The one with all the Pictures

October 22, 2020 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Homeschooling is really sucking the life out of me and then the teachers went and added musical instruments, shame. Sorry, but those flutes are hidden for the rest of the week.

The girls have made friends with a group of the neighborhood kids and it has been AHmazing. They are eager to get off their zooms and go outside to play. They have been playing outside until the sun goes down and have been introduced to the game Ghosts in the Graveyard We have been at the tail end of our summer weather and we have definitely taken advantage of it.

Now that the weather is cooling down we thought it’s time to decorate for Halloween.

Fall cooking has been sparse, it’s been a lot of easy throw togethers, salads, Amy’s enchiladas and anything that could go on the grill.

I did make this recipe for roasted rack of lamb and with glass of cab and a dollop of mint jelly, it was delish.

I also made a divine chocolate mousse that hales from Waters Catering here in San Diego. So rich and soooo good.

Mummies were also on the menu one night.

The pumpkin patch was a slight let down, we tried a new one and although the girls were happy with it, there wont be a repeat visit. I think they would go back and just sit in the petting zoo the entire time.

But first, the hair.

They all decided they would rather paint theirs instead of carving. SO much easier.

To round out the Halloween fun, the girls had crazy hat day for their after school zoom.

There is no shortage of things to do, it’s just wanting to do them. I really hope 2021 brings more normalcy, ya know what I’m saying?

2020….How it started

How it’s going

Holiday Holiday

December 17, 2019 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Somehow it’s already mid December, I have so much to catch you up on. Currently our Elf, Peppermint Sugarcookie is playing Twister with a few scantily clad and very limber Barbies.

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Every morning the girls give a full report on what trouble he got into the night before.

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Our neighborhood puts on a Holiday party each year. It’s the perfect time to meet the neighbors we never see and probably won’t see again until the next party. It’s also a great time for the girls to see Santa. Averi loves to get fancy for all occasions, she also loves to have her photo taken.

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Our Elementary school put on a Frozen movie night and of course the girls had.to.go. We saw Frozen 2 the day after it came out and that is all Averi can talk about. Frozen Fever. But the movie theater is different than the school auditorium. Drinks were spilled, bathroom needs were constant and the Avester decided she was “too tired” and stayed put even after the lights came on. Yep that’s my kid.

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The next day we spent swimming at uncle Casey’s new place. They decided to slum it for a bit and move to Coronado Island, sigh. The view is awful. And yes it looks cold, but the pool water was just fine….for the kids…and Casey.

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Since all three girls weren’t able to attend the holiday party, we went back to the mall for another visit with Santa and some quick shopping.

As luck would have it, when we went to walk the neighborhood Christmas lights, we ran into Santa again. What a tiring job he has. Luckily he will have cookies waiting for him as a reward, or treat? So many kids and cats, I can’t keep it straight.

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Averi’s teacher held a rehearsal for the Kinder Christmas show early so I could record it. The girls are heading up to WA with their dad this holiday and she’s missing the show. It was both super cute and painful at the same time. The first picture is when they just sat down in the auditorium, the video is 30 minutes later. Wrangling cats, that is another word for teaching Kindergarten.

Summer Moments

June 29, 2017 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Kaili is finally getting comfortable in the pool. Between swimming with her friends and swim lessons, I am hoping she becomes a very strong swimmer.

We had a nice visit with friends and it took the sun going down to finally get everyone out of the pool.

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The weather has been spectacular, making it very difficult to stay inside.

I made an Indian feast for family using this recipe as my always go to for Chicken Tikka Masala. I made some Dal and Raita and bought Trader Joe’s frozen Naan and Samosa’s. We were all happily stuffed at the end of the night.

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I also made Chrissy Teigen’s Pineapple Grilled Shortribs and you guys, they were Ahhhhmazing. I will describe them as candied meat or a very tender and sweet beef jerky.

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Kaili has her last swim class, it’s bittersweet. She really loves it and asked me if she could have a playdate with her instructor. Every day she gets a little bit braver.

Life Lesson

February 19, 2016February 19, 2016 ~ 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.

Last 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.

I 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.

Did 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……

April

April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

I finally got my computer fixed after I spilled apple juice on it, ironic huh? Apple on Apple? Gah, no more liquids around electronics for this girl. It was really hard to motivate myself to write on my iPad.
So all of the sudden it’s April, birthdays are looming ahead of us. Little Averi turned 9 months, she is moving along with her own unique crawl where she uses her upper body strength to pull herself along while her feet kick about. It doesn’t slow her down. We got a baby jail for her which is great when I need to turn my back, she will find anything and everything on the ground, put it in her mouth and then gag on it. Where there’s a will there is a way, she is a determined little thing.
She is still on purees because she chokes on anything that isn’t and it scares the hell out of me. I didn’t make my own food this time around because it’s so easy to buy and the variety of food available is amazing but it’s not cheap.

She has been sick the past month AND her two top teeth just poked through so sleep has been a mess, with wake ups sporadic. Like her sister she is an early riser and I have come to the realization that these girls are not late sleepers and I will never sleep in again.

Kaili turns 4 in a couple of weeks, this amazes me. She is doing great in school, can write her name and is working on writing MOM and DAD. I can look at her and say Shane and I have done good. She is compassionate, empathic, funny and relatively a good listener. She is starting to act out a bit which is actually coming later than I expected. Nothing that’s not age appropriate but her baby sister usually gets the brunt of it. This sharing thing is harder than in looks.

She started swimming lessons twice a week at the Y and she loves it.She is picking it all up really fast.

We got her a bunk bed for her birthday with Frozen sheets to go with it, of course. She is excited to share her bed with anyone really, and soon enough Averi will be her roommate. I told Kaili she will be in charge of getting Averi back to sleep once that happens! Good times ahead!

Getaway

September 20, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

I am realizing that adding a second kid has taken time away from my blogging, so I apologize that posts are further apart but rest assured I will catch up.

Monday, the girls and I drove up to Ventura to stay the week with Shane. He gave up his handy (ahem cheaper) hotel for the week and moved us into the Embassy Suites Mandalay beach resort. It’s right on the beach in Oxnard. With a big pool and a couple of hot tubs, we were sure to be entertained. Our room had a perfect ocean view and with a big patio that I sat out on every day.

The drive was great, Averi slept and Kaili was a perfect angel but by the end of the first day I was second guessing the trip. I was exhausted and I had a baby to tend to. Averi woke up at 3:am that next morning and didn’t go back to sleep until minutes before Shane had to leave for work. Kaili popped up not a moment later so the four of us rolled down to breakfast at an ungodly time and I wanted to cry in my coffee. But 7 cups of caffeine later and a swim in the pool, I felt much better. Averi was being a perfect baby, napping when I needed her to { AKA at the pool} and Kaili was so much fun to be with.

I started to fall into a rhythm and was able to fully enjoy myself. Kaili and I went swimming every morning after breakfast while Averi napped in the stroller. We hit the beach after lunch and then the pool again for Averi’s afternoon nap.

When Shane got back we would head out to dinner. Sadly we didn’t have much luck in the choices we made, the food was nothing special and the service subpar. Fed up with our meals I put a little more research into our last dinner. I came across a restaurant in the Ventura harbor that had sparkling reviews, and it didn’t disappoint.

We splurged on a nice bottle of wine for our anniversary and enjoyed it over looking the harbor.

For our drive home we put Kaili’s carseat in Shane’s car so we could both take advantage of the carpool lane. We started south on PCH stopping in Santa Monica for a twirl on the Ferris Wheel and lunch.

Next year we will do it all over again and I can’t wait.

A Week in Photos

September 5, 2014September 5, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Is it really September? Somehow the the past few weeks have been a blur and I find myself looking forward to Fall. I am sure I will regret that statement by NovemBRRR.

Kaili has spent the past week in the water, swimming in our neighbors pool or the hot tub. She has stayed up late playing with friends and making pizza. We had our neighborhood block party and Kaili had her “real” first day of school. When watching her play, the three things I know she is picking up from school are, the months of the year, that Jesus loves her, and you go to time out for hitting.