Busy Beavers

We had a very busy week (thankfully!) filled with lots of fun, and I did manage to take a few photos...

We got see baby Dylan...

And go to Aviela's 4th birthday party where she and Ella wore the exact same bathing suit- unplanned!

And Everett spent some quality time in the doll crib. ;)

Two Cute Rapunzels

Thanks for having us over for dinner K!

What a Week[end]

I'll admit that I have a hard time when Gary leaves for his 2 week business trips- my personality was not meant for single parent-dom!  I try to fill up our calender while he's gone with playdates and dinners at friends houses to make my life easier and busier.  So you will not believe my week and weekend. 

First of all, our dinner plans Wednesday night; our dinner plans Friday night; our playdate Saturday afternoon; and our playdate Sunday morning ALL canceled!  We rarely have to reschedule things so what are the odds that the week Gary is gone, we have that many cancellations (all for good reasons- totally understandable)?!  At least we were able to reschedule most for next week so we'll have a lot to do for the harder second week alone. ;)

So we also a birthday party in San Diego at the beach on Saturday morning.  I hesitated going in the first place because (a) I'm too scared to watch both kids at the beach or pool when Gary isn't there, and (b) I try to keep the 2 weeks Gary is gone completely stress and anxiety free to keep me sane so I don't do usual things like take both kids out to eat, do playdates at locations where they run in different directions, pool dates, etc. 

But we all really wanted to go to the party so we head down there and sat in 2 hours of traffic...by the time we get there Everett is screaming because he's tired and hungry, and it is PACKED.  We drive through the parking lot, and there is not one spot available so we start driving through every.single.street. in the area- not ONE spot.  Not to mention, I drove Gary's car because my a/c isn't working so I literally *almost* sideswiped at least 4 cars because his car won't fit down the streets when another car is coming down.  We are just driving...and driving...and driving...meanwhile, Everett is SCREAMING in the back.  I am now completely sweating and feel panicked.  My mom and I start talking about how we might just have to leave, and now Ella is hysterical because (understandably) she thought she was going to a birthday party.  We just keep driving in circles- we're so far away at this point that it would be like a hike to get down to the party, but we're willing to park anywhere at this point.  Even that far away, there is not ONE spot!  So we try the lot again- that was a mistake.  There are now 500 more cars trying for spots so we are just sitting in the lot.  Stuck.  Everett is screaming.  Ella is crying.  We all have to go to the bathroom.  I'm about to cry- we've been in the car for over 2 hours.  My mom and I finally decide we have no other choice but to give up because in that entire time, we have yet to see one open parking spot anywhere.  We keep looking on our way back up towards the freeway, and still nothing.  So we turn around and sit in ANOTHER 2 hours of traffic all the way back home- Everett screamed almost the entire way minus the 30 minute nap he took.  So we literally drove to SD and drove back...can you believe that story?!  When we got home my mom said, "did that really happen?" 

I felt SO bad for the kids!!!  My mom was kind (smart?) enough to take the kids to the park when we got home because I was about to lose it.  Then when she got home, I took them outside to play since they had been cramped in carseats for 5 hours!

First, we "hiked" in grandma's backyard...

Then we went on more of real hike up the hill in front of grandma's house.  Bottom of the hill...

Top of the hill (notice Everett not in the photo- he gave up in the middle and booked it down the hill so I had to chase him and carry him back up!)...

Needless to say, mama needs a massage next weekend!!!!! :)

Ella and Ava

Treat

I took Ella to Target and told her she could pick out whatever she wanted as a treat for going potty by herself and not waking me up (I want to positively reinforce this behavior!!).  Out of everything in Target, this is what she chose...

Glitter glue sticks, a $1 pencil holder to put them in and a .30 cent notebook.  Uh, ok.  There is a whole aisle filled with princess stuff and baby dolls...she's a strange bird. ;)

By the way, I put 2 new recipes on my cooking blog- YUM!

Night Success & Trouble Maker

First of all, Ella got up all by herself last night, took off her diaper, went potty, changed into underwear and went back to sleep!  I'm so proud of her!! 

We never night-trained her because, frankly, we're lazy and didn't want to have to stop giving her liquids at night, waking her up at 10pm to use the potty, etc.  Unfortunately, she hasn't been so into wearing a diaper at night lately, and she's been waking herself up if she has to pee so a few times, she's come in to get us to use the bathroom.  So every night, we've been saying that if she wakes up and has to pee, she needs to go use the bathroom herself and then just change to underwear...not thinking she would ever do that...but she did!  Hurray!!!!

Here is a random shot from Crystal Court a few weeks ago...

The other day, I was working, and Gary was supposed to be watching the kids.  Ella walks up to me and looks like this...

She got into my mom's lipstick and used MY concealer brush to put lipstick all over her face.  So I walk into the family room to find Everett quietly drinking milk with completely pink cheeks!

It's kind of hard to see, but that is left cheek completely covered in lipstick- ugh!

New House Blog

I finally started another blog dedicated to the renovation!  Just click here: The Cape Cod Ranch Renovation.

I'll probably be posting in there A LOT more than I post in here, but I'll try to at least update with some cute kid pics once in a while!

We Have a House!

We officially closed today!  I went right in and tried to demo.  I hit the wall that we are taking down twice with a hammer and gave up (in my defense, it's tile and cabinets on one side and wood paneling on the other...I'm sure I could have done plain drywall!).  I don't think demo is my "thing". ;)

We hired our contractor today as well!  So here is the general schedule of things...Gary is starting demo tomorrow with another guy we hired to help.  They will work on that all week and probably next week.  Our contractor is pulling the demo permit tomorrow.  Our structural engineer is out of town until Friday, but he will come measure the entire house next weekend and start on the plans, which our contractor says will only take a few days because we pretty much know exactly what we want.  Our contractor will then submit the plans to the county to obtain the rest of the permits.  In the meantime, we will be working on a 3D kitchen design with the custom cabinet maker, as well as a design for the vanity in the master bathroom.  While we are waiting for our cabinets to be made and our plans to be approved/permits issued, we will be working on the kids' rooms (which unfortunately involves a lot of demo b/c there are awful built-ins everywhere)- demo, painting, paneling, etc.- and the kids' bathroom, which is just a gut job.  That way, as soon as the kitchen and floors go in, we can move into the 4th bedroom and live in the house while the master bed/bath addition is completed and other minor things are completed.

Our contractor gave us an estimate of 2 months to complete and 30 days before move-in...I think he is GROSSLY underestimating the time, but I certainly appreciate his understanding of our rush to move in!  Oh, and "complete" only involves the inside of the house- we have A TON to do on the outside (all new flatwork, walkways, pathways, California room, all new landscaping, painting the house, adding shutters, creating a pitched roof porch with columns, etc.).

I'm super excited and super scared/worried all at the same time! 

Quick Recommendations

I haven't done a recommendation post in ages, but I just have a quick few...

(1) Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss in Nude 8: Since I can no longer get the Boots lip gloss I posted forever ago (so sad- my fav!), I've been looking for a replacement.  This is the closest I have found in color.  I don't like the consistency as much because it's that really sticky type of lip gloss, but the color is great, and it does stay on longer than the less sticky Boots.

(2) Roy's Happy Hour WITH KIDS: Yes!  Ok so we are THOSE people that take our kids to nicer not so kid-friendly places, so I want to give props to Roy's.  First of all, their happy hour starts at 4:30 seven days a week.  Second, the happy hour is AMAZING.  Their food is amazing anyway, but all their drinks are on happy hour, and a bunch of the delicious appetizers.  But finally, they were so welcoming and accommodating to us when we brought the kids to a BAR TABLE last night!  I was craving filet mignon so we planned on going to Flemings, but they don't open until 5, it was 4:40, and the kids were starving so we headed to Roy's (by the way, the filet was even better than at Flemings!).  No one gave us dirty looks (although the table next to us had 3 kids so our 2 probably didn't look so bad), the waitress brought FREE quesadillas and veggies for each kid, FREE milk in a kid's cup (just fyi, Javiers doesn't even have plastic cups in their restaurant- wtf?), and then after we finished, she brought each kid a FREE ice cream sundae with their names written in chocolate on the plate.  And lucky me, Everett didn't want his so mama got a free sundae! ;)

(3) Corner Bakery: I know everyone already goes here because it's kid-friendly, cheap and easy, but I also wanted to give CB props because Ella and I went there with some friends, and I ordered a breakfast sandwich with potatoes (you have to pay extra for the potatoes).  They brought a fruit cup instead of potatoes, and the girl said that they were out of potatoes.  I said that had I known I wouldn't have paid extra so she offered to refund the potatoes.  When she comes back, she said she refunded the entire breakfast for my trouble- how nice is that?!  So unnecessary, but these stellar customer service situations seem to never happen anymore (where did customer service go by the way?!) so I really appreciate when a company exhibits excellent service!