaning the house. I got most of the upstairs, all the bathrooms and the living room. The kitchen can wait, since I don't intend on doing any cooking soon.

On those napping days, he needs complete silence with the exception of the fan. I make a bed on the sofa and after about 10 minutes he falls asleep. It's also good for me because I get to nap without interruption with my baby.

So.....back to the boxers. He'll be so happy in the morning when he sees them. I better get going on the remaining laundry so I can throw these new ones in there. He'll want to put one of them on as soon as he sees them.

Oh you know what's funny? I came home with no bathroom mats. Now I have to go back tomorrow.

Revealing the news

As far as family, my husband has told no one on his side. Me on the other hand told my mom before I even told him. We're just close like that :-) And let's make matters worse, my brother was the first to know. He had emailed me right after I took the test and I had to tell somebody so he was it. We were waiting until that first trimester was over so now I have been trying to come up with a fun way to tell them. Problem is because we can't get all of them together someone will be told by phone. His family is such a mess sometimes. We need to tell them all on the same day, possibly within minutes of each, otherwise someone will be feeling left out if the other finds out that they were told last. Isn't that crazy? Childish nonsense.

I told him not to tell them anything until I started showing. Someone must comment on my weight gain, right? My mom thought that was a bad idea and so did the husband, so that is scrapped. I thought that would be funny. Where's their sense of humor?

Maybe we should let Christopher deliver the news. He talks a lot and can't seem to keep a secret. Like at Christmas when I took the kids with me to Sears to get some tools for the husband. We were at home relaxing when out of blue came this:

Christopher: Daddy, mama got me this car and daddy got tools for Christmas. ME : I said nothing, hoping that the husband didn't hear. I continued watching TV. Christopher repeated himself and I stared at my husband who burst out laughing. He said he had heard him the first time but tried to ignore him.
My talkative son. After I told him several times on the ride home that this was a surprise and daddy cannot find out.

So maybe he should be the one to tell.

Every other day he says to me, "Mom (it's funny that he switches up between mama, mom, mommy and last night he called me Tasha and burst out laughing), you went to the doctor and they made you feel all better?

I told him that mommy was not sick, to which he replied, "mama, you have a baby in your tummy?" I tell him yes. "Is your tummy going to get bigger?" Yes.
Then recently he came up with this one. "Daddy told me that I can help carry the baby." I say, "Oh?" "Yes mama. Can I help you? Can I hold the baby?"

Oh so many questions. He's such a loving & caring boy most times. Other times he turns into a monster.

Taking Care of ME and other things

Sometimes you don't notice how rough you look at times. The last 6 months or so have been trying especially when it comes to my son's tantrums. This led to a whole lot of frustration and unnecessary yelling on my end. I am ashamed of it but this parenting business can get so overwhelming at times.

One day, I looked at myself closely in the mirror, particularly my face. It was depressing. There were those lovely dark circles, and newly discovered pimples, no doubt a lovely gift from being pregnant.

I have also developed "angry mama" wrinkles in the middle of my forehead. I know these started appearing because I have been angrier than usual.

I have to find a better way to communicate with this boy. Sometimes I don't know what triggers his rage. He throws things, kicks the walls and yells so loudly, it makes me wonder what the neighbors may be thinking. Poor Alyssa runs to me when he starts. The loud screaming scares her.

Anyway, I decided I had neglected ME a little too long. So I got myself some things. A lot of things. Normally I wouldn't spend over $5.00 on facial products but I went all out last week. My things arrived in 2 or 3 days I think and I was so excited when I opened the door and boxes of MY stuff was sitting there.

Let's hope this helps. I'll give it 1 month to see any improvement. I got the full line. The cleanser, toner, moisturizers and mud mask and I don't want to celebrate prematurely but the first time I used it, my face felt a different level of cleanliness. The moisturizers made my skin feel so happy! So I will reveal the name of this product in about a month or so giving it either wonderful reviews or possibly horrible reviews.

I won't even mention the name now because I still feel a little insane for paying that hefty price tag. If it works though, it would be well worth it....

So until then.....

Sweetheart, please help me out.......

....and go to sleep. Mommy has things to do. Almost every night my daughter who is all about the potty right now fights to put on her diaper at night. She is not at the point where she can go through the night and wake up dry. One side of me is happy that she took to this so easily, unlike her brother, and has been doing great for months, the other part of me just wants it all to end.

As I type this tonight at 10:12 pm, she is sitting on the potty. She does not want to put on her clothes in between uses. Yes, she wants to sit on the potty, no matter how long, until she needs to go again.

A few nights ago I had to hold her until she fell asleep in my arms. She was so upset that I tried to put a diaper on her before bed. This is nuts.

Oh wow she grabbed the diaper and said she needs it so I take it she is done "potty sitting" for the night.

Night night all.

One less thing to worry about

Last year October, I was heading to the park when I got caught in what I can only describe as a traffic set-up. You know what I am talking about. I won't go into details but the motor-cycle police who appeared out of nowhere, pulled 5 vehicles over. To my surprise there were cones already lined off on the side of the already congested street.

The offense : Gridlock

Now I have never had a ticket before so I was super upset, not to mention stressed this whole time. Nice policeman though and since I cooperated unlike the guy behind and the lady in front of me I thought he should have cut me some slack. You know, give me a warning or something. No such luck.

Anyway, 1 day before I was due in court I called in to see if I could get out of it. "Of course", she said "just pay the fine before 4:30pm tomorrow" I had not received anything in the mail indicating how much damage was done to the bank account. I asked her how much and gasped when she told me $201 plus an additional $28 if I wanted to complete traffic school to rid myself of the point that would go on my clean record.

I was so afraid to tell the husband when I got off the phone, so I took a quick drink before sharing the bad news. Apparently I got off easy because of my clean driving record. Whatever! I am afraid to think about how much it could have cost me otherwise.

4 months later this mess is finally cleared up and over with. That online traffic school, although convenient was so hard to complete. All that reading was ridiculous but what else could I do. With the kids around it was impossible to do anything so at night when I should have been sleeping or sewing, I was reading. Falling asleep at my desk and all. Horrible.

Another Seaworld trip!

Christopher asked nicely to see Shamu on Tuesday morning. So off we went. I am amazed that I can get as many different photos as I have gotten every time we go there. It's never a disappointment.

Look at her

There will be a new Sesame play area opening in the Spring. Can't wait to go there. It was all barricaded nicely with these Sesame street characters on the fence

Alyssa couldn't stop staring at the large Big Bird :) Off to the show

Enjoy!

We had 30 minutes to spare before the show, so we headed to the viewing area. The whales were performing above for the people who paid to Dine with Shamu. I wonder how much that cost? So we, the broke ones had to enjoy it from below

The kids were in awe

Alyssa was more excited than Christopher

At the Shamu show, we switched seats 4 times and ended up in the highest seat, all the way to the top. No one was behind us and the kids could stand on the seats and not block anyone. It was great. We only went to see Shamu, who I learned was a boy. Who knew? Not I. The baby whale that was so tiny the last time we visited is no longer a baby.

This was a shot before we started moving further away from the show. It's a lovely set up isn't it?

Look, you can see his eye! Aren't these creatures beautiful?

Then the jumping began




Then the splashing.

I have to tell you, every time we go there, the people who are unfamiliar with the amount of water that these whales throw at you always get up and go to higher ground. Some of them almost mad about it. It doesn't matter that the announcer guy comes on over the loud speaker before the show begins and warns them, repeatedly. Maybe they didn't believe him? Even with the warning signs posted at the beginning of the rows of the "Soak Zone" seats!

Then they waved goodbye with their tails

Once we were there and we sat in the soak zone. The one and only time because my kids got so sick a few days later. Anyway, there was a lady with an itty-bitty baby in a carrier(car seat) sitting right next to me. Everyone around her looked puzzled. Why would she sit there? Well you know where this is heading. The first splash sent her running up the stairs after she grabbed up her baby who got soaked in the seat. Can you say stupid?

More splashing to end the show

They sure looked like they were having fun


Then a bow of course

Happy Birthday to my 2 favorite guys

My handsome 1st born

I cannot believe 4 years have passed already

Thursday was the husband's birthday and Saturday was boy's. We didn't have a bash or anything, just a small family thing. Just the 4 1/4 of us.

I have to tell you something. I am not sure what to make of my husband. Tell me what you think. Last year for Alyssa's 2nd birthday we had to buy both of them presents and this year was no different.

My husband's reasoning? And I quote, "we have to get Alyssa something too. Just something small otherwise she will feel left out"

Look at his face when he saw the slice of cake with candles

I don't remember me getting any present on my brother's birthday because it was his and not mine! So she got ended up getting a small Monster truck and a pink Hot wheels car. She loves hot wheels.

Look at that greedy man stealing the boy's cake...just kidding. Christopher actually doesn't like cake. Notice how bare his fork is.

He went along with the whole thing for a quick second, took up a big fork-full of cake and icing (in the 2nd photo) said "mmmmmm" then announced he was done.

From Grandma in NY

His auntie got him an addition to this set of Lincoln Logs. Do you remember those? Fun, fun, fun!

We built this 1st one together, him and I then he built this other one by himself. Crooked, yes, but he was super pleased and proud of what he had done and so was I.

The real birthday present for the boys has not been received as of yet. We are heading to Disneyland again. This ought to be fun and I think the husband is more excited that Christopher. I just hope all is in good health unlike the last time.

This is how our conversations go daily:

ME : Christopher what do you want to do after breakfast?
CHRISTOPHER : I'll make waffles for me and Lyssa then we could go to DISNEYLAND and he screams that word so loudly.

*sigh*

Can I brag for a minute?

I am so proud of him. Since some most mornings I manage to drag myself downstairs before they get up, I hear him tell Alyssa while they're still on the stairs, Shhhhh you have to be quiet mommy is relaxing. Then he goes to the kitchen puts up the gate, goes in the freezer, gets the waffles and toasts them.

He makes 4. 3 for him 1 for Alyssa, then gets water for them both sometimes juice. He goes into the dishwasher for one of her cups with a straw. He doesn't even make a mess with the water. When they are finished, he says, "come on Lyssa let's go upstairs to play in the toy room".

I get an extra 1 1/2 hrs of rest. What will I do without my baby Christopher? I love him so much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!