Recap

Incredible Five

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

My Kaili bear is five years old. FIVE!

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Five years of laughing, crying, bedtime tantrums, middle of the night vomiting, morning snuggles, hand holding and most importantly unconditional love. She is my best girl, my first born, my heart. Her kindness radiates all around her and she is one of the most empathetic people I have met. She has the memory of an MIT grad and can talk you into almost anything. She has her moments of not listening and struggles to share with her sister but their love has completed our family.

I remember staring at her when she was a newborn thinking about how fun the elementary years were going to be. We would be able to do more things together, watch her play competitive sports and have meaningful conversations. Now five years later it’s here and I am so excited to see what’s in front of us but also sad that I don’t have that little baby in my arms.

I vow to soak up each day of her fifth year, listen more closely, watch her more intently and snuggle her a little more deeply.

Happy birthday baby girl.

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Disney Ending

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This day we had big breakfast plans at Goofy’s Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. The girls got their picture taken with Pluto while I checked us in.

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It was a buffet style set up with all the characters wandering around for pictures and autographs…basically chaos. Mediocre food was available by the mounds and if you have a child that has a huge appetite  it would be ideal. Most of the food was legit kid friendly, mac n cheese pizza, peanut butter and jelly pizza, mickey mouse shaped pancakes, you get the picture. Of course my kids wanted nothing to do with any of it. Kaili just wanted to see Minnie Mouse, Averi just wanted to get out of her high chair and I just wanted to eat and have my coffee.

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After offering all the desserts to my kids and them turning their noses up to even the chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, we decided to throw in the towel and get on our way. It was magic morning at CA Adventure and we had big plans to see Anna and Elsa.

Obviously we weren’t the only ones with this idea so we waited in line for over an hour, it was pure torture. But the smiles on the girls faces when they met their favorite Queen and princess made it worth the wait.

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Olaf was a surprise to all of us.

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Once that fiasco was over we we walked through Bugs Life to get the girls on a few more rides.

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Meanwhile Shane went to get us fast passes for the roller coaster that was closed the day before. That was our last ride of the trip and maybe the best ride because not only is it fun, we were able to walk right on without any wait.

We were in our already packed up truck and on the highway by 1:oo pm. Averi was asleep not minutes later.

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A certain sign that the trip was a success! It was a really great trip and I think we managed to do all that we wanted. Looking forward to going back when the girls are older and Averi is over 40 inches.

Disneyland Day 2

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

I hope you didn’t think I abandoned you. Day 2 is a long one so tuck in with some coffee, wine, burritos…whatever you love.

I can’t tell you who woke up first, probably me but it was early per usual. This was our “magic” morning at Disneyland and we HAD to be in line by 7:45. Turns out they actually let guests into the park at 7:45 but you don’t get passed Main street until 8:00 and that is because all of the United States is behind you, it’s got to be a semi fair game….I guess?

All Kaili was asking for was the Dumbo ride and since we didn’t get that done day one, this was my first stop. I took both the girls and they loved it. We hopped over to another ride because it was pretty empty. Turns out the Alice in Wonderland ride was a tad scary, Averi wasn’t sure about it and Kaili asked immediately when we would be done but they weren’t crying so we were good.

The one thing we did want to do during that “magic” hour was the Nemo Submarine ride.

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Averi pretty much loved it between her bouts of concern.

We then headed to an adult ride. Thunder mountain requires riders to be 40′, Kaili is 39′. We were told by some other parents in line that they are sticklers when it comes to height and we would later find out that was true. So even though Kaili insisted Grandpa stretched her out and she was tall enough, I took the girls for a stroll  while the rest of them could have a go.

Us girls ventured over to Tarzan’s tree house, Kaili skipped up while I dragged Averi with me.

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Having just  watched Tarzan the day before,  Kaili had her eye out for that Leopard who may  was lurking in the tree tops.

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We wandered our way through Tomorrowland and it was out.of.control.

And as  early as it was, it was just a preview of what was to come.

Kaili wanted to go on a ride in Tomorrowland so we waited 45 minutes for another ride that goes around in circles, much like the Dumbo ride. I’m pretty sure we need to bring back the merry go rounds to our playgrounds so we can forgo this boring children  ride people pay thousands of dollars for.

We made our way over to California Adventure and it was a tad overwhelming. I felt like we had done so much already, I couldn’t wrap my head around what was left to do…but there was a lot. Luckily Mickey was one of the first things  we saw heading into CA so that took some pressure off.

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We also ran into Doc McStuffin’s and now they are besties.

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After a few kiddy rides in Bugs Life….

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Food was on our mind. We grabbed some pretty good clam chowder and not so great Mexican over by Paradise Pier, beer is always good.

Our hotel room looks over CA land so the Mickey ferris wheel is a fixture you can’t hide from even the littles. Kaili begged to go on and once everyone agreed,  we payed our dues in line, but the ride was SO worth it…although Shane will disagree.

IMG_8499 We got the rocking car because there was no way standing in line with two kids for a boring ride is a good idea. It turns out that rocking car is a thrill ride for Kaili and Grandpa! Averi was in tears with her head in my lap.

We dragged the tired kids, but not Kaili because she is never tired, back to the hotel. Averi went down for a nap and grandma rested along side her while Shane and I took Kaili to the pool.

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Our early bird dinner reservations were approaching, we packed up the crew and headed out to the Rainforest Cafe. It wasn’t my top pick but I thought it would be perfect to help keep the overtired kids entertained. I was wrong. The place is a joke but it’s hard to compete with a tired Averi. To sum it up, my food wasn’t good, service wasn’t good and my kid wasn’t good.

After overpaying for shitty food, we confidently headed back out to CA land to take on what we hadn’t yet mastered. In other words, we got a fast pass to Tower of Terror and Cars, Radiator Springs.

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Unfortunately, the Cars ride had a 40′ height restriction. We didn’t bother to put Kaili through the ringer but I think we both regret not trying. She would have LOVED that one!

Gramps and I were the only ones that went on Tower of Terror…”because food”  meaning no-one else wanted to ride that because they just ate. But it’s the best ride there.

After grabbing a churro we went back to the hotel to watch the light show from our hotel room. We fell asleep one by one, grandpa and Ave’s weren’t far apart.

 

 

 

 

When it Hurts!

~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

Kaili does this thing, a few minutes after I put her to bed she  hollers for me. Something she knows not to do unless she is being kidnapped, okay that is harsh but something seriously has to be wrong. She knows this, but still does it. I know, she’s 4!  Anyway, she hollers and I come literally running so Averi doesn’t wake up. “Kaili, what’s wrong?” “I had a bad dream!” I then explain the situation and once she agrees that she wasn’t actually asleep, I slowly back out of the room praying to a God I don’t believe in that she falls asleep, pronto!

These daily occurrences and often nuisances to a mom who is solo half of the time are frustrating. But then something happens and you snap back into mama bear mode, where nothing matters but that child of yours.

Yesterday when I went to pick K up from school, the usually loud chatty classroom was empty, or so I thought. Kaili was sitting on her teachers lap with tears in her eyes and an ice pack on her hand. My mind instantly filled with dread, please don’t let anything be broken. “No, if it was that bad they would have called me!!” <—that all went through my head in 2 seconds.

Turns out she got her finger slammed in the bathroom door. She was being brave until she saw me, then it all let loose. Poor thing was in pain and there was nothing I can do, and that my friends, BLOWS!

You know how it goes because we have all had something slammed in the door, right? Throbbing and aching and it plain sucks. She laid on the couch with some ice for about an hour, I didn’t forget the Advil!

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I asked her if she thought she could go swimming, she said ” yes, I just won’t use my finger!” And that is problem solving 101. She was up off the couch and back to her normal, overly curious self.

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I took this picture about an hour or two after, it actually looks worse now. But she hasn’t complained about it! She is my fierce, strong and lively kid and I hope that never changes!

And I need a manicure!

Life Lesson

~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

“You can’t depend on anyone but yourself.” That is a tough pill to swallow and a hard lesson to learn, at least for me it was. When I moved to the OC   I quickly learned that there were some very flaky people, something I hadn’t encountered before. I remember my dad trying to console me after some of my new friends just “flaked” on me. That was the first time I ever experienced anything like that and I was hurt. I quickly learned that some people are just that way and it doesn’t bother them.The tricky part is trying to teach our kids that lesson. In the past few days I have had to explain to Kaili why someone wasn’t there or why something wasn’t happening, it sucks. I know it’s a life lesson, not everything works out and not everyone shows up…but she is four. Ugh, parenting is hard.

Kaili had her last soccer lesson of the month. They had a little scrimmage…if you can call it that. There were hand balls and wrong goal scoring but they had fun. I missed a few minutes, Averi dove head first off of a large rock on to the cement and I ended up inside the Y attempting to apply ice to her head. She had a really good goose egg on her forehead. Luckily it went down pretty fast, she was fine.

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IMG_7496IMG_7502IMG_0337Last weekend Shane spent the days putting in a raised garden bed in the back yard. A few years back he worked hard to put a play area for the girls in the yard. He moved the play area to another part of the yard and put the garden in, in a of couple days, he’s a monster. I hope this garden brings us the fruit of his labor.  I planted three types of tomatoes, four types of peppers, artichokes, and strawberries.

IMG_7539I told Kaili she was going to start swimming twice a week and I didn’t get a complaint…fingers crossed she just falls in love with it.

IMG_7526Did you all take advantage of national drink wine day? Those made up days are so silly but apparently my birthday is national margarita day, so……

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Meal Times

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I don’t know how I, one of the least pickiest eaters, has a child who doesn’t like anything. I might say that this is the most frustrating part of parenting to date. Each meal is a struggle, one week she likes something, the next she doesn’t. I know this is probably pretty normal but my gawd it’s driving me mad. I am about to let her eat dry cereal and taquitos three meals a day.

Meanwhile, Aves is still a pretty good eater and I hope it lasts.

IMG_7296 The girls just love music. Averi gets into a semi trance while watching any sort of singing and Kaili likes all the hip songs on the radio. I hate to admit this but I just downloaded a Justin Bieber song because Kaili loves it.. 

IMG_7226Kaili’s class had a field trip to the new Children’s Museum downtown. I was worried about having to bring Averi along but it worked out pretty well. A lot of the museum was great for both kids but there were some parts that weren’t Averi accessible, I would have had a hard time rounding them up all by myself.

IMG_7218IMG_7220IMG_7225Days are starting to get easier. Averi is sleeping through the night, Kaili has been pretty good about staying quiet until 6:30. Aves will play by herself and watch some cartoons  while I need to get whatever done, and then she naps from about 10 until noonish. That time I spend working out and reading in the sun or the bath. I am trying to take more of her nap time to zen out. I don’t know if it helps with my patience or not, I like to think it does.

 

18 Months Again

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Averi’s 18 month Dr. appointment happened a few weeks back. I was surprised to find out that she is really low in the percentages, barely in the one percentile for weight. I mean, the girl eats…a lot. I have been trying to be conscious about swapping  out the “easy” empty calorie snacks for the more caloric ones but other than that,  I am not going to worry about it. She looks good to me.

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IMG_7204Shane took Kaili to see Frozen on Ice. I think she liked it, or maybe it was more she was mesmerized by the whole production.

Apparently the girl wanted to get some cotton candy because she said she liked it, although she never had it before. Turns out, she doesn’t like cotton candy. Strange child that one.

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I was lucky enough to get away to see the Women’s US national team play that day. I’m not sure I have seen the women play before. Fun to be there but we whooped Ireland so the game was kind of a bore.

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That night we had our babysitter come so we could get away with some friends. Our local winery had live comedy, headlining was a finalist on Last Comic Standing. We had a good time but we didn’t plan well. Everyone had gotten there pretty early, bringing food to graze on leading up to the show. When we showed up the place was pretty packed. The comedians were entertaining, the wine decent but pricey.

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Marching On

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

The Avester is getting pretty good at walking. She enjoys putting on her shoes and heading out. She’s got to work on getting up and down steps but soon she should be able to wander around without much help.

California has been in the oven the past month and we have been held up in our nice air conditioned house. I think Aves gets stir crazy sometimes but then I think of the book The Room and I’m like, girl, you’re good. In all seriousness,  it’s been too hot to be outside for long, plain miserable. If we were outside, water was involved.

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She is now 14 months. I have started her on some sign language, just a few basic signs. She is catching on fast but I’m not so sure she quite understands what she is saying, but she will. We don’t have much language, she can say dada and growls for “doggy” but that’s about it. She does babble and laughs a lot, she melts my heart. Not everything is getting put in her mouth anymore, she is good about stopping if I tell her “Averi, not in your mouth.” I was doing  a bunch of art activities with Kaili at her age because K never had any sort of oral fixation. I am still hesitant to do much with A, hopefully soon. I know she will love it.

IMG_6013We stopped bottles completely, no problem. I tried everything I could to get her to drink milk but she doesn’t want it. Without the milk, her constipation stopped. She get’s her dairy through yogurt and cheese and that doesn’t seem to bother her…luckily.

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I have to admit, I am looking forward to the holidays with the girls, fun times ahead.

Playing Catch Up

~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

This poor blog has been so neglected and I have no excuses. Let’s catch up. Averi is 13 months today. Yes I am serious. She has gotten her own little personality. She loves to dance and, like her sister, jams out to Uptown Funk, will that song ever die? Sheesh. She can clap and give kisses and her pretend sneeze is the cutest. I am trying to phase out the bottles and so far so good, ask me again in a week. Her body isn’t adjusting great to the whole milk and she doesn’t want to drink much out of her sippy cup, she prefers water. I am going to focus on getting her dairy through food, again ask me in a week. Remember how I said she is whiny and clingy? Well it turns out all she wanted was her lovey and pacifier, give her those and she is just fine. So unlike her sister, I am okay with her having them outside of her crib, if I am out of options, AKA making dinner or if I have my hands full and can’t put up with the crying any more. I may be creating a monster but right now it works for me.

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We have been super busy every weekend the past few months so we are taking a month off and laying low. We spent the last weekend taking a lot of walks and checking out open houses around San Diego, Kaili loves it as much as we do.

I’m trying to get back into meal planning for the week. This week I butterflied my first whole chicken and threw it on the grill. I have been cooking chicken wrong because this was so easy and so good. Plus it only took half of the time to cook as it does a whole chicken AND I didn’t have to heat the house up…winning. I also went back to an old favorite, I forgot how good this dish was and how simple, it’s going back on rotation. I made Kale two ways. I prefer my kale in chip form but I can’t get through an entire bunch of kale that way, so I took the rest and threw it a pot with quinoa and water and once it was cooked, turned it into a salad. I dressed it with olive oil, lemon juice, a serrano and some parmesan. The leftovers made a great lunch topped with chicken.

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Kaili and her eating, ugh. It’s a challenge to get her to eat anything new. Lately she doesn’t even want mac n cheese. She is starting to gag on even her favorite foods, the struggle is real. I see all of these great meal ideas for kids but I don’t even want to waste my time making them because I know she will turn her nose up at it. But then on a random day she will gobble down peas and eat an entire avocado…. This is a phase, right?

IMG_5798Kaili has gymnastics again this month and she has some Toys R Us money burning a hole in her pocket, I wonder what she will pick out? Does the Frozen phase fade out or live forever? We shall see. Happy Monday!

~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Worst blogger ever. I have been so terrible about taking time to catch up. We were busy with a certain four year olds birthday party and since then we have been on the go. Just as I sat down to write this I had to stop more than once to tend to a whiny child, not naming names.

Kali’s party was hit, most of it great, some of it not. I have a ton of thank you cards to get to but I will have a post dedicated to the birthday party soon.

Shane’s mom has been in town all week and we have been all over San Diego..Mission beach, downtown, Old town, Little Italy and Coronado. We ate our way through a lot of neighborhoods and had two nights out with friends without the kids. So much fun.

For an early mother’s day we went to the Hotel Del Coronado brunch buffet. I didn’t get any pictures but it was quite an ordeal. Imagine being inside a grand dining room. Waiters bustling, champagne flowing and food galore. The stations were spread out and separated by cuisine. Breakfast and omelets, seafood, carving station, soups, salads, soup, cheese, charcuterie, chocolate fountain, desserts and candy. Figuring out what to eat is almost like a science  or in my case, all the crab legs and the double cream cheese.  The girls were good, having Averi in a high chair now helps tremendously and lengthens our stay, but really, if you are going to have this experience, go without kids.

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