Let's Go Fly A Kite

Nathan took the kids out to fly a kite Kohen had gotten from preschool and has been itching to use. It was the perfect day for it (I assume, seeing as I stayed home per usual) and by all reports it sounded like an idyllic kite flying experience.
The hills here, I am told, are only green for not quite 2 months while it's rainy. Nathan and I were amazed when all of the yellow/white hills turned emerald green. It's been beautiful though now that the rain is gone the green is already starting to fade. This would be the look of sheer joy on Aly's face...

I love when we catch moments when they are being sweet with one another. Proof that it does happen :)
My goggled goober- He's been on a goggle kick the last few days. Actually wore these goggles to preschool. Love a man with self-confidence.
FYI- if this kite flying fun looks like something you'd like to do I saw the kites today at Walmart for $1. That would be what I would call a good deal.

Kohen's Turn For a Night Out

Due to my recent blah status Kohen has had to wait a while before he would get a turn going out with both Mom and Dad. The opportunity came when some people in our ward were going to a Warrior's Basketball game and could get "great seats for cheap". Nathan and I thought Kohen would love it so we tentatively bought 3 tickets and when Friday rolled around I tried to pull myself together in time to go. Our friends who were going were also bringing their son M. who happens to be Kohen's buddy. We rode out together in our van and the boys sat in the back entertaining themselves talking and laughing about spiders and sharks- we got a kick out of listening to them.
The "great seats" turned out to be the 2nd to last seats up in the nose bleeds but Kohen still seemed adequately impressed with it all so that's what matters. He enjoyed the food and spent literally all night nursing the 20 oz. soda he got, probably the highlight of his night.

When the break between the first and second quarters started Kohen was nervous thinking it was over. I explained it was a break, like a time out. He gets this confused look on his face, "but why are they in time out?"

Then the real hilarity began because a gaggle of scantily clad women trodded out onto the floor. All of a sudden our nosebleed seats were more than close enough. Kohen was watching with his mouth hanging open a bit then he says to me, without moving his eyes off the girls, "Mom, they aren't wearing any pants..." True, their shorts were more like underwear. Kohen became increasingly distressed as the routine went on asking why they didn't have pants, and as they exited, asking me if they were now going to go get their pants- and on and on. Finally when the players returned he seemed relieved. "They've got their pants on, huh?" Then about every 45 seconds he would ask me if it was time for another time out yet. After asking me several times I finally got it. "Kohen, did you like that break?" yeah, he admitted. "What was your favorite part?" he looks up at me a little coy and says, "the underwear."

During half time Kohen was sitting with Nathan and when the girls returned and he asked about the "underwear", Nathan told him they were actually shorts and that seemed to take most of the shock out of it, thankfully. Anyway, both Kohen and M. were awesome throughout the game. We were sitting so far up I'm not gonna lie, I seemed to have the hardest time paying attention. But the boys did great. It was late when the game was done ( It was a great game, the Warriors won) so the boys were getting pretty silly and having a fun time. In the last pic perhaps you can see why M. is more than a full head taller than Kohen and only a few months older. As for me, I swear I was there, but I was kind of just trying to get through the night. But it was nice to get to spend time with our favorite little guy. He's a crack up.

Please Be Joking....

Let me just start by saying I have had the same Dr. deliver all three of my babies before in Boise (shout out to Dr. West!) and I was loathe to have to find a new Dr. here in CA. Going on the recommendation of a "friend" -whose status as such is now under review- I picked a new doctor. Fine. Nice guy, Nathan and I enjoyed meeting him at the first ultrasound and especially seeing the baby and the heartbeat etc. 

So for my appt. today I was looking forward to what I have always been used to, quick weight and blood pressure check, a listen to the baby's heartbeat and I'm outta there. So I was completely shocked when the nurse informed me they would be doing a Pap and Breast exam. What?! First of all that kind of activity is not something you just spring on a woman...or at least, do so at your own risk! Umm, I would've liked to have had the opportunity to shave my armpits and even an extra swipe of deodorant would've been appropriate I believe. And any other Pap Prep if you will, I'm not even going into. The mental preparation I was deprived of didn't help matters either. Anyway, today ended up being unusually humiliating...

I think my previous Dr.- who is obviously much more knowledgeable than this Dr.- had told me that do to hormones and changes in a woman's body during pregnancy, it isn't a good time to do these tests. So that left me wondering today if this is a common practice for OB's to do on pregnant women or what?! Common sense tells me that it may not be so wise, but you know, what does 'my common sense' prove? So anyway, since this is kind of personal if you feel like taking an anonymous survey (up and to the right) maybe we can get a better idea of general practices...

Man, I did not see that coming today. I just kept telling myself, surely he's seen worse than the 5 o'clock shadow in my armpits...

Pixie's Visit

Nathan was out of town the last two weeks and my mom (known as "Pixie" to the kids) came to the rescue for more than half of the time to pretty much take care of our household since I am largely useless these days. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am my mom was able to come down. The kids are always excited to see any of their grandparents, Pixie was no exception.

I love this picture from our pajama party movie night one night. Everyone looks great and then we have Aly giving us the best "duh-har" face ever. It totally reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes when Calvin's dad is trying to get a good picture of him for the Christmas cards and every time the camera snaps he makes a face, it's one of my all time favorites. 
While Pixie was here the children were quite well fed with balanced meals vs. what they get when I'm on my own these days- yogurt and a string cheese- cuz we all know that's a highly balanced meal (two dairy's and a lot of sugar= lunch the pediatrician would be proud of). 
There was lot's of playing of course which I documented all from the comfort of my well used spot on the couch. Pixie spent time in the backyard with the kids, even jumping on the trampoline with them. Who could've foreseen the unfortunate side effect that now my children think I should always be jumping with them.
And as always there were several dance parties where all participated (I was photographer) and lot's of pretend play etc.

*One day Kennedy solemnly says to my mom:

"Pixie, I have a really hard question for you...Did Jesus make Santa Clause?"

(lol, great question Kenna)
My mom did all the cooking, dishes, laundry, and cleaning the entire time she was here which was such a burden lifted from me, I can't even tell you. But she also felt sorry for me every time I got sick which was sweet. Poor Nathan, after multiple pregnancies and literally about a thousand times I've thrown up, he's kind of become numb to that aspect. You can't hardly blame him you know, it's hard to have something like that become absolutely common place and still react to it every time- even I don't do that. So anyway, it was nice to have my mom be my mom and feel sorry for me and take care of me. I was sad for a dozen reasons when she left. 

This is a pic of the only time we all went out. I couldn't let my mom visit without going out once, so I sucked it up and we went to CPK for dinner. I think they had a nice time which is what counts. Thanks for coming Mom, I love ya!

PS.- Thanks for all of the hilarious comments about the Birthday List, I seriously laughed my head off reading them. Thanks for reassuring me that in this area, at least, I am not crazy. And for the record, Kennedy had to decline the invitation. We will be busy that Saturday...I am sure. :)

Behind the Times or Bad Manners?

Okay, this morning a mother of one of Kennedy's classmates, who I haven't met before sent me an Evite to invite Kennedy to her daughters birthday party. Her daughter is in the early class, Kenna the later one and so the girls classes overlap for under 2 hours each day. Anyway, Kenna doesn't know this little girl very well so I wasn't thinking she'd go to the party anyway but as I read through the Evite I was a little shocked to find this list at the bottom: 

What does Katie want for her Birthday?

Well, she likes dresses size 6X-7, or any new clothes

The new HSM #3 movie or CD, or gift cards to Target

(she is getting a Nintendo DS from her sister along with the DS Pets Cats Clan & Ocean Rescue game already) So maybe a DS Game like "Little Pet Shop Garden" or "Little Pet Shop Jungle," or any other DS game.

She could also use the light blue small Nerf cover for the DS (Target/Toys R Us)

Maybe a gift card to Payless Shoes, that girl loves shoes! 

I hope that helps give you some ideas. 

See you at the party!

 

As far as Birthdays go in our family we kind of feel like the celebration and traditions are big and the presents are a bonus. Our experience has been the more friends and presents at the party, the less the child seems to appreciate the gifts/party or even have fun. So for now we try to keep things family oriented but this is just our way of doing things, not to say it is how we will always do things or that it is right or wrong.

But this invitation? I am gonna judge. I think it is way out of line! The further I read the more my mouth gaped open. Seriously?!  I can't get over it. What happened to "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit"? But then I started thinking maybe I am the one who is old fashioned and out of touch, maybe the majority of people celebrate Birthdays more in this way and the list is appreciated. I REALLY want to know if I am the one outta my mind or is it the author of the invitation?  You are my friends, I will accept and trust what you say~

Bees and Butter

Well history repeated itself yesterday when Kohen got stung after "petting a bee" a little too enthusiastically in our backyard. There is an infamous story in our family from when I was 5 and my sister was 7 and we were at my grandparents house and Natalie encouraged me to pick up bees and pet them. Always looking for ways to gain favor in her eyes I gladly picked up the bees and the 3rd one didn't appreciate it so much and gave me a sting. The story takes a turn for the worse when a high class friend of my G-parents spit some of his chewing tobacco onto my finger to draw out the sting (and no, I didn't get away with typing that w/o gagging). As gross as it was it did take the sting away.   
Fast forward 23 years and Kohen comes crying into the house with a stinger in his finger. My mom whipped up some baking soda paste which did the trick for making the pain go away, a much cleaner, more civilized version of a bee sting remedy I have to say. In the bee's defense Kohen had this coming. I knew he played with the bees from time to time and he wouldn't listen to my words of wisdom and had to learn the hard way. Not sure actually, if even the sting will be enough to keep him away. The bees really fascinate him. But still Kohen, no touch-y.

 
And check out this little number Kennedy came up with. She has been dressing up less and less over the last few months (sad!) but I was pleased to see this. She made the skirt out of several small blankets which according to her were to cover her underwear which were showing out the bottom of the leotard which is a size 2. I like where her head was on this.

****Favorite Aly quote of the day:

Tonight at dinner my ever Butter loving Aly got super upset when I stirred the butter into her beans (rather than leave it in a dollop that can be easily ingested in one scoop) and so when she asked for butter on her Beef Stroganoff (???) she commanded me, "don't tuck it in!"

A Reader Post

Not to bore anyone but I want to gab at you for a minute. There are a few of you out there who read my blog like real champs. Every redundant, 'how cute are my kids, please!?' and 'my husband is the best!' and 'can I please vent a bit here?' you read and some of you (bless you, bless you, bless you!) even leave comments to make my effort feel worthwhile- hey you were doing a service and you didn't even know it! I wanted to thank all of you who actually read what I write. By now I have probably lost all of those who just look at the pictures anyway which is just as well. I wanted to reward my blog readers by sharing something here first with you. Really, I can count on one hand the people who know the news you are about to hear. First a little tutorial.

Erin Might Be Pregnant If:

*She has her lowest # of postings in a month ever, and is likely to break that record this month

*Her nose has developed super powers. (Now I understand how those Super Heroes are blessed/burdened by their powers, lol.)

*She acts like an irritated Kate (from Jon & Kate Plus 8) once in a while

*She gets teary watching the children's show Charlie and Lola

*She smells that Nathan had onions for lunch before he has come within a 20ft radius of her

*She gags every time she opens the fridge, changes a diaper, smells left over food, smells someone had onions for lunch, or pretty much anytime.

*She is negative-imprinting on things she is over-exposed to: Nathan's cologne, over-played songs, the background on my blog. No, I'm not even kidding. Eventually these things make me want to barf.

*she is so tired she can barely make it until quiet time to crash.

*She smells an unsavory smell in the kitchen and 'tosses her cookies' in the sink.

*She won't commit to anything and starts cheezing everything.

***Nathan is doing ALL of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, and putting the children to bed by himself each night.

So umm, yeah, as you might have gathered we are expecting number four sometime mid-September and though we are excited, both Nathan and I are just trying to survive right now. When it comes to my pregnancies I have learned a lot and with the help of Zofran I have been able to keep the throwing up to a minimum -if you can call it that. Down side is that it does nothing for the persistent nausea that hounds me 24/7. Anyway, I promise I won't turn the blog into a nausea journal, but in order to keep that promise the posts will likely be sparse for the next few months. 

In spite of the above, I assure you we are excited, or rather will be in due time. Until then, a sincere thanks for reading. 

A Wicked Girls Weekend

I had been looking forward to this last weekend for a while, I think we all had been. My MIL, Bonnie and 4 SIL's, Trevi, Kysa, Tara, and Amber (bringing her sweet 2 1/2 mo. old baby, Davis too!) all flew in from Boise for a Girl's Weekend!!!!!!! No seriously. We were all so excited. I picked them up from the airport and we headed straight (if by straight I mean turning around twice to find my way) to In & Out Burger before heading home and settling in.

Friday Nathan took work off so he could do all of my usual work and routine (he did it with a smile on top of it all, love that guy) and we loaded up and headed towards San Fran. Unfortunately it started raining so we detoured to IKEA which was new for all my guests except Kysa who I had taken once before. 3 hours later (don't judge, IKEA is ginormous and there were 6 women involved!) after a nice Swedish IKEA lunch we emerged to find the rain had stopped so we continued toward S.F.

It was all of our first time going to Chinatown. It was pretty crazy how you turn onto Grant street and you basically feel like you are in China. Everyone had fun exploring and Hi-Chew! candy was the find of the day, we stalked several more stores and then wiped them out (it is a yummy chewy candy). There was a lot to see (yay!) and a lot to smell (blech.) and I think everyone came away having found the perfect little something for their kiddies.

We went to our favorite Crepe Vine for dinner and sat there talking until my tush fell asleep, it was awesome. Tush falling asleep = too enraptured in conversation to change position and allow blood flow to lower half. It was so nice to have a good chat with a bunch of girls...I've been missing that.

(Tara, Amber, Kysa, Me, Bonnie, Trevi....and Aly)

Saturday morning we took it easy, headed into Walnut Creek for some CPK and to do a little window shopping in the boutiques downtown before coming home and getting ready for the pinnacle of the trip. First I have to point out this picture below. Can you tell who shouted, "okay, funny one!" and how far the message got down the line before the picture clicked? I was mid-funny face, I think Bonnie to my right was working on something and poor Trevi had no idea what wild child Tara had started on the other end, lol.

Okay, before you look at the picture below, I SWEAR to you we did not plan the whole black and white thing. We must've just been on the same wave length. Ladies?! I think we clean up real nice :) Where were we going after a nice dinner at the Waterfront you may ask?.......

Wicked!

That's right! It was it's opening weekend in San Francisco and we were pretty much giddy to see it. As we were driving to the show the huge Chinese New Year parade had just ended and we got to see several block long Dragons and floats which was great. The show was, well, pick any awesome adjective and that was pretty much it. It is an amazing production and to see everyone's reactions to watching the story unfold was so much fun as well.

The weekend flew by so quickly but thank you to all of our husbands who made this possible for us to do- we love you guys!!! Come again any time girls! Love you guys!

Eclectic

Who wouldn't love my eclectic little crew? Seriously.

Today Kohen asked "Mom? How many days till I grow up?" - it kinda gave me a lump in my throat...

A Sign By Kennedy

We found this little sign posted on Kennedy's door more than a week after they celebrated Chinese New Year at school:

It didn't take us long to realize she had sounded out Chinese phrases phonetically, I think Nathan and I were just surprised she remembered a phrase she heard one day at school.

Translation: 

*Gong Xi Fa Cai- "Happy New Year"

*Ni Hao - "Hello" 

Then "Uncle Justin" and a picture of Kennedy with her Uncle Justin who is serving his mission in Taiwan.  

Oh To "Shabe"

Kohen loves every manly thing he gets to do to be like dad. Many times I have walked in our bathroom to find Kohen, post-shower, wrapped in a towel just like his dad, sitting on the counter next to where Nathan is shaving, patiently waiting for his turn to "shabe". Nathan slathers him up then turns his razor around to the non-sharp side and gives Kohen a shabe. If I'm not right there Kohen will run around the house until he finds us girls so we can touch his cheeks and feel how smooth they are.
Well he finally earned a pretend razor and shaving cream of his own tonight and he was giddy to try it himself. He is typically hilarious so the whole fam had gathered to watch his maiden "shabe". He didn't disappoint and had all of us laughing. Tonight he is of course sleeping with his new razor...a sentence I never thought I would find myself writing. P.s.- don't worry, he has had many lessons about the dangers of a real razor, so far they seem to have worked.

Massacre of the Poe's

There are lot's of things you may do as a parent that cause you to be judged by others. Letting your child have a pacifier too long is one of them, no? Don't tell me you haven't seen a 5 year old with a pacifier in their mouth at the grocery store and not wondered why the parents hadn't intervened. I refuse to believe I'm the only guilty party.

So at two and a half Ms. Aly was rapidly and obliviously approaching the end of a long love affair with her "Poe". Long story why but Aly (and therefore the rest of us) calls her pacifier a Poe or Poey. Aly sleeps with a specific blanket and Poe and it has been a year or more now since she only has it at night. She has never given us a lick of trouble about it so I was loathe to change up a routine that worked so well for everyone. Then Aly decided to take matters into her own hands.

The other day when I came in to get my youngest up in the morning there was a massacre of Poey's scattered around her bed on the floor. I picked one up only to find grisly bite marks that had broken through the latex and 'killed' the poe. Surprised, I explained to Aly that all of her Poe's were broken, she was hilariously unrepentant telling me, "Poe's ah fo babies." True enough, I agreed.

Well, it has been a rough couple of bedtimes the last 5 days. What used to take 10 seconds (hand Aly Poe and blanket, kiss her and tell her goodnight) now has turned into the better part of an hour where she stalls, cries and begs for water, kisses, "I'm stared!" (with pretend scary shakes) and on and on. I feel bad for her...and for Nathan who tries to address her superficial needs. Sometimes growing up sucks. Poey pun intended.  

Holding Hands

I had been waiting to post this until Nathan got the other pictures (aka: proof) of these two holding hands in the car -off of my laptop that recently died but I decided these pictures would be good enough. It is something really cute Kohen and Aly have been doing in the car for the last several months and when we were borrowing a car over the holidays they sat a bit closer together so it was even easier for them to hold hands. I don't know what causes them to do it, sometimes Aly asks Kohen to hold her hand but most of the time I just glance back and they are sitting there contentedly holding hands. I love it. 
And before I forget, here are a few misspoken words around our house lately:

Aly:

"Robin Noodles"= Ramen Noodles

"Neetle"= Beatle

Kennedy:

"Pignic"= Picnic

Kohen:

"Knuckles"= Muscles

Aly Performing All Characters in the Nutcracker

So my kids love the Nutcracker and since the holidays they've still been asking for me to put the music on so they can dance. Today Aly asked me to put it on then proceeded to throw herself on the floor and throw a fit because it wasn't loud enough. I told her it gets louder on her own...you can see what happens from there.

 

In the video below Aly is going to fight the Mouse King with a pencil as her sword- she's a little hard to understand on the video but she is talking about getting the mouse and being the Nutcracker at the end.

Santa Cruz Weekend

This past weekend we decided to leave Friday afternoon and drive an hour and 45 min. to Santa Cruz. As I've mentioned we'd been having some unusually warm weather and it was even about 8 degrees warmer in Santa Cruz. We arrived as the sun was setting and though the temperature was cooling very quickly it didn't stop anyone from checking out the frigid water and playing on the beach for a few minutes.

Saturday morning while it was warming up we explored the Boardwalk and Pier. Couple of memorable moments:

The night before at dinner Kohen had eaten much of everyone else's food and so had half a leftover hamburger (leftovers are rarely known when it comes to Kohen). He insisted on putting his precious to-go box in the fridge in our room and asked repeatedly, "Can I eat my food tomorrow when I want?" So after breakfast Saturday morning first thing he did was retrieve his to-go box and he was putting it down for nothing. As we walked and explored the Boardwalk he carried his food. As he climbed a tree, he held his food. As we walked down the Pier he carried his food. At one point I turn to make sure he was still with us and find him cradling his to-go box in one arm and eating his burger with the other, happiest boy EVER. We wondered what had inspired him to finally eat. Was it the seagull poop that covered nearly every inch of the Pier? Or was it the stinky Sea Lions we'd been watching from above? I guess we may never know what makes our little guy want to eat. Other funny thing was this one-legged seagull. Kohen took off toward him- all the while eating his food- to get a closer look. The kids thought this Seagull was the coolest.
Some friends of ours (our oldest girls are in Kindergarten together) decided to meet us at the beach on Sat. They are from Romania and are fun to chat and hang out with. It's fascinating to hear about their lives growing up in a different country. And I think they find the way we live (i.e.-religion, more than 2 children) fascinating as well. Mostly we just enjoyed watching our kids play together in the sand.

A bathtub full of sand when we got home was a small price to pay for the weekend. It was a fun way to make use of a warm day in the winter.

Kennedy's Date Night

Taking a page out of the Jon & Kate + 8 book Nathan and I decided to do a date night with each of our kids separately. So tonight we got a sitter for Aly and Kohen and took Kennedy out. There is the cutest most quaint little outdoor Ice Skating rink they put up for about 2 months in downtown Walnut Creek. Kennedy has been dying to go (so much so that I actually avoid driving past the rink just to avoid hearing her beg to go) so we knew what she would love to do and we were game seeing as it's been so warm lately...

Kennedy could not have been more adorable in the car on the way to the rink. She chatted us up telling us all she's been learning about penguins watching parts of March of the Penguins (pronounced March "off" the Penguins) at school. The detail she has retained is incredible but she cracked us up telling us all about how the Mom Penguin very carefully passes the egg to the Dad Penguin so he can put his "Blump" over the egg to keep it warm. Calling blubber "Blump" was her one and only inaccuracy but gave us a good laugh and a new word for blubber.

Initially we went around the rink with each of us holding one of her hands. Below is her signature move, when she loses her balance she shoots her one leg out and skates on one foot until she regains her balance, it was cute and occasionally effective.
About 1/2 way through she no longer wanted to hold our hands and was determined to get it on her own. Nathan and I kept saying to each other "is this normal? Do most kids get this their first time?" *shrug* we don't know but we could see another little girl about Kennedy's size with a private instructor and that little girl was having a rough go of it so we were glad Kennedy caught on enough to really enjoy herself.

She chose "China Food" for dinner and there is a P.F. Changs near by so we headed there for a special dinner which she inhaled and loved. They have these little mini desserts now that are in a shot glass so we each picked one. Kennedy chose Red Velvet Cake and was pretty much in heaven from the dessert + attention. Nathan and I enjoyed her so much and what a treat to just soak up one child and their unique personality one at a time.