Big Ass Bugs!

Our family has been gone now for a few days, but we are still enjoying the goodies they left behind for the girls. One of the toys they left was a package of MAGIC GROW BUGS. So we staretd them on Sunday morning, and I just took them out a few minutes ago. The girls had a blast playing with them! They are super grossly huge!

Product Endorsement

I am going to use my blog to advertise my new favorite cleaning solutions! It is environmentally friendly, children and pet safe, cheap, and effective!




It is my new Vinegar solution for windows and mirrors! It totally rocks! It rocks so much that I am prompted to wash all the windows and thereby making me wash the sun screens that cover them. I am a women possessed. This is indeed a miraculous event simply because I clean just enough to get by-unless of course we have impressionable people coming by. I found the solution on this website. I have filled a new squirt bottle with 1 cup water, 1 cup rubbing alcohol, and 1/4 cup vinegar. Actually, I did this once, and needed a refill. So then I re-did the recipe and doubled it the next time. Now I am searching for (not very hard at this point) a bulk size of the rubbing alcohol. So far, all I have encountered is the standard 1st aid size. I wonder if it is even available.....?


This project will be a week long one. We have TONS of windows in our home. I have completed (inside, outside and screen) 4 of them. UHM yeah, at least I can burn calories with my furtive scrubbing.

Sing-Along-With-Elly

Here are some videos from a while back. Elly is practicing her "show". Enjoy!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

The Past 3 Days in a Nutshell

This weekend (Friday to today) we jam packed with family, friends, and fever. We had cancelled a paydate for Friday because my lovely big girl became hot, well fevery, around 2am Thursday. I watched her, and dosed her, and it continued. Just a fever. Nothing else. But to err on the side of caution, we cancelled. Instead, we drove our sweet 10 year old niece back to her home and then came home to prepare the house for my family coming to visit from Los Angeles.

-sweep

-scrub

-clean

-make beds

-start dinner

-Whew!

It was a nice visit-Elly is really remembering and getting excited about her family these days. Bri, was full of her usual hard core energy. Dinner, desert, some hanging outside enjoying the waning summer day led to bedtime. The next morning, Saturday was more of the same. Family left around noon, and then we got ready for dinner with friends. SO MUCH FUN. I was able to have a few drinks, to enjoy some convo at the adult level, we stayed LATE (lol well to about 10pm....). Jammied the girls and drove the few minutes home. Youwoulda think that sleep would be sweet...nope. Fitfull babies, makes for long mommy night.

Today included gardening, cleanig the garage, naps, etc. Mundane easy day from home.

As a side note, I do think that gal, Rose-e-ola is back to visit. I noticed E's belly is dotted with rashy bumps. That with the solo fever, I do believe we have a diagnosis!

So that catches us up....come back Monday for more.

Hits

I have mentioned before that I use a stat counter to record who's been checking me out...(well at least checking out the blog). I have noticed that I am getting a lot of hits for certain keywords.

This is the list
Hits - Keyword
7 - trisha faggiolly

4 -operation repossession

2 -junior idol site:blogspot.com

2 -trisha faggiolly barrett

2 -jill agnello

1 -junior idol blog

1 - wild on x rated

1 -american junior-idol

1 -sissy games -osama -binlarden

1 -fishy tales paint color

1 -junior idol picture book pictures

1 -bloody nose 15 months old

1 -11 year old with bloody nose

1 -1st birthday she completed our family

1 -sissy tales

1 -princess birthday partyfor one year old

1 -fishy birthday theme ideas

1 -games for mac fishy tales

1 -fishy birthday party

1 -reading tumble activites

1 -hair bow for infant chokable

1 -1 yr old baby bloody nose

1 -typical day with a one year old and 3 year old

1 -meaning of biddies

1 -sissy game

1 -diamacious earth


The other thing I can see is that I get visitors from all over the world (many of the random searches come internationally.) Kinda neat to see....


Number
Percent
Country

461
83.36%
United States

70
12.66%
Unknown

5
0.90%
Korea, Republic Of

5
0.90%
Canada

3
0.54%
Germany

3
0.54%
United Kingdom

1
0.18%
Argentina

1
0.18%
New Zealand

1
0.18%
Israel

1
0.18%
Qatar

1
0.18%
Australia

1
0.18%
Denmark

Just thought I'd share some interesting data....

11

For some strange reason whenever I look at the clock it is almost always 11 minutes past the hour. It has happened often enough that I have to write about it. Is it possible that there is some significance? I don't know numerology-and only my sweet niece has a birthday on the 11th. No one else....hmmm......

Home Improvement

Consumerism at it's best! I researched at Lowe's...finally understood the difference on certain ranges and certain microwaves and certain refridgerators and brands. Between the "Kitchen Appliance Specialist" and myself I headed home to share my conclusions with the hubby. Then I spent time online comparing prices with Best Buy. Learned I could print the pages from BB's website to bring with us to Lowe's and get a discount. NICE. With all my papers and data and research I had us saving 200 below the reg priceson the 4 appliances (stove, microwave, fridge and dishwasher), free ship and possible installation. SUPER NICE. So we go there, hubby decided to nix the dishwasher in leiu of a better stove. Then we completely changed our plans. Switched colors, brands and styles. I still fanagled deals, and got us 10% off all 3 appliances due to an old sign being up and no longer being valid. We came away with a new fridge, stove (instead of the drop in range and wall oven), and microwave.

When the delivery of the fridge occurred, they installed too (last Monday). Jose put in the microwave (Friday) and on Sunday, his brother came by to help demo the counter and install the new stove. Check it out....

Oh No She Dit-tint!

Lil Bri has acheived some new milestones.



1,) Markers on the wall-pic to come-the washable stuff (awesome) washed right off, the rest...nope. Memorabilia until the next paint day.



2.) Taking POOPY diaper off and stepping in it! (no picture to follow, I'll spare you all.....)



3.) Spaghetti bowl on her head



4.) Mommy's lipstick-'nuff said.

All this makes me a little nervous as Big Sister never stopped to explore these abilities. What else will I be encountering as she gets bigger badder and better? I probably shouldn't ask.

Fuimos al Mar

Yes, we went to the beach. There were a whole mess of us! 7 Teachers, we were lucky to get along so well. Now, 2 still teach and the rest of us stay home with babies/kids. Out of the 7 of us, we have produced 16 kids (one more to be adopted soon will be "our" 17th kiddo). Anywho. We make this trip at least one time a year. It was my best year in a long while. Well, since my kids are both enjoying it. Last year I had a teeny tiny booby monster and a timid 2 year old. The year before a toddling 1 year old, and before that a teeny tiny booby monster. I actually was able to sit and visit with my friends. Something I really look forward to.

Anyway-we started out with fog and then sunshine. What sunshine and warmth! I totally sunburnt, and each time I do (about 1 per summer these days) I vow to never do it again. Kinda like hangovers......

Nothing big to report-the kids had fun and I had social time. Here are a few pics (of the 75 I took!)

Jam Packed Fun Day

Another 5 miler today. Nice-15 miles in the bag for the week. At the end of our walk we let the kiddos play at the park. Notice, B was exploring the space and practicing her mean face. E was all over the flowers-picking them and storing them in her pockets.

I will remember to 1.) check her pockets before laundry time and 2.) bill the city for weed eradication services.

We came home, lunched and the girls napped (all to shortly to my dismay!)

Then we went to one of our new favorite haunts. It is a new playground that has water spouts for the kiddos to play in, as well as a few play structures.

It was a ton of fun and the girls fell asleep like sweet angels )hopefully for a full night's rest. We have another full day tomorrow. A beach trip is planned for us with some ladies I used to teach with, and all of our kids. 'Posed to be a beautiful day-looking forward to it.

All Twisted and Bent out of Shape

You know that saying:

"Don't get your panties in a wad!"

Well that was me today in Target. I was literally walking around the store pushing the cart with the girls and stopping every few feet to secretly adjust my rear end into the underware and under the pants. After a bit, I quit caring just how secretly I was going about this.

Let me explain what was going on...

I must have lost some more weight because the pants I was wearing were loose this morning but not falling off and feeling strange loose. As I was walking through the store they just felt wrong. Twisting and scrunching and getting lower. Luckily, I still have my "childbearing" hips so I remained mostly modestly covered. Ironically, my undies are a bit small so as I was dealing with comic capris, I was also correcting the unmentionables in their aspirations to be a pair of THONGS. Don't get me wrong; I have no problems with thongs, even have a few myself.....

Anyway, just out of curiousity I weighed-at 5pm and was down another lb since last Friday! I love it! More walking tomorrow. Will make 15 miles for the week and about 1500 calories burnt.

For Andrea, here is the link of a cool website that allows you to plug in your walking/jogging route and see how long it is.

http://www.webwalking.com/googlemap.htm

Happy Hump Day! (I hear that is a calorie burner too...)

Dancing Days

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


and


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

The Epitome of a Summer Dinner

(Pan fried chicken breast in Olive Oil and light Garlic Salt, Fresh local sweet white corn, and salad--tomato from our garden)

Small Triumphs

We have has a couple of days with triumphant moments.

Yesterday Elly had an appt with her dentist. This was just a normal cleaning. She has had some rough luck dentally (is that a word?). When she was 1.5 years old she hit head on with our 70 lbs dog Chester. It was a crazy accident, on Christmas Day no less. She had her top teeth pushed in and back into her mouth. It was horrible-for her, regarding pain and trauma--for us in terms of just being sad for her. It looked awful, and not knowing the extent of the damage was super hard. Turns out we were referred to a wonderful pediatric dds who has been in charge of directing us to care for this injury, a split frenum (and 2 emergency stitches) the Saturday before Halloween 2007, and her regular care. The 1st injury has resulted in a near miracle. She still has all the teeth, no signs of infection or root death. From xrays we can see the the root is seperating from the gums and the tooth will probably fall out sooner than normal. BUT the good news has been that it seems not likely anytime soon.

Yesterday's triumph was her total acceptance of all things dental appt. She went in (asked to bring her MIMI...aka yellow rag...aka blankie). Got up on the bed/table. Opened up wide and ready. No battles no refusal. AMAZING especially in light of her past tramautic experiences.

Today's triumphs were all mine:

1. I weighed in and was 2 lbs down. I am now 8 lbs out of 21 total I am hoping to eliminate. Feels totally do-able without the extreme dieting. Add the exercise and smart eating...not hard at all.
2. I picked 6 cups of grapes from our vine. After tomorrow I will have more and enough to make homemade jelly.
3. Although I spent much of my day with a whiny, grumpy big girl and a whiny clingy and then climbing and anything little girl, I was able to complete several chores.
4. Showered AND shaved my legs (hee hee).
5. Never left the house...meaning no gas wasted nor money spent.
6. Might be unloading some of the bigger baby items left over to a friend of a friend. Could make some pennies on it. That in turn will go to paying off some piece of a bill.

Possible upcoming weekend plan will be buying new kitchen appliances.....the stove clicks constantly on the starter so we unplugged and just strike a match to light it. The microwave lost its door handle a year ago, and we open with a prying tool (chopstick). The stove's glass plate is loose from Her Royal Monkeyness. The fridge is losing its seal, and the dishwasher is the original and not very efficient. Look out for pics of our new updated stuff....

My Report

Home Depot

By Jane Smart Shopper

This morning I had and unplanned visit to Home Depot (We pronpounce it Home Deee Pot). I was washing grapes and next thing I new I was ducking and wiping water out of my eyes. The spray nozzle broke off of the hose. And there is was in the bottom of the sink. Meanwhile, the water sprayed like a hydrant opened up onto a wildfire-except I was its target.

I regretfully peeled my pj's off and put on some acceptable clothing. I slicked back my hair into a non-showered ponytail and then did the same with the girls'crazy locks. Off we went...

Here is what I learned:

1.) I felt like I was IN the Orchard Supply Hardware Commercial (You know the one that talks about being in a Hardware Superstore with no one to help you?). I was looking for a person to answer my plumbing questions. I found a guy-who told me he "was just the paint guy" and I would have to walk to Customer Service to ask for a Plumbing Person. UGH. I then found a lady in the Flooring section who used her walky-talky to radio (see that paint guy...just that easy!) someone to help me. And then he appeared! I got answers, and products. Good to go!



2.) I then went off to the garden section to investigate non-toxic,
organic ways to eliminate Pill Bugs. I was searching for Diamacious earth which is what I read about online as a solution. The Garden Lady told me it was not a good option. She says while it is organic, it is very toxic. Apparently, the fibers get into the lungs og precious children and animals. She recommended instead using a 1/2 grapefruit scattered in the garden. It kills the Pills and the Snails. YAY! I will be shopping for bitter citrus soon enough. And LONG LIVE THE STRAWBERRIES!



3.) Even in my stanky unshowered state of being, I was still considered a MISS to some young workerbee. Either that or it is a standard line taught in customer service class.


4.) I bought 2 new planting pots. They were "dirt cheap" (hee hee couldn't resist!) at $3 each. They are terracycle pots. What a cool concept-made from 100% e-waste. I might have to go back and purchase more. Additionally-check out the website. They will pay you to collect and send them (free shipping) certain types of garbage. COOL!


In conclusion, I hope that my morning shopping trip has gleaned inklings of new knowledge for others based on reading my report. I like for others to learn through my experiences....so I share.

A Typical Convo with my 3 Year Old

Her: Mommy, Diego is in trouble.

Me: Oh yeah?

Her: Yeah, he hit me.

Me: Really. Then what happened?

Her: He's in Time Out.

Me: Ahh, so you took care of it?

Her: Yeah.

Lol, let me 1st explain that she is referring to Diego the cartoon. 2nd, he is often "here", along with Boots. Only rarely does Dora put in an appearance, and seldom does Diego's sidekick Baby Jaguar come. It seems like she role plays typical scenarios in her life. It's almost as if she is testing outcomes. Just funny.

Drive Through Success!

Not exactly a success for me...(my taste buds perhaps, but not my healthy eating ambitions). I have my niece staying with us. She is indeed a kick in the pants. I do believe that Elly will be saying TOTALLY and SERIOUSLY on a regular basis after we bring her home tomorrow. Today we did some errands (no 5mile walk). Ended up at the mall, and Sweet Niece saw SONIC. She had never had any and was curious to see what it was all about. I really only need the slightest of reasons to roll through the greasey fry heavens of fast food. So in we drove...

No need to mention that I indulged in a nice cheeseburger, tots, and diet coke. I got the niece the same but with fries and a sprite. However the major score, was the kiddy food. I saw that they offered Grilled Cheese. Hmmm....I then realized I had 2 box juies in my diaper bag and then babies never finish fries so they could share my greasy guilt. I bought 1 grilled cheese for the 2 of them to share...ready for it? A whole 1.79 was spent on their lunch and they ATE IT ALL. It wasn't no In and Out phony baloney grilled cheese neither. (they like to serve empty hamburger buns with a few slices of cheese cooked on the flattop.). This was 2 pieces of fluffy Texas Toast with lots of ooey gooey cheese.

BINGO-BANGO.

Just thought I would share my new wisdom.....

I mean really, won't she ever JUST STOP already?

This second daughter of mine is absolutely going to keep me on my toes for the the next year, if not the rest of my life. She won't stop climbing, running, and jumping. I cannot do ANYthing without having to stop and pull her down. "No Climbing!" is our new favorite phrase. That and "GET DOWN".

We had to move the furniture around in Elly's room because she was constantly climbing on the toddler bed onto the dressers to play in the fish tank.

I feed them early, around 5:30, for dinner. I cannot finish my own meal just shortly after because I get a bite in and she is into some mischief. You would think I would be a skinny mini.....NAH....

Let me share some evidence of Her Royal Monkeyness in action.

Looks innocent huh?

Even still?

Not so much

A Wild Night at 2am in our Bedroom (x-rated you might ask? read on...)

Geez....

I fell asleep instantly last night at midnight. Around 2:30 am, I woke up. I woke up because I felt a flashlight shining around the room, and in my face. It was Jose. He had woken up to find ANTS all over him. IN BED. As a matter of fact, I think I felt one on my eyelid and that must have helped to wake me up (it was biting me). Lo and behold, we had them in our bed and around the carpet into the closet. So while he went on a 45 minute non toxic RAID, I was up with Bri who shares our room in the nursery/niche attached to the master bedroom. She was woken up too. She never settled down. By 3:15 we tried to go back to sleep. She didn't. I sat next to her to see if that would convince her to settle down. NOPE. I rocked her in the glider. NOPE. I brought her to bed with us. NOPE. I put her back in her crib. NOPE. Then I got frusterated because I was tired and sleepy and she wasn't. I kissed her head and walked back to my side of the bed. She cried and screamed and tried to climb out. (as an aside, it won't be long before she CAN hike herself over....)I got up and tried to settle her. At 4am, I crawled back into bed amidst the screeches. J took over. NOPE. Finally, at 4:30 I went back in. At that point it was a full blown cryfest, complete with the jagged breathing and whole body shakes. I pulled her out and rocked her until her wiped out self dropped into dreamland. Still shuddering, she was placed sleeping in her crib at 5am. I slipped into bed again, woke at 6 when she was again up. Settled her easily and drifted off again. Elly was awake at 7, asking for her music. I did and went back to bed. Jose got up with them at 8 and I slept in to 9:15.

Wild times 'round here....nothing too exciting though. Between the bugs and cries, I am wiped out. Today is a low key still in pj's day (just about lunchtime and I am contemplating a shower).

Hopefully the half eaten mouse and the ants are the last of the wild infiltrating my tame home. Seriously, between the dog and the girls, there really isn't a need for anything else. Seriously.

5 Miles!

Huffing and Puffing Red-faced and Eyeballs Rattling was how I started this morning.

I have committed myself to meeting with 2 other mamas and their respective strollers 3 times a week. We have never clocked our route, and I always mean to bring the pedometer (as of yet unused). I left the house today running (literally) late -no surprise there. I made it to our meet point in 11 mins. Let me state that we have been in a major heatwave with a California Smoke Cocktail in the air. I believe the temp was near 80 by 8:30. We headed off, nothing unusual (except I did not pack enough liquids for me or the girls...UGGH). We finished out the walk at the park for the kiddos. Did some swing time and explored the grassy area. Then we headed to our seperate homes. As I was walking home I called ahead to the hubby so he could prep some ice water for us. He told me that at 11 am, it was 92 degrees. DANG!

After arriving home, we all sucked in the nice air conditioning and icy water. I decided to map the route on an exercise website. Turns out that the 2-3 miles I THOUGHT we were doing was actually closer to 5! WOW, that upped my weekly total to 15 miles a week.

We're not talking about strolling. We push ourselves and (gasp) actually sweat. I push the two in a double stroller that weighs about 39 lbs without kids and kid gear. I figure with my 2 totalling about 30 lbs together (yes, puny lil ones they are), and the stroller and my junk--near about 75 pounds as weight resistance. I oughta be burning some calories with that!

Next walk is Monday....cross your fingers we get some lower temps. It was brutal today.