Disneyland Weekend!!

It’s the weekend I have been looking forward to!! Dylan’s Disneyland Birthday Weekend!!! We brought Dylan & his best friend, and we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. My best friend Jennifer met us out there with her mom & her kids, too. It was an AMAZING weekend!!

We started Saturday morning, EARLY, and we let Dylan open a couple of his presents before we left.





This is the view from our room.








Dylan's birthday hats...







And a few more pics from our day...



















Dylan was so brave today, too! Usually he is a little scared to go on all the rides, but not today! I went on Space Mountain with him, and halfway through the ride I asked him if he was ok, and he yelled "I'm GREAT!!". He also LOVED the Matterhorn!


The next day was Mother's Day. My first Mothers Day as a mother of 2. I feel like the luckiest mom ever, and also the luckiest wife!! This is what was delivered...right to our hotel room!! My husband is so thoughtful!!




We had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. It's a character buffet, which the kids loved. What other chance do you get to have chicken nuggets, waffles, jello and mac'n'cheese all in the same meal?


Goofy tried to help make Maddie stop crying...




Dale chipped in, too...




Dylan did the twist with Goofy...




Dale & Dylan compared muscles...




And Goofy sang Dylan Happy Birthday!






Next stop...CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!!

Check out Maddie's cute outfit!!






We had a great day, but I think the boys started to get sick of each other...there was a lot of bickering. We took them on Tower of Terror, and it didn't go so well either. Dylan was already scared to go on, but he did it anyway, and when I looked over during the ride, he was crying. He was so scared. He said "My butt was flying and I thought I was upside down!!". When Aidan saw him crying, he started crying, too. Poor kids.
Anyway, it was fun, but we all were SO ready to go. I loved taking both kids, but it will be a long time before I do it for an entire weekend again!

Here are some pics!

I never let Dylan jump on his bed at home, but it's kind of a tradition that he gets to jump on the bed at the hotel.



This was one of the few moments I was able to get all the kids to sit still.











xoxo

Tuesday, May 5th

Just a couple pics of the cutest baby ever, in her first little summer outfit!
There's many more where this came from! (Pics and outfits, that is!)











xoxo

Thursday April 30th – Saturday May 2nd

Finally a little getaway! We left Thursday morning and drove up to Monterey, where we met my Dad, Trish, Aunt Debbie and Grandma Becky. We stayed close to the ocean, and it didn’t matter where you stood, it was beautiful!! We spent Friday checking out all the coves & beaches. Would you believe I forgot to charge my camera battery?! Of course I would do this when I am in one of the most beautiful places ever!! Anyway, Dylan loved exploring the tide pools, and we went for a walk around the coves and saw mama seals and their pups laying all over the beach. This is the one picture I managed to take before the camera died.





This doesn't even begin to describe how pretty it was, but it's all I got!

xoxo

Blogging Before Bed!

My Mom got into town today for a visit! We don't get to see her enough, so it's always nice to see her...I think she was mostly missing her Grandbabies.

Granddad picked Dylan up from school today & they went to play golf. Apparently this is going to become a weekly thing. Awh, bonding time!

And since Grandma is in town, she offered to babysit the kids so that Cody & I could have a date night. Thus, giving her more time with them. Of course we took her up on this! We went to Babies R Us & bought *very necessary* baby stuff, and Cody picked out some of the cutest outfits I have ever seen! I had no idea he had such good taste in girlie-baby-clothes! After this, we went to a great little Italian restaurant, where Cody made sure he had a perfect view of the TV behind the bar so that he could watch the Laker/Rocket game. How romantic, I know. Haha. It was a great night, but I still couldn't wait to get home to my babies.

A Carmel & Monterey Weekend!

I finally had a mini-vacation!! My step-mom Trish has been planning this trip for my Dad’s 50th birthday for a while now. He has always wanted to play golf at Pebble Beach in Carmel. So we met them up there for a few days after, and had the best time ever!! My Grandma Becky & Aunt Debbie also went out there, so it was nice to have everyone together.
On Friday, we went to the tidepools. Dylan, Cody & my Dad had a great time exploring for creatures. Apparently this is baby season for the seals, because all the coves were roped off. Mama & baby pups need their privacy! We did catch a little peek though, from the road, and it was the cutest thing ever! There was a mama and baby on the sand, nursing, and just relaxing in the sun. Beautiful!
All in all, it was a great mini-vaca. And much needed. I’m glad I got to spend some time with my family, and I wish I got to see them more!! I would have had a million great pictures, but my camera battery died! Grrr...
Now we’re back home, and it’s a busy week! It’s teacher appreciation week at school, so we are working on some gifts for our favorite teachers. We also have a t-ball practice and I have to get us all ready for Dylan’s birthday weekend at Disneyland!! So excited!! Hope everyone has a great week!

What a day!

Today felt like the longest day ever! It started with me waking up after not getting enough sleep. My daughter is a party animal at night!

We had a 9:00 t-ball game to go to, and it was our turn to bring snacks, so we were very rushed, but we made it! It was a great game, and Dylan really tried his hardest out there!

After the game, we went home so that Cody wouldn't miss any of the draft. Yes, I said "The Draft". You see, this day is like Christmas to Cody. I don't get it. I don't think I ever will. Ha! I left him there with both kids while I went to get my hair done finally! It's been a long time, and it was so nice to have some "Mommy Time". My hair looks great...pictures to come.

After this, I rushed home to pick up Dylan for our Mommy/Dylan date. We met up with Sonia at the movies & we saw "Earth". It was so cute, I absolutely loved it. We saw Dylan's teacher there with her family, and I think that was his favorite part. She's a pretty great teacher.

When we got home, Dylan's dad picked him up for the night, and Cody & I watched movies and cuddled walked around the house with Maddie, who didn't want to be put down. She didn't even want us to sit down while we were holding her.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

xoxo

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

I love today. I started my day with a manicure & pedicure. To most this is no big deal. To me, any time pampering myself is pure bliss. I’m usually the pamperer, not the pamperee.
When I got home, our air conditioner was fixed. It felt SO good!!!
Dylan had another t-ball game tonight, and Grandma Sonia came to watch. It was fun, of course!
Then we went to dinner at Bob’s…..yummy…..
And on our way home, we saw this sign.






Hmm…not sure what to say about this. I’d love to hear comments & interpretations!

Also, keeping to our monthly pics, Maddie's 3 month birthday was a few days ago...here's the latest in the series!






Love! xoxo

Tuesday April 21st, 2009

It’s another hot one here! Our air conditioner is broken, and of course apparently so is everyone else’s because the repair people can’t be here till tomorrow. Alas, we are all huddled together underneath the one ceiling fan we have. Yikes.

On a more positive note for the day, my new Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag came in the mail today!! This may not be exciting to you, but there is a story behind this whole thing. And it starts with me explaining that to me, a diaper bag is like a good purse. A good, designer purse. When I was pregnant, I bought myself what I thought was the perfect diaper bag. My perfectly pink Juicy Couture. Yep, LOVE it. Problem is, it’s totally impractical. It’s huge, and doesn’t fit well in the basket underneath the stroller. So this new one does the most amazing thing….it clips on the stroller handle!!! Clearly I realize this means nothing to you, but to me, this is big.





And here is some random cuteness for you!!
















xoxoxo

April 20th, 2009...Part 2

Monday, April 20th, 2009…Part 2

Is it summer already? It was 102 today…and my air conditioning needs repairing. Soooo, after I picked Dylan up from school, I decided we needed to go somewhere to cool off. And what better place to do that, but the mall! Dylan has recently grown out or ruined all his clothes anyway, so he needs new ones. So we went and walked around the mall, and shopped! He got new shorts, and shirts and shoes. It was a good day! I got my fix, and Dylan got some new clothes!

Monday, April 20th, 2009

I said goodbye to an old friend today. The friendship was pretty strained for a little while now, and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I’m too old and I have too much going on, to put up with friends that aren’t good for me. I really think the reason that we can’t be friends anymore is because our lives are going in different directions. I am a stay-at-home mom, which means just that…I stay at home. She is always out-and-about, still having fun drinking & partying. Therefore…she now hangs out with other people who do that, too. I told her about how I felt, and she gave me no.response.whatsoever. I guess she felt our friendship wasn’t worth it. Yes, it’s sad, but everyone knows I’m a tough cookie, and I know what’s good for me, and after I finish this blog entry, I’m letting it all go. Besides, I know I still have you…whoever you are reading this right now.

Xoxo

Saturday, April 18, 2009

We started out this hot Saturday afternoon at Dylan’s T-ball game. His team is the Giants, and I love to go to their games…they are all so cute. They don’t keep score, but I’m sure they won. ;) They were awesome.





After that, we spent the rest of the day, and night, visiting! We visited the Lockes, and then we went out to visit Deedra. We had a great day talking & just being with ones we love!


Oh yea, I almost forgot to mention, our little Lou had quite an eventful day, too…he went to the groomers!

Tuesday, April 14th

Dylan's school had a field trip for all the first graders today, and I got to chaperone! We went to Pasadena and watched a play called "If you give a pig a pancake". There were hundreds of kids there, and it seemed like they all had a great time!

While we were gone, Cody & Maddie did some Daddy-Daughter bonding. Poor Cody works so much, he doesn't get too many chances to just hang out with his new daughter. Now he and the kids are going to watch Bolt while I go do my chores!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!
xoxo

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Holiday!! We definitely did!

We started off our day early hunting for the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid all around our house. Dylan spent the next hour or so playing with the toys from his Easter basket. He even helped Maddie check out what was in her basket.

Then we went to my grandparents house, had another Easter egg hunt in her backyard with Dylan's cousins, then had the most amazing dinner ever!!

A good day was had by all!!

School Project

Before our trip to the aquarium, and what gave me the idea to take him there again, Dylan had a school project. The kids were supposed to pick any animal they want, and make a diorama of their habitat. Dylan picked the shark. We had so much fun painting the shoebox & putting it all together, and Dylan loves his finished product!!

Sharks and Jellyfish and Sea Lions, Oh My!!

Last Saturday (Yes I know I am a late blogger) we went to the Aquarium Of The Pacific in Long Beach. Dylan & I have been there, it was Cody and Maddie's first time. Cody has been wanting to go for a while. Dylan was the perfect tour guide! He really is so smart...and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom. He has been studying sea life in school and his latest school project was a shark diorama. I'll post a picture of that later. He can tell you so much about all the water animals there, I think me & Cody learned a thing or two from him.




















After we left the aquarium we decided to walk around Shoreline Village & Rainbow Marina. I loved it...it is so beautiful there!











Our day wouldn't have been complete if we didn't stop and try on hats.










Dylan was so entranced with the Queen Mary, he kept saying "Let's go see the Queen Marie", so I think that will be our next field trip.

And here are some cute pictures of Maddie that we took while we were out!

Maddie Meets the Easter Bunny!

During a recent trip to the mall we had the chance to formally introduce Maddie to the Easter Bunny! We were SO excited to have her picture taken with Bunny, and Dylan wanted NOTHING to do with it. He says, "I'm almost 7 now"....luckily, being "Mom" entitles me to make him do it anyway.




As we were walking around, Dylan spotted a photo booth and decided this was his idea of a photo op!






Love you all! xoxo

A Beautiful Day!!

I spent this morning trying to pull off a cool April Fool’s Day prank on my husband. The problem with that was that Dylan told him all about it on the way to school!!! That child cannot keep a secret!!!

Cody can’t stand the feel of cotton balls. It creeps him out. I know, weird, right? So I decided to be funny and help him face his fears at the same time. I stuffed cotton balls into his shoes, taped cotton balls to the toothpaste and to the handle of his toothbrush, and I put cotton balls on top of all his Mountain Dews in the fridge. I thought it was hilarious! And since he already knew, I didn’t quite get the reaction I was hoping for, but he was a good sport…as he always is.

Cody planned a little outing for me today. He thought I deserved a couple of hours away from kid-stuff and mom-stuff. And what better place to unwind than on horseback?! It was so beautiful outside. I rode through Griffith Park up to Amir’s Garden, which is a little spot on the top of the mountain that overlooks EVERYTHING and is surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants. I had a wonderful time, and appreciate my wonderful guy for being so thoughtful!!

After this, we picked Dylan up from school & went to his bookfair. I loved the bookfair when I was in school, and still do. So while Cody sat with Madison, and Dylan ran around the school library with his best friend, I perused every single shelf and table. I found some great stuff for Dylan AND for Madison, for our nightly story time!

That pretty much wraps up our day, so I’ll end with a few pictures that I’ve taken of the kids in the past week.