it's a beautiful day (don't let it get away)

Today was a beautiful day. We headed over to a friends bright and early- she's offered to watch the girls on Tuesday mornings. Blessed I am! So I dropped them off around 9ish and the sun was warm and bright!

So I finally went to a real doctor for a real pregnancy test! You guessed it- it's positive! So officially, the due date is Oct 2. Then, I treated myself to some myself time. Just me, the massage chair, the jets on my feet and a People magazine. For about an hour.

And then we hung out in my friend's garden of paradise and ate salads and watched the kids dump sand all over each other. It was relaxing.

And then I took the girls to the park where we met another friend for a play date. It started off rough, but then the kids found their groove and we got a chance for a nice chat. It was a great day altogether. I love Spring Break!! A few more days to be carefree before we head into the crunch time. I am just going to change the subject right now! (We don't need to think about that until next week!)

it's already 4:15??

Here's Abigail painting faces at the Easter egg hunt/picnic Saturday. It's not enough to just get your face painted! This boy let both of the girls paint his face! It looked....well, splotchy! But is was incredibly cute. So they hunted eggs. They got some treasure. They had a blast.

Emma was sick last week with an infection of sorts. She is currently on anti-biotics and is feeling better, but still the past few days she has been extremely tired and therefore clingy. But we cut her a little slack, since she is sick and all ;)

Today we are on Spring Break, which is such a relief! We needed a break!!! We are in the process of deciding what to do about next year's schooling. Do you want to hear my statistics for the local school she would have to go to? Ready? On the 1-10 test scoring scale from greatschools.com, this school scores a 2. 90% of the kids receive the free lunch program, and there is a 2% non-Hispanic population. Oh, and to top it off, 87% are English-learners. Amazing isn't it? She would definitely be the only little blonde girl in her class! So we will see.

Teletubbies love to roll

Yes, the obsession continues! Emma woke up this morning saying "Tubtubbies!" And I think I had a dream last night that she was playing with some little Teletubbie action figures....how funny! Well, they are on PBS at 10:00 every day- so she can get her fill. :)

And as we were watching, Abigail was pretending she was an emperor penguin carrying an egg between her feet. If nothing else, it's always entertaining at our house!!

Bella doesn't seem to be feeling very well today. She is tired and cold. I hope she doesn't get the stomach flu- that is not fun!

The weekend went too fast, as usual! The highlight was a really fun BBQ last night with a bunch of friends. Santa Maria style tri-tip, beans, bread and salad. So good. And the salsa. I can't forget that. One of my friends makes the BEST salsa. I am going to try to get the recipe and can some- then maybe I can send it out to everybody! That would be fun- except....ever since I have had it, no other salsa even compares!

Well, better log in to school and get started. I never knew how much work Kindergarten would be!! :)

let it be

Wow! Yes, it is true, a new blog from here! Amazing, isn't it??! Well, the truth is, I have been mostly laying around and feeling sick for the past month! I have been so tired and nauseous that I had no energy to even get the basics, such as blogging, done! But NOW, I am feeling SO much better- the whole week has been like a new phase, like the SECOND TRIMESTER- finally! :) So we are (hopefully) back to bloggerworld.

All I have to say really is, Teletubbies. Oh my goodness, teletubbies. Or as Emma likes to say ten thousand times a day- tubtubby (as she points to the TV, VCR or Remote Control)! She is obsessed. OBSESSED. I don't know how it happened. One day she was watching an old tape of Bella's, the next day- it is all she can think about. It is extremely cute, though- to watch her get so excited when it comes on. She covers her mouth in anticipation....she says WOW! and if you are next to her, she will make you do the same thing by pulling your hand to your mouth! And then she mimics EVERYTHING she sees. "Uh-uh" "No!" "Big Hug" "Lalalala". And she does the dances. She rolls on the floor. She hops in circles. She is in love.

Ab and Bella are good. They decided they wanted their bunk beds "down", so they are very excited about the new set up. And they have started a new habit of going "fence climbing". They pack some snacks and go out back. Then they proceed to try and climb over the ten foot fence out back! I don't know what they think they will do if they get to the top! Hop over? I hope not!! They climbed up the swing set and almost reached the top- I was afraid they were going to jump over! I tried explaining it to them, but all was lost. I guess it is just for fun. It is mostly about the snacks, anyway!

And can I just say- I love how no one is talking about how Howard Stern is urging all of the people to vote for Sanjaya!! He is sweet and all, but it is almost like he is doing all he can to get kicked off!! I feel kind of bad for him actually....not that bad though, because really he should just step down. But I do think it is funny how no one is talking about it on the show. Simon was right, what more can they say!!!!

short and really sweet

So, by now you all know (hopefully) that we are going to have another baby! This will be the official blog announcement. Anyhow, the girls REALLY want another girl. Really a lot. And they want to name her Tigerlily. Yes, from Peter Pan! Little Tigerlily!

the weekend

It's been real laid back this weekend- we're getting some much needed rest and relaxation! Todd played with the girls all day and watched basketball games while I laid in bed and read a book by Jane Austen. I don't know what it is about her novels, but they provide such entertainment and escape! I finished 'Persuasion' today after only beginning it last night! I loved Anne Elliot and I had to keep reading to learn if Frederick Wentworth would declare his love once again! And, I know Todd is just as excited as I am to know that the BBC movie filmed in 1995 will be on next Friday! I already have the DVR set to record!

Todd is out tonight with a friend and I am about to watch some A-List celebrity bloopers on TV. What a wonderfully mindless day! :) Oh, it's on! More later! Bye!

Disneyland!

OK! Day 1 at Disneyland! Finally, right?? Well, we were in line at the gate by 9:00 on Wednesday. And then there was the count down at 9:30- the gates opened! We all rushed in and there was another gate at the end of Main St That opened at 10. After some Mickey Mouse candy from the gift shop and another count-down, we rushed in- straight to Pirates of the Caribbean. Isabella had told us before that she wanted to go on the scariest ride first- so we figured that would be it for a 6 year old....well, a good start, anyway.

Before I get to all that, I have to just say it was really exciting to go to Disneyland for me! It was my first time there too! I kept trying to tell Isabella that it was my first time and she would only respond- "me too!" It was silly! So even just waiting with all the excitement- catching a glimpse of the big flower Mickey head in the grass of the entryway was really fun. We were on our way to the happiest place on earth! I have to admit I almost let a bad attitude ruin it when some lady cut in front of me and than turned around giving me a dirty look....but I got over it- with the help of the magical coin. ;) See, we got our vacation package from Costco and with it came a magical coin that had been sprinkled with Pixie Dust by TinkerBell herself! This coin was to ensure us that we would have a wonderful time. We decided before we left that if anyone started to have a bad time, they would just hold the magical coin for a little while and it would help them to feel better!! It worked!! :) (In the top picture Abigail was extremely hungry....see her with the coin?) It was silly but fun- and it seriously worked!! :)

So....back to the Pirates. We got on right away and the girls were having fun for a little while, but it was definitely a little much for the very first ride and poor Bella was crying when we got off. Even at the next attraction, Tarzan's tree house, she was a little leery of the statue tiger and screamed when it roared! After that we decided to go to Fantasy land through Cinderella's castle- that was a little better for her.

Of course the first thing we had to do was get the dresses. Isabella had decided before we went that she wanted a princess dress. Abigail and her had both been very excited about this! So 3,000 dollars later, out they came outfitted as Belle and Sleeping Beauty. They were very cute trucking around in their dresses- but don't think they were out of place. I think almost every little girl there had one on!!

I think the cutest part about it was that all the workers- the cast members- were so nice and would act so excited to see them- they would say- "Oh, Belle, Aurora, I didn't realize you would be joining us today" or something to that affect. It was cute.

The sweetest part of the day- the most magical and ridiculous was at the Parade of Dreams! We were watching all the characters wave and sing and dance around and it was all fun and good. Bella was extremely excited to see Belle on the beauty and the beast float and all of dancing spoons and forks and tea cups. But that wasn't the sweetest. It was when the very last one came by with all the other princesses on board. And there was Sleeping Beauty. Abigail had been waiting and waiting to see her! So, as she went by Abigail blew her a kiss- and because the Princess had been looking down at her, she blew her one right back. It was so incredibly sweet that I almost started crying! Ab was beaming because she was so happy. Yes, the happiest place on earth! I told you it was ridiculous! So, needless to say- we are obsessed with Disney at our house now. All things Disney. That was the end of our first Disneyland day. Back to the hotel for some much needed rest! 2 more days to go!