I love food and Lulu is sick.

Thursday.

“Momma Can I Hang With You”
Pleasant words I was blessed with this morning from Dear Lulu


We had an awesome morning at the Farmers Market. I love going there with analucia, because it is like getting her a free healthy breakfast. She will eat more there, than she will with me. By the time we were done strolling she was a royal mess, she had avocado, peaches and hummus residue all over her face and shirt.
THEN, we went to the fountain, and while Alessandra had a morning snack, Analucia played ring-a-round-the-rosies with Maddie, Stacy, Eveyn, Finn and Stephie. A bit over zealous, and much to the annoyance of her friends, Lulu doesn’t like to let go of her friends hands, when the all fall down.
A BIG thanks to Stacy for entertaining the Munchkins, Analucia went down like a dream at nap time.
As for me…. I sat ate a baguette, ice cream, grapes, ice tea m&m’s and a bit of cookie batter before beginning on laundry.

Off to Legoland for water play.

Friday.

I spent a better half of the day on the computer organizing all of my photos. I was sooo exhausted, by the time Jeremy came home, thankfully he took Lulu out for a jog at the beach after she advised him, “Daddy, the tide is open, let’s go to the beach.” After they returned home and got cleaned up, Jeremy asked me how my day was, and I told him I was so tired. Analucia comforted me by saying, “Don’t worry Momma, we’re going to Macaroni Grill.” She always has just the right think to say, to put a smile on my face.

Saturday.

We went to see April and Marty’s new home in Del Aire, and then to Rick and Lena’s to celebrate Matisse’s 9th Birthday.

Sunday.

Lulu has a cold. Jeremy is painting, yet again. We were banished upstairs again, to escape the fumes we watched cartoons, read books, played with toys and bathed Alessandra. Jeremy slipped us some pizza through the slat at the bottom of the door. I think Lola has been sneaking me smiles. By the way, she now has a MySpace page.

Splashing and Painting!

Thursday. Jumpin' Sprayin' at Tiffany's.




Monday. Splashin' Around At Kristin and Kathryn's





Saturday.
My world was rocked this morning, by Jeremy's earth-shattering news..... 1 year and 11 months later he has decided it is time to finish painting our family room and kitchen.

This task has been left undone, for several reasons, but the biggest being that we could never agree with what colors to paint and also he likes to start projects and leave them half done. Jeremy wants to go with the same color that we have meandering through the house, sortof like a Mochachino, damned if I can spell it, since I am not a coffee drinker..but anyways, I think it is too much brown, and prefer a neutral light mauve or similar color that is currently in the rooms.

So while J began painting the ceiling, I did what I do best lately. I shopped. 1st we hit Babies R Us, where I bought a co-sleeper baby positioner. Let me back up a second here. YES, I know I said this baby was going to stay in her bassinet, but she is sooooo noisy at night, that it is so much easier to pop a boob in her mouth, to shush her, and then roll back over to go to sleep. I will say this, she always begins her evening in the bassinet, she just ends up in the bed with us at her 1st waking. I also bought Lulu some clothes, a new baby bath tub and various other trivial things. Then we hit Target and Toys R Us. My thinking was this, if Jeremy was going to paint, we were going to be held capitive upstairs, so I better buy some new toys, as a novelty to keep Analucia entertained. Can you believe she actually had the nerve to utter the words, "I don't like Target." Is she not my child??

Sunday.

Jeremy's task was to sand and paint the trim. So we headed down to SD to hang with my Mom. While I was there I grabbed some Santana's. YUM. My Aunt Kathy came by to visit Alessandra and then I went back out to do more shopping at Babies R Us. I remembered some items I didn't get the day before. Towards the evening, we headed home and once jeremy was finished, he took us to dinner and then to HomeDepot, where the challenge of selecting the wall color began..

Tia Kathy meets Alessandra





Monday

I woke up and came to terms with the fact that my 2year old can no longer fit in 2T clothes. I guess it really isn't proper for me to continue asking her to "suck it in." So, while Jeremy taped the kitchen I went shopping. Can you believe it took him 5-6 hours to tape trim, 7 windows, 4 doorways, the built-in entertainment center and our fireplace?? I went and bought Lulu a whole new wardrobe, only to discover... I don't think she is a 3T either!! Some of the outfits are sooo tight! Can she be? Is she really a fricken 4t?

Tape done, paint ready to go on the walls..... ahhhh here we go! So, I like the new color. I can't describe it, it may have either a very very very mild pink or purple tone to it.. not sure. I find it soothing. Jeremy hates it. He wants to repaint. I wouldn't necesarily mind if it didn't mean I would be banished to the upstairs again. The TV up there doesn't have DVR, so I am stuck watching regular tv, with commercials. Who the heck watches commercials any more?




So, the debate continues, to keep the color or not. I am staying out if it. Although I am afraid without a concrete decision from me, the kitchen/family room will stay "as is" for another 2 years.. partially painted with tape all over the place.

Tuesday.
Today we went to StoryTime at Borders and then in the afternoon we had a playdate at Quail Gardens, we met up with Lyndi/Micah Paul and Timea/Jude and then later with Lesley/Jake and Alison/Jake. Analucia loves roaming and micromanaging Jake. She is very demanding of him, yelling “Jake come here, Jake don’t, Jake follow me!” Is she learning my bad habits?!? Does she get this from me?

Analucia, Lesley & Jake looking at Lizard




In the evening I went to Benihana's with Alison, Ali, Stacy and Lori for some good ole gossip and scandalous talk! We had a great time, sharing a few of the skeletons in our closets.

Wednesday.

"This is my new favorite thing."

Today, we went to the mall, and ate Hot Dog On A Stick, went to the Pet Store to watch the puppies frolick and then rode the carousel. Analucia was so happy on the merry-go-round she kept repeating, “this is my new favorite thing!” Ahhh the small things that can be so entertaining. Since Lulu had a late nap, we missed Pimp Your Bottle, so when Jeremy came home he took her jogging, while I went shopping. Nightime proved to be stressful. TOO MANY TV SHOWS to watch!! I had the DVR taping 2 shows at 8, 9 and 10 while watching other programs upstairs in realtime. Sometimes life is hard.

to go, or not to go.....

I (we) are stuck upstairs this weekend. On a whim, Jeremy decided to paint the kitchen and living room....Here are my before pictures. So I sit here contemplating

My cousin is getting married in Torreon, Mexico. I would like to go. I have a new baby and am sortof on maternity leave... but really permanent leave. Airfares are rising, the trip should normally take about 4-5 hours but with flights being cancelled left and right, i would first have to fly to BFE, then on to Torreon, and therefore most flights are averaging 8 hours, 600 bucks. I hate to fly. I would need to pay for a hotel.

I THINK, Jeremy would let me go alone with Lola, while he watch Lulu for a few days. There is no way he would want to go with me, too expensive, for such a short trip without tennis courts.

My Aunt has offered to help pay for the trip, mainly because she needs someone to help my Grandparents with the flight.

oh, i don't know. Normally when I fly, even pre-baby, I was the one who always needed help. I can't manage my own luggage, how the heck will i fare with my own, the baby's, and my grandparents.

I shudder at the thought of how much i would have to pack for baby. The diapers alone would take up an entire suitcase. I remember once, i went to mexico when I was a teenager. I got my period and had to ask for a pad at a hotel we ended up at for lunch. i swear on all that is holy, the housekeeping woman gave me a large sheet of cotton. It was like 12x12 inches, and all I could think was WTF!!!! Logic told me I needed to fold the dang thing, but People, this was in like-1987, and they didn't have pads... come now!!!! I would be sooo afraid to have to rely on diapers in Mexico, just based on past pad-experiences, granted it was 20years ago, but still.

so anyways..... i'll have to put more thought into it. it would be great to see mi familia.. it's been about 7 years., and they really rock!

Trying to get organized!

I am trying to get a schedule together for myself and our household.. but I am just not consistant enough to follow through.
A few things I have begun to make my life easier is to do atleast one load of laundry every day. Normally by 10:00 am I have collected all of our sleepwear from the night and our clothes from the day before, and Jeremy’s exercise clothes. If there is room, I may toss in a few towels and perhaps my fitted sheet, since baby sleeps in our bed. This has made the laundry situation more manageable.

I am waking up a bit earlier now, so I can shower BEFORE the girls wake up. Then I don’t have to worry about Lulu manhandling Lola while I am in the shower. My goal was to get Lulu’s smoothie together too, before she woke up but the smoothie-thing may be a bust. She didn’t like the one I made her yesterday. I don’t like smoothies, much less have any fruit mixed or even touch one another. All my fruit must remain independent of each other. So I can’t even taste the stuff, to see if it is awful tasting, or not. I tried to make one on Sunday, Lulu hated it, and Jeremy laughed at it, and asked my why the blueberries were still whole, I guess he wanted them blended. I don’t know why I have such difficulties getting her to eat.

I am also working on our bedtime routine. Lately, I have been taking Lolu upstairs at 9:00, where I wake Lola, feed her, change her and keep her awake until 10:00 before going to sleep. I had previously been taking her up at 10:00 after my tv shows were over, but then we were staying awake until 11 and her first waking is generally at 1:30, so I was waking up EXHAUSTED. Waking her up at 9 for this final hour, seems to be working out for all of us. Besides, I am really enjoying watching tv in my room…. I rarely do that. During the commercials, I get myself dressed, get my clothes and the girls clothes ready for the following day. See… can’t you see how I am trying to get organized?

The only thing that I really screwing up my attempt at scheduling our lives, is Jeremy. He gets home at different times in the evening and wants to go jogging before eating dinner. So, our dinner time is erratic and he always wants to take Lulu on his jog (which gives me a huge break!) but then they come home late, so dinner is late, and then they both take showers late… so her bed time is now getting later and later. We need to work on this. I need this child asleep by 8:00pm. She only wants to snuggle with me, so I have to be glued to her side until she falls asleep.. sometimes having to go from one baby to another. This is putting a damper on my final snack time, aka… IceCream hour.

So many kinks to work out. Monday we went to Stacy and Maddie’s house for a Going Green playdate. Lulu made a frog with googly eyes. Yesterday was a rough day. No nap. Then we went to a KinderMusic class. Lulu TRIED to nap on the way over there, but I refused to let her go down. She was totally amped. Luckily when we got home, Jeremy was there and they went jogging which mellowed her out a bit. Today we will got to Alison and Jake’s house to play in tunnels, tents and with a parachute.
I'll try to take my camera to take pics...
time for lunch... feels like I just ate breakfast!

Oh No!

So... Jeremy's reunion is coming up. I contemplated exercising, but then was advised that with what i was actually willing to do, it wasn't going to make much difference. Bless Ali's heart for introducing me to Spanx.. never heard of them before, but now I am a believer! Belly mostly gone, in my new little black dress.

So i went out last night and bought 2 dresses. One was a contender for the reunion and the other was a loungy-type that I could wear around the house. Total Spent- 50 bucks.
Jeremy whined a little about me spending money, but then he dropped it.

So, what did I do today? I went to the Forum and bought my Spanx, 40 buck, new dress 70 bucks, 1 set of pajama's and a bra (with a newly impressive bra size... whawho!) 104 bucks, a sweater-shawl-thing, 70 bucks, 2 bathing suits for Analucia 107 bucks, lunch 15 bucks. Total 450 dollars... not bad for an unemployed domestic diva.. huh! Holy crap, what is he going to say when he sees the bill!!!!!

Funny thing happened at the forum...Analucia was checking out the fish, and kept yelling, "Koi, Koi, Koi." And this little boy asked his Momma, "Why does she keep calling the fish Koi?" And the mother actually said, "I don't know, maybe she thinks it is their name." I can't believe my 2 year old actually knew more than this adult!!! A few minutes later some older kids came by the pond and said, "hey, check out the Koi." The uneducated Mom, who was still there, looked at the kids quizzically. I bet she went home today, and looked up Koi on Wikipedia.

Here is a review of our past few days.....I took Analucia to the beach yesterday with some friends. Since she normally HATES the water, i didn't bring her suit, much less a change of clothes. Of course, she ended up running in the water and got all sandy. My car is now a wreck... Jeremy ended up cleaning the garage last night, of all the sand we left as we got out of our car.
On Wednesday, I had some bonding time with Alessandra while My Mom and Lulu went shopping, then I had a playdate at my house... MunchkinStory Time. Analucia did a lot better with sharing. She just loves showing off her new shoes and her new baby sister! Jeremy came home early so I could go to dinner with Gabby. I thought it was a chick-dinner, and she thought it was a couple dinner.... so there I was with both Gabby and Nigel at Karl Strauss... fun time, had my first glass of wine, in like.. FOREVER! I was sure drained afterwards...
Tuesday we all went to Legoland at night. Jeremy and Lulu and My Mom and Lulu got to go on some rides together. I hung out with Lola and tried to take photos. During the day, Lulu and I had a nice lunch with Stacy and Maddie at Souplantation and then went to the August Bday Party for TCMAM at Pine Park.
We've had a great last few days.... Analucia has been practicing for the olympics,(see photos) Alessandra has been keeping Mommy and Daddy AWAKE, I have been good a reducing the amount of junk food i have been eating lately, although at the present moment, I am thinking of getting up and eating some ice cream and sweattarts. And Sadly, my Mom just headed home... she has been with me again for the last week. This is it. This is the beginning of Lesley trying to rear 2 Munchkins all by herself. Wish me luck.

Everyone Needs A Day...

Everyone needs a day, when they can just sit on their ass and do nothing all day. Today was that day for me.

Jeremy got up early and took Lulu grocery shopping, then to work out in the gym, then he took her to the park and jogging and when the returned she was asleep. Upon her waking from naptime, he fed her and then I read her a few books and then they went swimming.

On a side note... we have been in our home almost 2 years now, and we are only NOW, beginning to use our pool. Can you believe that?? Many times I have actually forgotten that we have one, as I would search for local community pools online for us to visit. Sadly, I have not yet ventured into the pool myself. Once, i get the ok from the dr, i am sure I will get in it.

back to my day....

What have i done all day? Watched all my recorded shows, played the Hokey Pokey a few times with Alessandra, of course fed and changed her all day long, but aside from that..... i've relatively been just a waste of space. And quite proud of it!

Tomorrow... we are going to SD to visit with Gabby, My Ma and Godparents.

I really really really need to get the girls bedrooms finished. I have most of the accessories, and "fluff n stuff" I just lag when it comes to putting the stuff up all the walls... maybe all add that to my "to do" for tomorrow.

All this sitting around and doing nothing all day, has got me really tired. I am calling it a day.
Nighty night.

Pool-n-Popsicles and MNO

so Jeremy made it home by 1 am..... and he was immediately put to work... cruel, i know.
both lulu and i made certain that he was "involved" during the wee hours.

In the am, I took both muchachas to the dr. Lola is now 8lbs 3 oz and 20 3/4 inches. She's growing. YEY! Then, I ventured to Target with both of them. I am happy to say, it was a near success, doing the whole enter/exit car with 2 little ones, and a cart full of stuff. I am going to try not to make a habit out of taking them both, why stress myself out with excursions like that?

In the afternoon, I dragged Jeremy off to a playdate with us at Monica and Jake's. Since I can't go in water yet, he got to take Analucia in the pool to play with her friends... the 2 Jake's, Charlie and Ethen. Jeremy was a bit confused at first as to what happens at a playdate, and he was gathering his swim gear, so he could swim laps, that is when I had to break the news to him, that there was no lap pool, nor would there be any exercising at this event... his role is solely to entertain Analucia in the pool with her friends. He had a good time. I sat in the shade with Alessandra chatting with some of the other mommies.

I finished the day off with a mom's night out, with 14 bad ass friends at a sushi joint. I got about 2 hours in, before I got "the call" to come home and feed my hungry Ssandra...... Unfortunately, Jeremy doesn't lactate, so i had to go home.