a little bit of everything

the red ring of death

I don't know if I should be sad for him or happy for myself (just kidding) that Charles' Xbox 360 has gone kaput.  If you aren't familiar with the Xbox ring, usually, it's is  green, but when it goes to red, trouble is a brewin'.  His beloved game console decided it's time was done... not before he was able to log at least 1 day and 17 hours (not in one straight sitting, total game time which is still ALOT) playing Call of Duty 4. 

Talk about dedication, as soon as his Xbox died, Charles went straight downstairs to look for his warranty and then got on the phone with Microsoft customer service.  If only I could get him to do the things I asked with that kind of quickness!  After going through whatever needed to be done to try to reset it, looks like he is going to have to send out his Xbox and get a new one due to what customer service guy called a "hardware failure".

Now what should I do with the time I'll have with my husband back... :) 

the december round-up

Post coming soon...

I just haven't had the motivation to blog lately (which I am sure is obvious if you check my blog regularly).  Am hoping to add some pics taken in the month of December over the next couple of days. 

Hope everyone enjoyed Christmas and Happy New Year!

skating school... a video!

Yesterday, Collin had his 5th ice skating lesson at our local ice rink.  He has two more weeks to go in the Baby Blades class.  Usually, I come along and watch the lesson but yesterday, I decided to stay home to be productive.   With my productive time, I ended up taking a nap with Cayla... not so productive afterall.  Anyway, I told Charles to bring my little camera along and he used it to take some video of Collin's lesson.  Collin is making progress every week.  I'm so glad that we found an activity that he is really into.

*Sorry the the video is cut off a little on the right side, this is my 1st video upload on my blog and I don't really know how to make it any more narrow.*

two shots and NO CRYING?!?!

Cayla had her 18 month check-up today... let me fast forward to the end of her appointment, when the nurse comes in with the vaccines drawn up.  Cayla is totally fine and I am thinking that she still doesn't realize what is about to happen.  So I get her on my lap, in the shots position (me bear hugging her with her hands in my hands and her free leg - the one not getting the shot - between my knees).  The nurse gets ready and tells me to get ready because the first shot she is getting, DTaP stings a little.  I look away because I can't watch (I can't even watch myself get shots).  The nurse gives the shot... not a peep, complaint, whine, cry or even a sound from Cayla!  She just watches the whole thing and is totally fine!!!  When the nurse is done, she looks at me and says "wow... ok then"... we were both surprised!  So time for the 2nd shot in her other leg... chicken pox vaccine.  The same thing happens, shot goes in and comes out... not a complaint at all!  If I didn't see the needle pricks with the tiny bit of blood coming out, I would have never believed she gave her the shots!  Thinking back, she didn't cry when she got a shot at 15 months either, but it was one shot so I figured it was a fluke.

I often say that I can already see the differences in my kids and their reactions to things.  Being at the doctors office is one of those things.  When Collin was a year old, he would start crying once we got into the exam room and took off his clothes just to weigh him.  He has total white coat phobia and Cayla couldn't care at all.  Where she gets the "sure bring on the shots, they won't phase me" gene defiantely did not come from me!

Her 18 month check-up was good.  She currently weighs 21 lbs (15th %tile) and is 31 inches long (50th %tile).  She has dropped in the curve in both areas but her pediatrician says he isn't worried about it at this point because she has had some growth.  She should have 10 words and she has about 15 or so.  I was worried because the words aren't always clear (like "mao" for meow or "meh" for milk) but her ped says it's fine for now.  She still doesn't know many body parts (knows nose and sometimes ears) and I wasn't sure if she could stack blocks so we'll be working on that...

I know I've said before that I'm glad that I changed pediatricians offices earlier this year.  Today, they were short with nurses so Dr. Jim, her pediatrician, came out to the waiting room and called us in.  He did all the stuff that the nurse would normally do before you even see the doctor and didn't seem annoyed or too good to do it (their old ped would have never done that if the staff was behind).  And another cool little thing... Cayla's doctor was on the Dr. Phil show on Thursday.  They had signs around the office to watch Dr. Jim on the Dr. Phil show and they made sure they said that he was giving advice, not getting it.  :)

No pictures from the appointment because I forgot my camera.  I also forgot to bring Cayla's yellow immunization card (had it on the table ready to go too).  But just so I have a picture in this post, this is a picture from after her appointment.  I gave her a chocolate covered pretzel when we got home as a reward for her good behavior at her check-up.  I don't think she ate much of the chocolate.

(photo to be uploaded soon!)

happy thanksgiving!

Hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving... we sure did.  I started off my day watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with Collin and Cayla.  I grew up watching the parade on tv and it was nice to spend a few hours this morning sharing the tradition with my kids.  Collin enjoyed it and Cayla cracked me up because she was soooo into it... waving to the people and balloons on tv, getting excited over the ones she recognized and dancing along.  Once Charles woke up (actually, I kinda woke him up), we had our Thanksgiving morning tradition of going through the plethora of black Friday ads.  To our surprise, there wasn't really anything that screamed out wake up at 4am and start doorbuster shopping.  We will probably still do some shopping tomorrow but not at the crack of dawn.

We spent the day at my parents house.  I am thankful that they are here in the US this Thanksgiving and not in the Philippines like last year because I didn't have to worry about cooking a turkey and the rest of the fixings (although we did bring cranberry sauce).  Dinner was delicious with lots of leftovers from the huge 20 pounder so we will be set on meals for the next couple of days. 

Although Collin has been bringing up turkeys and thanksgiving, he wasn't too interested in the meal itself.  My picky eater pretty much just ate cresent rolls with cream cheese (my favorite, wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it staple) and rice with a little gravy.  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.  Cayla on the other hand ate everything!  Turkey, rice, stuffing galore.  Everyone was impressed with the little eater who even tried to help her granddad carve the turkey!

Time to watch Grey's on tivo with Charles now that they kids are asleep... lots to be thankful for today!

The pictures below were taken this afternoon.  We went to the little pocket park by my parents house to take some pictures of the kids.  Cayla enjoyed playing in the leaves and Collin, true to form, wanted nothing to do with being in front of my camera.  I"m happy I passed the camera over to Charles and got a picture with the kids... I don't do it enough and definately need to get myself in front of the camera more often. :)

   

 

baby blades

If you read my blog regularly, you know how much Collin LOVES hockey.  Aside from watching Ducks games, he loves to play at home too.  He was in heaven last month when he got the chance to ice skate for the 1st time on the Ducks home ice at the Honda Center.  The last two weeks, Charles has been taking Collin ice skating at the local ice skating rink and we decided to enroll Collin in ice skating class!

Today was his 1st class... he is in the Baby Blades class... for toddlers ages 2.5 to 3.5.  The class is 30 minutes long.  The classes actually started a few weeks ago but they are going to give us make up sessions this week and next to get him caught up.  He did very well today considering he missed the first two weeks.  Today, he practiced standing on ice by himself, the kids walked/marched (not actually skate-skating yet), the learned how to get up from the ice (in case they fall), and they also did an exercise where they practiced moving their skates in and out over these little ball things (I think it was to learn to manuver their feet but I'm not sure).  Collin did really really well.  He listened to his teachers and did everything they asked.  He played all the games and really gave it 100% effort.  We weren't sure how he'd be around new teachers but he did great!

Here are two more pictures I took during his 1st class today.  See his skates... they had to go over the squishy ball, then put their feet together and point their toes once they went passed it.  He's skating by himself here... no one is holding on (but she is close by). :)

   

a happy half birthday

Today, Cayla celebrated her half birthday... she is 18 months old!  We actually never planned to celebrate the half birthday until we had Collin.  His half birthday falls on our wedding anniversary and since Collin was born, we've always done something as a family on our anniversary.  I just decided to add in his half birthday to our celebration.  Cayla's half birthday doesn't fall on any significant date so to be sure that she doesn't feel left out, I guess we're making a tradition to celebrate her half birthday too!

First, here are a few pictures of the little miss taken this afternoon.

What can I say about Cayla now that she is a year and a half old...

- I think we are starting the terrible twos... wow, is this kid opinionated.  It's hard to hold your ground when sometimes it seems so much easier to give in, but we're doing well so far... I hope.
- She likes to pick out what she is going to wear and loves clothes and shoes.  I tried to put on her pink tennis shoes today but no, she wanted to wear her new green shoes and there was no changing her mind.
- Says "no way" (for no), "yah" (for yes), "meh" for Mickey Mouse and milk, "Mama", "Da", "Bir" (bird), "mao" (short for meow - cat), "was-sa" (what's that), "daann" (for all done, with her all done sign), "hi" and "bye", "hwoh" (for hello when she answers her play telephone)... I think there might be a couple more but they aren't coming to mind right now
- Has gone potty in the little toilet a few times.  Nothing consistant.  She likes to sit on the little potty and if you give her toilet paper, she wipes (must be all the potty training of big brother that she's witnessed the past few months)
- Likes watching tv... she's happy with whatever Collin wants to watch.  She still loves the Wiggles and likes Yo Gabba Gabba, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Blues Clues.  Sometimes if the tv is off, she'll bring me the remote to turn it on... yikes, I know that's bad (but it's still a little cute right)
- Still fits in 12-18 month clothes.  Size 5 shoes but outgrowing them quickly.
- Not really a fan of hairclips or anything in her hair.
- Loves to scribble on paper... gotta hide the pens because she will write on anything.
- Eats almost everything... including veggies on good days. 

Our plan was to spend the day at Disneyland since they just started their holiday fesitivities.  Unfortunately, I woke up in the morning with a really bad migrane that just didn't want to go away.  After medicine, food, caffeine, a nap, more medicine and another nap, I finally felt a little better and we still went to Disneyland, but instead, just for a few hours in the evening.  We had a pretty productive four hours there.  We watched the Christmas Fantasy parade first.  We almost missed it (we got in the park right as it was starting).  Usually, we'll sit on the curb and wait so that we get good seats but since we were late, we had to stand with the kids on our shoulders.  Cayla was cute because she gets so excited and waves to all the characters.  I couldn't see her since she was on my shoulders, but I felt her moving (most likely waving) and I heard her say "meh... meh" as soon as she saw Mickey Mouse ("meh" is Mickey).  After the parade, we rode on Small World Holiday.  It really got me in the Christmas spirit although I kinda felt like I was cheating on Thanksgiving since I was feeling Christmasy and Thanksgiving hasn't even passed yet.  We also rode on Winnie and Pooh and the Disney Railroad before finding a spot for the Christmas Magic fireworks show.  They added lights to the castle this year to give it the appearance of snow.... so pretty.  And after the fireworks show, it started snowing!  Ah, gotta love the Disney magic!  I wish I had my camera out because the kids were in awe of the snow falling... big happy smiles and hands outstrecthed trying to catch the snow.   Can't wait until we can go again... this time after Thanksgiving.   

bye bye loft, hello playroom!

New and improved!

So you might remember, a few posts ago, I talked about how I was feeling really overwhelmed by all the stuff  in the house and wanted to start to get organized and declutter everything, particularly the toys.  Well, I'm happy to report that I've made progress and here is the new and improved kids playroom.  Unfortuantly, I don't have any "before" pictures but basically, my only toy storage then was a toy box and the train table.  I pretty much had stuff inside and on top of the toy box, and on top of and underneath the train table, with the rest of the toys in the kid's closets.  I really needed a better solution because alot of the toys were unaccessable or if they were accessible, there really wasn't a place to play with them.  I also wanted to have the majority of the toys, especially the unisex ones, in a common area.

So what's different now?  The best thing we did for the space was get some shelving... wow, what a difference that made!  We ended up getting two bookcases (Lack and the smallest Expedit) and two wall shelves (both Lack) from Ikea. We moved the love seat so it is now against the railing and moved the kids kitchen to where the couch used to be (the kitchen used to be right under the window between the tv and the old toy chest, which is now in my scrapbook room until I figure out it's permanent location).

For the most part, I'm happy with how it came out.  I am really glad that everything has a home.   Spent good money on all those toys so I just want them to get their share of loving!  I wish there was room to put all the toys in the playroom but as of now, Collin and Cayla still have certain toys in their own rooms.  The other thing I'm not completely thrilled about is the new location of the couch.  While the couch is perfect where it is now (for tv viewing), it's back is to the loft railing and below that railing is the stairs.  It will be ok so long as the kids don't climb on the back of the couch...   so far they have been pretty good and we've had the room set up for two weeks now.      

And aside from the loft, I'm making progress in organizing/decluttering other areas in the house.  Went through my linen closet and the laundry room.  I also got all the clothes that no longer fit out of Collin's closet.  Cayla's closet will be my next project which I hope to start on Monday.  So my plan of doing a little here and a little there, a room or so a week, is acutally working out well so far.  Probably won't have the whole house done by mid-December but I'm ok with that as long as I am making progress. :)

Here are a few pictures of the kids I took last night... playing in the new and improved playroom.  We set up Collin's Thomas the Train set... it hasn't been played with in awhile so it has new toy appeal again.  I took these pictures using my external flash.  I don't use it as often as I should (and I should use it because I have it).

Side note: I had to include the last picture because I snapped it just as Collin realized that Cayla had taken his Thomas train (see it in her hand)... he covers his face with his hands when he's about to get upset.  Guess this is one of those glad I got it on film pics, even if it's not a happy circumstance. :) 

just the two of us

It's always nice when the two of us have the opportunity to go out together sans the kiddos.   Today we had a fun afternoon date... we went to see Cirque du Soleil's Corteo.  They are currently preforming in their grand chapiteau at the OC Fairgrounds. 

Charles bought our Corteo tickets a really long time ago (at least six months, but I think longer) and because he bought them so early, we had excellent seats.  Actually, maybe our seats were a little too good.  We were in row AA (which the the very 1st row right up against the stage) and we were smack in the center, with the staircase from the audience to the stage right next to me.  I knew we were sitting close but I didn't realize it was that close.   I was actually a little nervous before the show started because I didn't want to get picked out of the audience to participate in their preshow.  Not that I'm not fun, but if I'm going to do something in front of an audience, it's going to be because I want to. :)   I actually wanted to switch seats with Charles because I was on the aisle but he didn't want to get picked either.  Luckily for me, they pulled other people out of the crowd... phew.

As far as the show goes, I really liked it.  The story is about the funeral of a clown and I thought the acts really told the story well (I actually understood the story this time as opposed to just enjoying the "circus" acts).  Charles and I are always so impressed with the performers agility and grace.  Corteo was the 5th Cirque du Soleil show that Charles and I have been too.  We almost decided against getting tickets to the show figuring we had seen it (or something very similar) already but I am so glad we decided to go.  We had a great time and the show was different.  If you like Cirque du Soleil and are in OC, try to get tickets!

I'll end with a picture of us since pictures of just the two of us are pretty rare!  Thanks to the teenager with her mom who took it for us!  We really need to do date nights (or afternoons) more often! 

happy halloween!

happy halloween...

from our heroic firefighter

and our little witch!

The kids both really enjoyed Hal loween this year.  We went trick or treating with our next door neighbors (their daughter is a year older than Collin) and went to the four streets in our neighborhood.  Only about half (or maybe even less than that) of the houses had their lights on but the kids still got a good amount of candy.  When we got home, I asked Collin if he had fun trick or treating and he told me that he had a great time.

Collin did much better this year at trick or treating.  He would run up to the door with Brenna and say "trick or treat" but very quietly.  Then with a reminder, he would say "thank you".  This is huge because Collin usually doesn't talk at all to unfamiliar people (and sometimes he won't talk to familiar people).  I guess when given candy the rules can be broken.  Last year, when we went trick or treating, whenever people would give him the option to choose candy or pick something, he wouldn't (he was so timid and shy) but this year, he picked what he wanted all by himself!

And Cayla.... wow, it really amazes me how different she is from Collin.  This was her first time trick or treating and she loved it.  Maybe it's because she was hanging with the big kids but she had no problem walking up to the doors and waiting with the kids.  She'd hold up her bucket and collect her candy.  I was nervous she'd try to walk in to a house but she never did... she only needed reminders when it was time to walk away from the porch.  Whenever there was a bowl to pick from, she'd pick her candy... no problem.  If she had a choice, she knew what she wanted (she even tried to grab a handful of lollipops at one house but of course I made her put them back and just pick one).  She even walked a good chunk of the way, dragging her poor bucket along the ground when it got too heavy... so cute.

So I don't forget, I have to blog a little about their costumes.  First off... Collin.  Found it at www.oldnavy.com.  Don't think the stores even carried it.  It came with the jacket, pants, and hat... made out of performance fleece... nice, warm, and comfy!  When I got the costume in late September, it was on sale for under $16.  Score!  And to add to his costume, I found the coolest fire fighter rain boots that match perfectly (not pictured above but I do have a picture) at Nordstrom.  And Cayla... her witch costume is from Gymboree... purchased in the store in September which I actually thought was early.  Picked up the dress and hat first... then decided I had to have the tights and the gold shoes.  Found the shoes after calling three stores (they were at South Coast), but the tights... the were sold out everywhere.  I called every Gymboree within an hour plus drive of home and no one had them.  So I resorted to ebay where they had just one listed, for $16 ($18 with shipping)... I had to have them so ebay it was.  Since $16 was just a few dollars over the retail price, I didn't think much of it until I talked to a few friends who are moms and thought I was nuts for spending so much on tights!  I didn't hit me how nuts I was until I realized that Cayla's tights alone cost me more than Collin's costume did!  But the tights make her costume right?  :) It was worth it... she wore them to four Halloween events we went to this year and I'll probably have her wear them to a Ducks game since they are orange and black (Duck's colors).

On Monday, Cayla and I went to a Halloween party at Gymboree Play and Music and that evening, the whole family went to Mickey's Halloween Treat at Disney's CA Adventures.  I have lots of pictures from the two events, plus our pumpkins, Halloween crafts that I've been wanting to share but never got around to... I will make another post and include those pictures hopefully tomorrow.

I'll end this with a picture of this guy.  If I don't include him, he'll probably ask me why so here he is... Jack Skellington.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!