Summer Bucket List

July 4, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

Seven more days and I am going start thinking about checking off a summer bucket list. First things first of course, I’ll have to make sure I can walk around upright and poop without crying. I have been reminded that holding a pillow on the incision helps ease the pain, it’s also good when sneezing, just in case you are being cut open anytime soon.

Do you have a bucket list for this summer or the rest of the year? I have a whole truckload of ideas, Shane thinks I am overzealous, we’ll see.

I saw this on Babble.

A few of those aren’t much of a bucket list, more like life, and I can assure you I am not doing any sort of Triathlon, mini or not.

I am going to see how many tasting rooms I can get the baby into before Winter rolls around.

I am desperate for a bowl of good Gazpacho so I need a fool proof recipe for that.

I would like to get my backside some sun so it can catch up with my frontside.

Our newly refurbished home is begging for some wall art.

I want to take Kaili to the zoo so she can hang with her peeps.

I will find a babysitter who wants to and can handle two kids. One that I can trust enough so I can actually leave the house.

I would like to go on a date with my husband while said babysitter watches the kids.

And maybe, maybe if the stars align, I will get to see Dave Matthews for our 8th anniversary. Or get to see the ponies run at Del Mar, or maybe both?

What is on your bucket list?

Masters Arrive In O.C.

November 7, 2013November 7, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

Kaili and I drove up to OC as soon as traffic let up Tuesday morning. Doesn’t this look like the perfect weather for a tennis tournament?

We got to the tennis venue a little before David’s first match. The place is really nice, decked out with a lot of comfy seating, food and drinks.

Wags kept us on our toes the first set of his match, finally winning it in a tie-breaker. My pictures of him playing have not turned out well so I will give you a glimpse and then carry on.

He killed it in the second set 6-0 kicking off his winning streak. Kaili gave her uncle a celebratory hug after the match.

The nice thing about this Mission Viejo tennis center is that center court is really open, allowing me to watch the match while Kaili wandered around in circles. She wasn’t going to sit for more than the allowed time it took to eat a fun size bag of skittles. Bribing them with candy will buy you at least 5 minutes. WINNING!

The second day kicked off almost the same way. With warmer weather and a more stressful first set, our fat heads came in handy. Each day I see the venue getting more and more crowded. This weekend should have a good turnout.

My dad came with me helping me wrangle the kid. He wandered around with her allowing me to actually sit and watch the second set. Thanks dad!

Wags once again killed it 6-0 in the second set reminding us all why he is the best!

We can’t make tomorrows matches but will be up there for the evening doubles match on Friday. I feel another win coming!

Would You Like Some Wine With Your Pumpkins?

October 28, 2013October 28, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Friday,we hit Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center. I was wrong to think it wouldn’t be overly crowded on a Friday, wrong I tell ya. We started with the petting zoo, Kaili was slow to warm up to the animals but I ended up having to bribe her out of there with a pony ride.

She had no fear on her first equine, she quite enjoyed herself. Grandma and Grandpa, we would like a pony for Christmas.

After grabbing a pumpkin, taking the obligatory pumpkin patch photos we hit the road. We had some wine to taste.

We brought our growlers to refill at Triple B winery. Sat, sipped, and nibbled away while Kaili enjoyed the great outdoors.

We found our stomachs rumbling and our palates teased so we headed on over to another winery for more sips and some damn good pizza.

Vacation and Actuality

October 20, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Our getaway to Arizona was perfection but man oh man ( woman oh woman?) reality really does smack you in the face as soon as you walk in your own front door. I missed K terribly but to be completely honest, it’s hard to jump right back into the whole parenting obligations. Now don’t take this the wrong way, I was eager to see her, more than you can imagine but she was just getting a cold so her attiTUDE wasn’t the best. Welcome home mommy now go away! Ah, if she only knew what I went through to get her here.

Vacationing…..once you have kids, even if you leave them behind, will never be the same. PERIOD.

Ok, enough whining, or wining? Did I mention how tan I am, how many hours I spent in the sun not doing a god damn thing? That is what a quick vacation is all about! <—actually that is not true, we spent about 10 hours playing basketball in the pool.

I actually did leave the house more than once. Since the guys had their Thursday football plans, Kristi took me out to the lake for a bloody mary. Chick didn’t tell me it’s a death walk to get down there.

These stairs were no joke, stable and steady they were not.

Once on the dock, we hit Dillon’s for some marginal food, a decent bloody mary but a great view and amazing company!

And no, the walk back up up those damn stairs wasn’t fun either but I am pretty sure I burnt off two sips of this bad boy!

I think it’s safe to say we all enjoyed ourselves on our getaway. We only had a few hang-ups.

The house we rented through VRBO stated it was wheelchair friendly, I took that as a chair should be able to get into and all throughout the house, including the outside. This was not the case. I haven’t done my research on what the rules are. Should it say wheelchair compliant? Anyone? But now I know I need to be more thorough.

Long story short, a little tweek here, a door off the hinge there and we were all good with that situation.

We also had a itty bitty problemo (go away auto correct) with the alarm system. All of the sudden Wednedesay night the damn alarm decided to screw with us. After a few calls from the alarm company the cops showed up. Shane explained to the nice police officers that we were renting the house and we didn’t have the code to disarm the alarm . The good cop, ~~not the bad cop~~ asked if he was in town for the game ( Did the Seahawks shirt give it away?) Shane nodded and the the good cop said he was going to the game as well, that is when Shane offered him a Seahawk jersey to wear. That is how the story ends.

This is the third time I have used VRBO and I would most definitely do it again. Although my next vacation might not be until 2016 in Rio, but I can start planning right?

San Diego Wine Tasting and all That Jazz

October 8, 2013October 8, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

School, wine tasting, harvest, baking, Seahawks, dogs, cats, pumpkins and not in that order.

Got to drink these before my doctor knocks me up. — Successful day in Ramona

The Moms Getaway

July 31, 2013July 31, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Halfway through July I decided I needed ~~to runaway~~ take a few days away, you know before summer ended. I knew who also deserved a break, my friend Michelle, super mom of 3 kiddos. She agreed and that’s when we planned on Palm Springs. We had just been there with the men, we knew where we could stay but we weren’t sure if 107 degree weather was what we wanted. After a few weeks of hemming and hawing we decided that PS would be our best option.

We met at the Hyatt downtown Friday afternoon, quickly caught up then headed out for dinner. We hopped around to a few different places enjoying small bites at each. We were dining on the patio at one of the spots and the misters were on keeping patrons cool, or should I say wet is a better word?

I told her it looked like she backed her ass up into a fountain. We slyly made our way bathroom to “air dry” her lady lumps.

That didn’t work so well. Maybe the hairdryer would be a better choice? (Please excuse the toilet shot)

Problem solved. We then hit a modern bistro called Lulu’s. They had happy hour all night in the bar area. Good food, good drinks, good prices.

We ended the night watching people make fools of themselves singing Karaoke, pure enjoyment.

The next morning we went and saved a couple spots at the pool before ~~eating~~ drinking breakfast. Pinnochio’s has good food, bad coffee and cheap bottomless mimosas.

We found ourselves tasting olive oils and vinegars soon after at Olive A’Sudden.

We sat in the room chatting until finally dragging ourselves out into the heat. We spent the evening in the pool until the sun went down and we decided it was probably a good time to get dinner. We met a nice San Diegan couple at the pool and they joined us for a just OK Thai dinner.

We decided to dance the night away at a popular gay dance club, it was the perfect ending to a much needed girls getaway.

Shane took Kaili to SeaWorld that Friday and wore her out.

Happy K…

Not so happy K…

They had a great weekend and apparently she was a perfect angel for him. (mmmhmm) He even did her hair, I was impressed.

Ramona Wine Tasting

March 26, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

After a fun filled weekend with good friends, good wine and good food it’s back to reality. We headed out to Ramona for some local wine tasting, 6 wineries, some really good wine, some not so much and all with a toddler. She loved all the horses, the open space and the last winery had a very friendly dog named Pooya.

collecting corks at Chuparosa vineyards. — collecting corks at Chuparosa vineyards

Wide open spaces. Chuparosa’s tasting room is outside. Best wines of the day!

Wine straight from the barrel and it was so good. Our 2nd favorite winery of the day.

Best shot of the day thanks to Kristi Kowalski.Kiah and Kaili — Kiah and Kaili
Best shot of the day courtesy of Kristi Kowalski

CIty Love

February 17, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

“I don’t wanna think about what’s gonna be after this, I wanna just live right now.”

Lunch with an old high school friend. — Lunch with an old high school classmate. Thanks Shannon.

So Cal by Train

February 14, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Taking a train isn’t a terrible way to travel. No security, no lines and not many people.

My trip started in downtown SD and I grabbed a seat by the window, ocean side of course. Computer, water, phone, Kindle and enough on my mind to keep me occupied. What more does a girl need?

The weather was AMAZING and so was the view. Amtrack runs along the ocean until San Juan Capistrano and then hit heads inland a bit. Making quite a few stops but they are so quick it’s almost unnoticeable.

The two girls in front of me passed the time talking about makeup and “oh my god, like totally don’t use a makeup sponge because it makes your skin so, bleh” Her words, not mine! Then they chatted about where to drink in LA. Reservations were made at Beni-Hana a few minutes later…typical.

The time went by fast, 3 hours later we were in LA. The scenery changed and I put more effort into a book that is hard to get going on.Then a woman went to get cup of water out of the dispenser and it sprayed her in the face. That was enough to decide that people watching and day dreaming is more fun.