Live For Today... Tomorrow will take care of itself

I like to ride my bicycle

Jesse and I love to have family days when he is home. We got the opportunity to buy a kid bike that attaches to mine. We got a chair for Ollie and with that bike for Frank... instant family day. Grammie and Heidi joined us for a round about Santee lakes.

Frank showing off his "new bike" to Grammie

Ollie and Frankie ready to rock!

Taking the trail

Ice Cream Break

SWEET!

Did you know that ducks like Cheezits?

If you chance to meet a frown....

My children have a new game: Lets see how many of mom's buttons we can push before 9 am!

I'm not a huge fan of this game but they seem to enjoy it and love to tag team too. It's kind of like good cop, bad cop. One is fine and sweet while the other is weepy and/or grumpy. (Breathe, two... three... four...)

This morning we start off WRONG! It is a rule in our house to get dressed and then you can have breakfast. I do this because I hate having to haul the kids back up stairs after breakfast to get ready for the day. I tell Frankie to get dressed and get his shoes on as I get Ollie in his clothes for the day.

"Ok," he says... and starts to play.

"Frank, get dressed. Your clothes are right there."

"No, I don't want to." he retorts and runs to the bathroom.

?.... What? What happened in that thirty second time span? I decide to let it go. He knows he won't eat unless he is dressed so I figure when he's hungry enough he will comply. So, Ollie and I go down stairs to eat.

While I am downstairs I hear him go to his room to dress and two minutes later I hear crying, weeping, lamenting, and a bunch of blubbering I can't understand coming from the boys room.

"Just relax..." I remind myself "don't feed into it."

Once he finally calms down I find out he was crying because he needed help with his sock.

SERIOUSLY??? That much energy over a sock??

We finally settle down to eat, after the boys fight over whose turn it is to say the prayer, when Ollie starts.

"Ollie, stop rubbing your spoon in your hair. Your spoon is for eating your yogurt." I say, my voice starting to find it's edge.

"Grrrr.... you know what???" He growls at me giving me his heaviest eyebrows.

Frankie begins singing,"If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay..." I guess the food turned him into good cop.

"Stop it! I grumpy!" Ollie yells. I chastize him for yelling and it just gets better.

Frankie would rather run around the house instead of brush his teeth and cries when I tell him I need to help him.

Ollie insists on filling his OWN water bottle and spills some on the floor.

Frankie tells me as we are going out the door that he has some poop in his underwear.

Ollie is hitting Willis.

The rest of the water from the water bottle spills on the floor as we are stepping over the threshhold.... AHHHHGGH!

(this is where mommy looses it and both of my boys become perfectly compliant angels which almost erks me more at this point!)

All before 9 am.................

Through the eyes of a child

Everyone has had it happen to them. You download your pictures and 75% of them are pictures you don't remember taking! Frank was notorious for this so we decided to get him is own camera for his birthday (thank you family). I guess my camera is still more fun to play with. Here are some of his "captures" out of the 20,30,40 shots he took.

We were at a Veteran's Museum: huge tank! Frankie could squeeze in between the wheels of the tracks.

Very old canon

Down the loading end... I think

Us trying to get him to eat instead of take pictures

Who doesn't take a picture of their toes???

I hope you enjoyed the little bit of craziness.

Aspiring musicians

Frank and Ollie love using my piano. They use it more than I do! Every time I sit down to play they always ask to play too. Sometimes it's easier to keep my talent dormant than to compete with up and comers!

Weird Allergies

I have always been allergic to weird things... avocados, carrots, cantaloupe, kiwis. After having two children I see my condition worsening. My melon allergy got worse and I had to be careful about other things I ate. I was in Costco with my mom one day and we picked up a sample of yogurt. As we were eating it I began to feel my throat closing making it harder to swallow and breath. I stop eating the yogurt and we went back to find out what was in it. Flax seed powder! It just so happened that I was now extremely allergic to flax seed and any other seed oil on some degree. I thought that was a new level of weird until Wednesday.

I peeled and sliced a mango for breakfast in the morning and while I was cutting the fruit I cut off some of the seeds spiny outside. As I ingested that little part of the seed husk I had a massive allergic reaction. I stumbled out of the kitchen, feeling knives in my throat, as I rummaged for some Benadryl in our medicines container. No pills... AAGH! (like I could swallow them anyway). Then I spotted the children's Benadryl! Three teaspoons ought to do it! I gagged down the horrifically sweetened medicine thinking "How do my kids stand this stuff?" Praying that the direct contact would ease my suffering. Reeling, I held onto the counter waiting for relief and tried to calmly answer my children's "are you ok mommy." mantra. I swear a child will ask the exact same question a million times until they are answered. Yes I am still alive to tell the story but who knows what my body will react to next:)

May Gray

I love San Diego cloudy days. They aren't too hot and "all you need is a light jacket." It makes me want to hang out at home and bake bread.

I was talking to my water aerobics class today about our current forecast. Some people say that San Diego has the best weather on earth. I don't know about that but I must admit we do have it pretty darn good. We have little to no extremes, sunny skies about 89% of the time and our beaches burn off marine layers fast enough to enjoy the day. We are blessed and spoiled with such luxuries which is why I know I could never leave. Harken all ye San Diegans, look around and enjoy today!

Way behind...

Ok, so I am way behind on blogging but a quick update. Went on vacation to San Jose to visit Dextrose (the dog we had to give away): rode horses, swam, played Wii (Frank is a rockin' bowler), saw Monterey Bay Aquarium, Golden Gate Bridge, Gherdelli's Square, Cable Cars, China Town, and hung out with Dex's awesome new family. Got back: Turned 26, shot a wedding and am still doing laundry from the trip. Picture when I get the time but here are two that must go up.

Frankie shouting Yeehaw!