Thumbs Up

October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Last week Kaili had her 6 month dental check up. To say I was proud of her is an understatement. I had been reminding her of her appointment a few days ahead of time, to make sure she wasn’t blind sided. When the day came, she didn’t even question it. They took x-rays and cleaned her teeth, the dentist gave us a thumbs up and that was it. She hopped out of the chair like no big deal. I love her.

Her school had a field trip to Oma’s pumpkin patch in Lakeside. I took both the girls and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. This place was a kids sanctuary, they had everything. Playgrounds, soccer field, corn maze, hayrides, a toddler play area, animals, should I go on? But I think her favorite part was being able to pal around with her BFF’s!

The kids got a kick out of the hayride that went through the farms property and stopped inside the rather smelly cow stalls. The nice driver got out of the tractor and attempted to tell us a little about the newly born calf but he was drowned out by all the kids yelling “ew, poop” repeatedly.

They finished the trip with a group lunch and by this time, almost 1:00, Averi was beat, she was asleep halfway home. First time for everything. Kaili on the other hand, wanted me to take her to the park, the girl is an energizer bunny.

Out and About

September 14, 2015September 15, 2015 ~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

There is a new restaurant down in Harbor Island. One I have been anticipating for months. Since Shane and I don’t get many chances to go out alone, we decided to try Coasterra with kids in tow. The view is AHmazing, I crave sitting outside along the water and their atmosphere definitely satisfied.

I can’t go into detail on the food, we had a few apps and a soup, all good but not AHmazing. Their menu was enticing but pricey, not worth dropping that much on a meal that I can’t enjoy in peace…know what i’m saying?

Kaili got to see San Diego from a higher point of view, she loved it…she also loved her first attempt at pool, she needs some practice.

We don’t get downtown much these days but since they let little kids in bars, I don’t see why we don’t go more often.

Eats and Greets

July 14, 2015July 15, 2015 ~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

I am saving up for my next life. I am going to hire a night nanny. She will come at 6:00pm and take care of all the tedious bed time hoopla {we will keep story time} wake up with the kids when they cry, fall out of bed or just plain don’t want to sleep and wake up with them at 5:30 in the morning. Then I will glide in, all bright eyed and bushy tailed and redeem my position.

We spent part of the day in Seaport village last week, I have been there so many times now I can’t keep track, we seriously live in the best place. Averi went on her first carousel ride and we had a very overpriced lunch but the view….

sisters first rodeo — Sisters first rodeo

Shane and I were lucky enough to get away for a 21 and over dinner while the folks were here. Averi had been being such a little PITA that I was nervous about leaving her…but she was just fine. We wanted to stay away from downtown due to Comic Con so it was the perfect excuse to try Brian Malarkey’s La Jolla eatery Herringbone. The vibe of this place is sound. I wish I lived walking distance, I would be a regular.

There is a booze bar and a raw bar and I want to get to know both. I ordered the Branzino and it was by far the best I have ever had. Don’t forget that the cheeks on fish are the best part, just slap that hand away when someone tries to be cheeky. It was paired with an artichoke salad and a minty pea puree that put London’s mushy peas to shame, sorry lads.

We also knocked out another restaurant on our to-do list…The OB noodle house. This is a place where you need a group of people and everyone is into sharing. So many great things on their menu. Everything I tried was good, Kaili liked the Pho and you have to try the garlic chili chicken wings…drool.

It was a fun visit with the in-laws as always. Averi is back in her room and her crib and it’s been glorious. Good sleep has her like….Chillen.

May 4, 2015 ~ 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.

Seeing Red

January 6, 2015 ~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

We’ve been home a week and I finally caught the cold! Of course it came on a Sunday, knowing I would be alone with the kids all week, well played cold. Kaili woke up with a slight cough and a runny nose so….

I wanted to catch you up in a Trolley incident we witnessed. Friday morning we hopped on the trolley and headed to the convention center to see the car show. After a few hours of drooling over cars we most likely will never own we hopped over to Little Italy for lunch. After a decent meal at Davanti (Food is always good, service wasn’t the best.) we waited for the trolley to go back home. When it pulled up and the doors opened a woman hollered for us to get on another car, something about blood. We realized we didn’t process her request as we hopped in the next door down. Once on the train chaos ensued, there was shouting and as I looked down the aisle there were small pools of blood. A woman came walking our way holding her forearm, she was noticeably bleeding and went to push the button to open the doors but we were already moving. She just stood there holding her wound and everyone else just stood there minding there own business. This is the part I can’t wrap my head around, maybe it was shock or fear but I couldn’t believe it. I grabbed a diaper from my bag and told her to wrap it tight around her arm. Then I told the people comfortably sitting down with their heads in their iPhones to get up so she could sit down. I pushed the emergency button and the conductor informed me that authorities were waiting in Old Town. Meanwhile Kaili was very concerned and wanted to have a front row seat, so Shane took over and I took Kaili to a further seat until we reached our stop.

This lady was bleeding and it was bad, like a slow pour onto the ground. Shane and I both would have done more had we had gloves, he did his best to keep her arm elevated without getting blood on him but she was fading fast. When we stopped the police came aboard and immediately arrested two people. We hollered for them to come get her, they weren’t in a terrible hurry and the ambulance wasn’t even there yet. They took her off and that was that in a nutshell.

Once we were home we found out that the woman who was stabbed was apparently the aggressor and threw a punch at another older woman, whom in return stabbed her on the arm. It said she was at the hospital in critical condition.

Kaili had some questions that evening but I think we did a good job explaining and reassuring her, she hasn’t really brought it up since and no nightmares, which I was a tad worried about.

What I want to know is if you were a witness to that situation and a woman was bleeding really badly in front of you, would you help or mind your own business. What would you do? Primetime’s John Quiñones and I want to know.

Between the Moon and Walla Walla

December 18, 2014December 19, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

The alarm was set for 3:40 AM but I was awake long before wondering if I should just get up or enjoy the quiet. Early morning travel isn’t the same with kids. Averi started moving around not long after, that was my excuse to hop out of bed and watch the Voice finale I had recorded.

We were out of the house before 4:30 and on our way to the airport in the pouring rain. Kaili was overly excited for our trip to Walla Walla, she was asking a question a second, her mouth couldn’t keep up with her brain. “SHHH, Kaili, do you see the moon?”

Leaving San Diego was a breeze, the kids were angels. The flight seemed a little long to me, holding a baby in those seats for hours is exhausting. She slept most of the time while Kaili watched Peppa Pig on the iPad.

We had a 3 hour layover in Seattle, which seems like a really long time but it actually flew by. After a mediocre lunch we situated ourselves in the kids play area so Kaili could let out some energy. I didn’t know these kid’s places existed but it’s terribly brilliant. A designated room for kids to climb and run around in between flights, I mean what’s not to love? Actually I will tell you what’s not to love, the parents who let their 8 year olds tear through the place as they merely tackle the toddler who waddles in front of them. As I voiced my opinion on how I would never be that mom, a woman behind me said “well if you just had the flight we had, you might change your mind.” Um, no lady. At that moment I was ready to rip apart any parent who’s child knocked into Kaili. I may have been a little cranky. Kaili escaped unscathed and we headed back to our terminal for the last leg of the trip.

By this time, we were all feeling the early wake up, Kaili’s cold was kicked up a notch and even the flight attendant was in a pissy mood.. The flight to Walla Walla from Seattle is a skip and a hop, with a smaller plane, 4 seat rows and one bathroom with no changing table. We were the first ones on the plane and as I sat semi squished to the lady next to me and Averi on my lap, the doors closed but half of the seats were empty. The lady behind me and I were already planning which seat we were moving to. The empty row in front of Shane and Kaili would be perfect for me, I could give her a bottle AND change her diaper. The flight attendant came around and I asked her if I could move, she says ” No, we are going to keep everyone in their assigned seats, it makes our job easier.” I shit you not. I pleaded my case…”but baby here needs a bottle and it would be SOO much easier….” She agreed to let me move but she sure wasn’t happy about it, so that set the tone for the flight. Luckily Horizon Airlines earns back some customers appreciation with a complimentary beer or wine, because I came > – < close to hash tagging the shit out of them on Twitter and Instagram. ( oooooh, she went there!)

Before Averi was done with her white, and me with mine, we were descending into the land of nothing, Walla Walla.

Thanksgiving

November 30, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

This is how our Thanksgiving day started out. Pretty brilliant, right?
We started our gluttony early in the day and we were lucky enough to do so outside.

“Really getting sick of these pictures, mom” — Kaili ” CHEESE” — Averi

We devoured a traditional menu and it was all so delicious, I am still full.

What wasn’t traditional was that the Seahawks were playing the primetime game against the Niners..I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the most watched primetime game in Thanksgiving past.

I usually prefer a good morning game when the kids are happy and awake and I don’t have to be bothered by baths and bedtime. However seeing this at the end made it all worth it.

Seattle 19 – 3 ( Enjoying turkey on the Niner logo )

That was a great way to end our Thanksgiving.

The next morning we had a visitor.

Meet Elf King Felix <<<— (sometimes you just have to let the man have his way)

Elf Felix is here on Santa’s behalf to watch over Kaili and report back to the North Pole each night only to return in a new spot each day.

Day two and I almost forgot to move the damn elf… This should go very well.

Week in Photos

October 22, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

It’s been awhile since I have had one of these blog posts, which means I am doing more things, AND there were even a few firsts this past week, winning!

First off, coffee! Since I don’t support big coffee chains anymore (insert snob emoji here) I will only drink local coffee when out and about. Luckily good, local coffee is not hard to find in this fine city. I met a friend I havn’t seen in awhile at The Swell, in Mission Beach. This friend is also the face behind SD Coffee Club. Having coffee with her is like eating with a food critic, the service will be red carpet and they will chat with you about shit you don’t know or really care about..but it’s good coffee.

I also tried a new restaurant, El Agave in Old Town. It was a last minute lunch and it was one of the best I have had in awhile. You must try the Mole enchiladas, the sopa cilantro and the sopes surtidos. It was a quiet lunch which means, perfect with two little ones.

*Side note.-I always check the restaurants website and Yelp to see if it’s kid friendly. Most of the time...unless it’s a five star dining establishment, they will be happy to accommodate kids, (assuming yours isn’t a little shit) especially at an earlier time. They just might not have a child’s menu.

Another first, we went downtown to the new waterfront park. Think new age play area for the kids meets fancy water feature splash pad but less impressive. Jeez, I don’t mean to be a downer but i think the space could have been a lot more impressive.

Clearly she didn’t mind.

This kid of mine must have hit a growth spurt because she has been sleeping 12 hours STRAIGHT at night. The first few nights I woke up around 4 and like a creeper went into her room to make sure she was breathing #paranoid. The other nights I just look at the video monitor to see if she moves.

Kaili has been taking gymnastics at our YMCA, she loves it!!

I took the kids to Fiesta Island for the first time…solo. The trip just reminded me how inconvenient it is to do this shit alone. That is all.

Next week I expect SO much more…oh who am I kidding?

The Constant

August 19, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

You know what parenting two kids is? It’s constant…non-stop, sometimes wonderful, other times not so wonderful constancy. It’s a perpetual motion tending to both of them on my own and I have two easy (so far) kids. The hardest part is when they tag team me at 5:00 in the morning. Kaili has been waking up super early and it only seems to happen when Shane isn’t home.

Averi is almost 6 weeks old and is different day to day. She eats about every 2-4 hours during the day, at night its anybody’s guess. I try to be consistent putting her down around 8:30-9:00. Some nights she wakes up 3 hours later on.the.dot, and others she will go a nice long stretch waiting until 2:00 or 3:00am. The latter is happening more often and it’s dreamy.

When she’s awake, she wants to be snuggled. A little tummy time here, a little swing time there but then its into my arms. Put here in the stroller or the car and she passes out like a frat boy after a kegger and she will stay asleep.

Since she is an easy traveler we have been getting out a lot on the weekends, car shows, festivals, wine tasting and lunches.

DSC_3179med-res — San Diego Bay *photo courtesy of Brian Kerr

Considering Averi should have only been here 18 days ago, It’s been nice to be able to enjoy summer a little longer than I had expected. Soon it will fade away and Fall will be peeking around the corner.

Slowing Down

August 2, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Things are slowing down after a brimful week of San Diego fun. We tried a handful of new restaurants, ran into more than one Michael Myers, hit up Belmont Park and took too many pictures of baby face.

Comic Con happened last weekend so we hopped on the trolley {Kaili’s favorite} and headed downtown. First, let me take a selfie or an USsie.?

Culinary superstars Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich opened another Pizzeria Mozza in Seaport Village. A “must-do” on my summer bucket list. What a perfect place to have lunch before people watching the entertainers at Comic Con. My father in law has a flare for dramatics when it comes to trying new foods. After having the menu translated for him and convincing him that bufala wasn’t actually buffalo and was just a very good, fresh mozzarella cheese, he decided to have his own panini while the rest of us shared a few pizzas. He just couldn’t leave his comfort zone enough to give the delicious pizzas a try. If you go, I recommend the fennel sausage, panna, scallions and red onion pizza.

After lunch we strolled down the street to take in all the sights and sounds. You don’t have to spend the big bucks on getting tickets into Comic Con, there is enough to see and do on the streets of downtown. We walked, stopping for some wine and people watching, then we ran into this guy times 5.

This was our second year hitting up Comic Con, I think it’s going to be a fun tradition to continue.

Every now and then I have to stop and snap photos of this princess.

One afternoon after Kaili’s nap I thought it would be fun to take her and the folks down to Belmont Park. Lunch by the beach followed by rides, what’s better than that? We ate lunch at Draft, the newest oceanfront restaurant and beer house. I had a french toast BLT topped with a tomato hollandaise sauce, it was something different and really good. After, we let Kaili take turns dragging us on the rides, the carousal being her favorite. I really wanted to hit a few of the adult ones myself but I was urged to squash that idea due to my healing incision.

Shane’s folks left us Tuesday and now we are getting back into the swing of things just the four of us. It was great having them here and it was more help than I could have wished for. Kaili now has Walla Walla on the brain and is eager to go up and see them again soon.

Baby break.

The Art of Thyming

A Life Blog

San Diego

Thumbs Up

Out and About

Eats and Greets

Seeing Red

Between the Moon and Walla Walla

Thanksgiving

Week in Photos

The Constant

Slowing Down

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