Disneyland Day 4- The Middles

Suprise suprise the pictures are once again not in order.

This part of the day was officially after nap but before the wedding. Confusing much? Yeah, we'll just call it the middle. We were supposed to meet Grammi at 2 pm back at the park but the girls were still asleep so Grammi came to us at the hotel. Then we all walked back to the park and road the train. Let me tell you that the train which stops for people to load and unload and you just sit on and wait is Anyah's personal version of hell. I sang, I bounced, I fed, I begged, I pleaded, I provided her with toys... and two stops later we were off because GOD LORDY that girl can scream. No more train for her dang it. I road Autotopia with Layla and by the time we got off it Anyah had eatten a little popcorn with Grammi and went right back to sleep so Grammi took Anyah back to the hotel for some quiet time and bath (I think she was just over stimulated) and Layla and I went off to face her fears. Err... I mean ride a ride. Layla was freaked out by "flying" rides like Dumbo and the Astro Orbitors but after a ride on the tea cups (again) I talked her into riding Dumbo with the disclaimer that she would not at any time have to go up or down because there was a button and she could push it. She freaked out the whole 15 minutes in line (clinging to my leg and what not) and then of course as soon as the ride took off she immediately hit the button (over and over and over) and then RAN to the Astro Orbitor (which we rode twice- once as high as she could and then once up and down so much I thought I'd hurl). Then I had to go back to get ready for the wedding and she got to go play with Grammi and her new bubble blaster gun.

And for the record, confronting your fears ROCKS!! I am so proud of her. If you ask her right now what her favorite part of Disneyland is she will always say Dumbo and the up down rockets. She was so proud of herself and it's now what she wants to do first next time.

We've Been Busy Since Easter

We've gone for walks, except for the last time (when we drove), to LuLu's for ice cream, french fries and hamburgers...

We volunteered at the March for Dimes event in Modesto and Jon and Layla completed the Walk for Babies which was just over 4 miles long while Anyah and I gave out Non-profit information.

We've done A LOT of playing outside, taking full advantage of tricycles, scooters, sand boxes and most recently, the new water toy from Jen. The girls are a little scared with it turned on all the way but love playing with it like this...

Plus these two Easter Cuties are enjoying playing with their basket goodies and the wonderful gifts Anyah got for her FIRST birthday. I have a lot to talk about but sadly, I worked 8 nights in a row last week and my house looks like something out of a hoarder's TV show. So first, let me do some dishes, laundry and toy pick up and hopefully after that I'll meet you all back here with a full pepsi with ice and we'll get around to talking about things and stuff...

Moving on Up

This would be a bullet point blog with lots of randomness stuck in it but I haven't figured out how to do bullet points on my phone so we'll see what happens. It might just be a whole lot of random...

Next Sunday I am getting Baptised. Baptism requires a bathing suit so I went and got one. It's 2 sizes smaller than the last one that I bought. Despite this fact my confidence took a huge blow because I still look like a giant stuffed sausage. Good thing this suit will be under my clothing, otherwise the "sausage saved by Jesus" look better become cool quickly.

Getting ready to move to me means "HELLO CRAP PURGING". So, I have packed exactly 1 closet but I have a full load of baby stuff headed off in 2 different directions and a box of baby clothing for the girl at work who takes Anyah's old stuff. Next up will be the great toy purge of 2011 and Jon will be painting bunk beds once we get our garage back from the pile of baby junk on it's way out. One.Room.At.A.Time. Right?

The week we move starts with a my co-worker's Annual picnic, then my birthday, dinner with friends (twice) and then the big MOVE and it ends with Wrestlemania at a friends house (mmm appetizers and inappropriate mocking). Then I work a week and have a weekend off which I am hoping involves a lot of time in my pajamas.

The weekend after that is the Asparagus Festival in Stockton which I would LOVE to go to. It's also an Apologetics event at Monte Vista Chapel and most importantly... ANYAH'S BIRTHDAY PARTY (whoot whoot)!! I moved her party up a week from her birthday because her actual birthday is Good Friday and everyone will be booked Easter weekend.

Speaking of Easter weekend, if you have nothing to do, we'll be having some BBQ or Ham or something at our house around 11. The kids will wear cute things and hunt plastic eggs filled with candy and real eggs died unevenly in our new backyard. Fun times.

Somewhere in this mess I need to schedule Anyah's 1st birthday pictures and some sibling pictures that never happened at Christmas time. I also need to finally get some pictures up on the girls photo blog and I'd really like to invest a small amount of time into getting my first pedicure of the season so I can buy some cute saltwater sandals to sport about this summer. But, don't hold your breath because it's getting busy around here and I have important things to do like keep Anyah from crawling upstairs when I am not looking because Layla lets her through the baby gates.

Speaking of which, gotta go, the play time in my living room is headed upstairs without me.

Here I Go Again

When 2011 started I thought to myself "well if you can blog once a week that will be awesome" because I have 2 kids and I work nights now and blogging isn't as easy as it used to be. Which is a shame because I really really like it. So I started off the New Year with a mini-goal and on the 2nd week of January... I didn't blog. Hey I'm nothing if not willing to totally bend the rules on account of LIFE HAPPENING. There is so much to update I don't know where to start. So I guess I'll start with me falling down the stairs.

The other day Mom took Layla (but later in the morning) and I stayed home with Anyah after Jon went to work and I had worked a whole night. Anyah was being unpleasant because she was teething and no one had slept. I went downstairs to get a bottle and fell down the stairs. This is the 6th time I've fallen down our stairs due to uncontrollable vertigo.

Jon and I have been looking for a place to live and we thought we had found the perfect place and the landlord seemed to really like us and he was going to run our credit and get back to us that day. Three days later he called to get our birthdays because he needed them to run our credit. Two days after that I haven't heard anything, I left a message yesterday and he never called me back... I'm gonna take that as a no and start looking for another place today.

In addition to my perils with the stairs, Anyah has managed to make it up the first 6 steps twice this week. Stair gates here we come.

Speaking of Anyah she's talking up a storm now. She still says "lay la la" (layla), and "mom mom" (mama), and "by a bye" (bye bye), and "crackah" (cracker), and "hey" (hi) but now she also says "da da da" (daddy), "bYYYb" (bite), and "ra na na" (banana). She crawls as fast as you can walk and she started pulling herself up on furniture last week which resulted in her first forehead bruise and easter egg bump but it hasn't slowed her in the least. She actually clapped when she fell down before she cried... silly baby.

This pulling up business has Layla in complete distress. After all, our response to the baby swiping her stuff was to put it up higher and now the baby is getting up higher, oh the drama. She does like the game where Anyah chases her back and forth between the kitchen and the living room though. Layla is going through an absorbing vocabulary phase and every phrase from Kipper, Diego, Backyardigans, Mommy, Daddy, Nannie, PopPop or Dora the Explorer is open game. "Swiper no Swiping!" is heard here many times a day.

Christmas toys, craft projects, lost socks and things only carried 2 feet inside the living room door litter my downstairs. But, instead of acknowledging the mess like I should and trying to concur it, yesterday I sprung the idea of going to the snow on Jon and we packed the girls up and headed to Pinecrest. Both girls loved the snow (which will be it's own post eventually-maybe) and we went to Knight's Ferry to eat at a 50's Roadside Diner I love before heading home. Because sometimes waiting for the phone to ring and cleaning up yet another mess seems overwhelming and you just need a road trip. It was time well spent, we are road trip people and it did wonders for all of our dispositions.

So now... it's back to the messes, and the attempts to move, and working at the J.O.B. That normal every day stuff we do to get to the parts we really like, the time with the family where Daddy drove us up over the hills and everyone had fun while Mommy took too many pictures.

Day 4

On day four of Daddy being M.I.A. Layla has decided there is something HORRIBLY wrong and that we might actually need to run around screaming "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE". Of course, she is three, so she can't articulate that sense of panick and no amount of Mommy reassuring her and letting her talk to a peaceful and happy daddy on the phone is fixing it.

Yesterday she bit me. Then for good measure she peed on me while crying "Daddy takes me a potty, no you, a Daddy, I no go till Daddy comes." (At that point we had 24 hours left)

Today she has tossled between whining, screaming at me, whining, crying, screaming in general and then rinse, recycle, repeat.

Lovely.

Terrible 2's have been gone for awhile. I am not handling the Oh.My.God. FREAKOUT phase well.

Please send reinforcements, tell them to bring chocolate mice, malibu rum, pepsi and more ice.

And if you can't do that... just pray that Jon's flight arrives on time and that he gets home safetly because at this rate his child will still be up at midnight crying "I NO GO NITE NITE WITH NO DADDY" because that was how nap went down and at this point... Mommy has given up trying to tame the wicked wild child that just misses and loves her Daddy too much.

After all...

I sorta feel the same way when he's gone too long.

Counter Gremlins

When this posts, I'll be cooking. I should start Wednesday morning with dough making, pie baking, side dish prepping and general clean up so that Thursday all I have to do is ...well...everything else. I love to cook, I actually look forward to these holiday meals more than you could possibly imagine.

The cooking bug...it's viral around here. Layla already has it and it doesn't matter if I am scrambling eggs or prepping for dinner guests... my little helper becomes a counter gremlin until I let her help. If I don't let her help she'll lay across the counter and watch me like I'm doing my own cooking show.

I usually let her help.

Anyah already loves to watch us cook and I know by this time next year I'll have two counter gremlins. Which I guess means that in a few years I won't have to peel my own potatoes anymore, gotta love that.

Plus, worse things could happen then spending time teaching your kids an awesome skill and bonding together... I mean she could like golf...*yuck*

On having your cake & eating it too

Anyah's first Chocolate Mouse

(a family favorite from Olde Thyme Pasteries here in Turlock)
Layla and Mommy made sprinkle cupcakes on Mommy's last day off before moving to the night shift

Around here I have the firm theory that you can't have it all but damn it you can sure try! I let the kids eat cake when they want it and you know what, they don't want it as much as one might think (at least not most of the time) because when you're allowed to have cake, it's good, but it's not *forbidden food of the God's* type of good.

Sometimes I feel like I am tanking the mommy ship. I feel like a complete and absolute failure at being Super Mom. But who doesn't right? I mean no one is super mom...and maybe someone out there is damn close but it's not gonna be me. At least not this week. But, dang it all, I am still going to TRY.

First week of night shifts officially almost sorta done (ok more like 2/3rds done because I started with 8 days in a row- stupid rotation). I'm not as tired as I expected and I seem to be doing ok with it. The girls don't really know I'm gone so they're doing well. Jon is having to cover for me while I sleep, that's tough on him, but he's growing... it's the growing pains we're not so fond of lately.

But it seems like an ok choice. I love the staff at nights, I love the work, I don't feel stressed and I'm getting better pay. But you can't have your cake and eat it too... or so they tell me so we're stretching thin on some things this week and I am hoping that all works out for the best soon.

Because I'd really like to try and get as close as I can to that next slice of cake.

Ta Da!

So I am getting ready for my second work day on the night shift...or work ngiht...oh well you know what I mean. I am remarkably awake both during the day and at night when I need to be so for that I am grateful. My wonderful husband picked up the slack today letting me nap whenever a baby was napping or a toddler was napping and entertaining whomever was left.

The thing I seem to be struggling with so far is that overwhelming tummy confusion that comes from having a lunch break at 4:30 am and then not knowing when the heck you're supposed to eat the rest of the day.

I loved being able to come home and snuggle my babies still in their toasty beds this morning and I enjoyed my cuddled naps and the time downstairs listening to Layla play using her imagination and watching Anyah roll herself towards things she's not supposed to have.

I think I might like this.

Yes.

I think I might.

...loading...adventure...loading...

Today was my last "day shift" at work for awhile... you know... like a year. I celebrated in true adult style...I bought a snack from the vending machine, gave myself hives, and had to take benadryl...not once...but twice in order to get the swelling in my head to go down. I eventually finished my shift, stumbled home and took an hour nap. Then Jon and I went to the grocery store, and got dinner (since I had a migraine)...now that the babies are in bed and the house is cool and quiet I feel a little better (or at least like I am not dying).



I have grand plans for tomorrow and the rest of my last weekend off for 4 weeks (also I work 8 days next week so that should be interesting). Plans like cleaning house, sorting baby laundry, hanging out in my pajamas, possibly walking to the park and letting the girls play in the grass and playground.



Jon's car died, so we've been down to one car for a few weeks now. It's a special kind of interesting juggling two opposite (yet overlapping) schedules. Tomorrow I won't have a car. Sometimes not having a car has perks, for instance, it's not like I can be expected to go somewhere this weekend with two kids and nothing to drive.



In other interesting points of note, I recently volunteered to work Thanksgiving and the day after. My shift is at 10 pm so it's not like that will muck up my turkey day plans and holiday pay is always pleasant, plus I'm the "new" girl so I think it probably looks nice. I've started gathering my Turkey Day supplies, I wish there was room in my freezer for a turkey because those are really inexpensive at Safeway this week.



Family pictures are scheduled for next week. The girls both need jackets. I can't find my tiny travel diaper bag. These are the things on my mind at 10:15 pm on a Friday night, this means I am officially a boring adult, right?

Layla has decided that she must verbally narrate every single thing that happens all day long. I feel like there is a sports commentator following me whereever I go. While I know that this is a stage in development, it is officially driving me and Jon crazy. CRAZY. crazy.



Lastly, Anyah's 6 month old appointment was this week. She's 17.4 lbs. She is 26.5 inches long. She's 65% for height and 50% for weight. Perfectly average but a tiny bit tall. She is ahead on milestones (sitting up, swapping things hand to hand, rolling speed). The Doctor confirmed her cat allergy treatment again. He also encouraged my co-sleeping, baby-wearing, and table food giving parenting tactics. I love our pediatrician.



So that's it here. Every thing changing, growing, adapting, loving...

Out Back

It's that time of year again... park time. I hate being hot so when the Autumn weather kicks in and it's finally cool again we find ourselves at the park. Any park will do. We've been to three parks in the last week.

Swings. Slides. Shady spots to look at the trees. Running as fast as you can on cool clipped grass. Things we'd do in the backyard every day if only we had a real back yard.

So for now... the park is our backyard...when we can find time to go there.

Hall-O-EENN

Layla can't say Halloween...she says "hall O Eenn" and she would rather you said trick or treat and she gave you candy... but she was still the most spirited pixie I've ever seen... there was a lot of dancing going on in this costume.

It was like something out of a fairy tale, watching a little girl experience life...

And Anyah was a true kitten, all playful one minute and then sassy the next minute...

But, like any good 6 month old she was 'purr-fect' once she got some treats in her tummy...

And me? Well I had a wicked good time too... the hubby (not pictured) went with us trick or treating some local family and we truly enjoyed most of our Halloween.

Hope you and yours had a Happy Halloween!

*one more thing off the list*

Autumn List...Check & Check

I wanted them to attend a Halloween carnival or festival. We ended up at the Downtown Turlock Harvest Festival Farmer's Market...There were balloon animals, music, trick or treat candy and pizza for dinner so I think it totally counts...

We also made it out to Pa's ranch finally, only it rained the day we went so we settled for visiting horses and feeding them instead of riding them...

Two more things off our Autumn list...

Ch Ch Ch Changes...

It's the season of change. Every day it gets a little darker a little earlier. Every day the temperature changes a few degrees cooler and the autumn showers become a little more common place. Every day the foliage outside changes a little more and the colors of summer fade away.

Inside the changes are trickling by as well. Anyah sits up unassisted and she has her first tooth. Layla has mastered unlocking my iPhone and has tripled her vocabulary in the last month. I am training for my emergency certification this month and soon will make the move to working the overnight shift. Jon is making his way down a honey-do-list of car repairs, toy repairs and general unfun that will some day (hopefully) help clear up that cluttered life feeling.

Everything changes and everything remains the same.

When Layla was born I made a commitment to her that I would always stand up for her and support her no matter what happens. I made a commitment to Jon when I married him that I would always be supportive of his life goals and love him faithfully with all of my being. I made a commitment when Anyah was born to teach my daughters about family the way that I remember my grandmother teaching me about family...to invest in a tradition of togetherness and to involve my girls in an everyday life that is meaningful and excepting of who they are.

So I just take it all in. I have a toddler that has more get up and go then anyone I've ever met. The other day someone offended me by joking that Layla needed Ritalin and I simply replied that she was more spirited than most but there shouldn't be anything wrong with living a big life. And I believe that. I believe we live in a culture that teaches people to medicate away parts of themselves because it will make them more "normal" and we forget how beautiful being unique really is.

On the other extreme of that, Anyah is the most watchful and observant child I've ever encountered. She gets upset if she notices someone or something appears to be having a bad time. She can read the vibes in a room in seconds. And because of this her "normal" is one that is keenly aware of every change around us. She may not understand what is happening but I assure you her body language and her appetite can tell you whether or not she thinks there is something worth worrying about.

They change and they grow and yet some parts of them will always be the same, the core parts of who they are and the fundamental building blocks that Jon and I try to invest in them as a culture, as a religious family, as people who are part of a big big world... those things they are starting to show up as statements of opinion and declarations of emotions and that change to little people who know they are part of a big world and can influence it...

It has always been the change I am most eager to see.

Night & Day- Peek a Boo Version

When Layla was little I would cover my face and pop open my hands like shutters and say "PEEK a Boo!!" and she would laugh, kick, giggle and SQUEEL...wash/rinse/repeat. Good times. Fun game. The height of tiny person entertainment.

Also, with Layla she had a lot of tummy trouble from being a premie so we fed her baby mush for a long time. She was probably 9 months old before table food made regular appearances instead of being sneaky bites from people when they thought Mommy wasn't looking. She loved to eat baby food. When we switched to soft table food she loved her mashed potatoes and hated most of the sturdier cooked foods.

So now it's Anyah's turn and I cover my face and she gives me this (what on earth are you doing that for look- see above) and then I pop my hands open and she sighs. But, unjaded I try "PEEK a Boo!!" and she makes bitter beer face and cries.

So I bounce around and play and tickle until she laughs and think... ok she didn't know what to expect maybe I scared her so I'll try a softer approach. Dude- We.Can.Do.This.

I cover my face with her birdie blankie. She whimpers. I say "where's Anyah-bean?" and I start to pull it down (the whimpering continues) and when my face is revealed I say "there she is!" and she twinkles her eyes for about half a second before the single tear escapes her little eye.

I wait 2 weeks. Wash/rinse/repeat.

This baby HATES peek a boo.

She also hates mashed potatoes. This last weekend while at lunch with my mom she got to witness the 'mashed potato face' which is similar to the bitter beer face but with sound effects like a hair ball. Amusing...yes...practical...no. (Least you think it's the table foods so early...she munched down some spinach, a little brocolli and some mushed up pasta-ness and her tummy -and the rest of her for that matter- are just fine).

Today I asked her if she was confused and perhaps thought she was Canadian because everyone likes mashed potatoes. She laughed. I think that's a no.

I honestly believe she is concerned for my sanity when I ask where she is when I clearly know she's right there. I also honestly believe any game where people pop out from behind things is not going to be popular in this house for a long time because the little one...she so doesn't like suprises.

Going Places

Layla is in the "I go too" phase of little kid-hood. So imagine her suprise when she discovered the play area at the mall had little cars that you could pretend to drive. Even better, they had a "Nannie Blue Car" which she immediately recognised and asked me to take her picture in.

She's full of imagination this one. She pretended she drove to the store and got out and asked me if I wanted to walk or ride in the cart. Hopefully, that's a trait we can keep incouraging in her.

Because having imagination and being able to think outside the box isn't something I want my child to grow out of any time soon...preferrably never.

Turn Turn Turn

The life clock is ticking away and I find myself grasping for little moments in time trying to hold on to them as tightly as I can only to realize that time is slipping away from me no matter how much I try to catch it.

Layla had her 3 year old pictures this week. She's a totally different kid. Actually that sentence sums up the change...she's a kid now. KID.

Anyah has her 6 month check up next week. SIX MONTHS. Wtf? Didn't we just have a baby like yesterday or something.

Today I went yard sale shopping and out to lunch with my mom and both girls. Anyah sat in the high chair through the whole meal...that was a first. I fed her things off my plate (we live to break baby food rules) and Layla was an absolute pleasure.

I could get used to this. I took pictures to remember. My iPhone ate them.

Tonight Layla was scared to go to bed in her room. Last night right before Jon came to bed something happened (we don't know what) that scared her and she slept in our family bed (4 people + 1 bed= entertaining). Anyhow, tonight he took her upstairs armed with lanterns, glowing pumpkin flashlight, a glow worm doll (the only doll she likes by the way), a few stuffed animals, favorite blankets and best pillows and layed (still fully dressed in work clothes) talking and playing pretend with her until she was comfortable enough to stay in her room alone. I married the perfect man. Yes. I. Did.

Instead a studio picture from Layla earlier this week will have to hold you over. I am off TWO DAYS IN A ROW...be still my heart... tomorrow I might actually get to finally clean the upstairs bathroom, or perhaps do some cooking/baking with my lovely little kid and if that falls through...I'll blog. Because as eager as I am to catch moments and log them here for all of eternity for my children to see...

I'm more eager to just have those moments.

Last Straw

Sometimes the worst picture ever is the greatest picture ever...

this is definitely one of those times...

Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch

Today after Jon and I got off work we headed off to the local (ish) Corn Maze & "pumpkin patch" at Fantozzi Farms in Patterson. Layla had never been to a corn maze and I wanted to let her pick her own pumpkin (even though Nannie brought her "the Great Pumpkin" last week (seriously folks I think that pumpkin weighs 50 lbs).

I must say the corn maze part was fun, even for Anyah who kept bouncing about in the stroller (she was asleep when we got there so I opted out of the sling which would have been less bouncy). She laughed away as we bumped and dodged around the smallest corn maze following Layla and Daddy.

Layla loved the corn maze but was more impressed with the train which was decorated like a cow. I think if we could have just rode that over and over she would have had even more fun. She tried everything once though, the corn seed pit, the tricycle races, climbing the hay bale pyramid... everything but the hay ride, which really didn't look that fun.

It was another item off our Autumn List and I am glad it was. Although next year I think I'll put in a real trip to a different pumpkin patch in addition to the Corn Maze because their pumpkin area left something to be desired...like... the general feel and enjoyment of a pumpkin patch. Stick to the corn maze, no really, stick to the corn maze. Still a fun little family outing, if I do say so myself.

Version 3.0

I swear to you I didn't talk about it for awhile because I didn't want to curse it but it's been a few weeks now and I am quite impressed. Literally, the day after Layla turned 3 she woke up older. She is more independent, more confident, less inclined to argue or throw fits. She is more accepting of her baby sister. She is more willing to try new things. She stopped acting out in the potty department. She decided she can use her words.

She's branched out into a new level of independence where she wants to pick her own clothes, have a say about her own lunch and determine exactly how many times you're going to be reading that doggy book before bed. She decided she sleeps on her futon in her room not her bed, for instance.

But, if that is the price we pay for this brilliant little girl to stay brilliant and happy all day... then let the opinions roll because Mommy and Daddy were SO DONE with terrible two's.

Now....let's just hope it sticks.

Autumn List

Half asleep in September watching Halloween Movies and having popcorn (she didn't want my caramel popcorn) Attending the Fall Festival in Newman and watching it's parade

Feeding the ducks at Donnelly Park in Turlock (no picnic but we brought a snack and had that)

Making Bread with Mommy on an Autumn Day...

Remember the Autumn List? Well in case you forgot it... just wanted to point out the things we've done off of it so far...

And later this week we have plans for the pumpkin patch/corn maze..