December; from Craziness to Crazymas

The month of holiday craze, shopping, parties, lots of bad-for-ya (but delicious) food & drinks followed by a full-force-6-week-kick-my-butt-and-the-rest-of-my-bod program my trainer proposed during my 1st session of the year. Little did I know at about that (the kicking-my-butt part) at the beginning of December – I was blissfully unaware.

Speaking of “bliss”…its definition: getting carded at Trader Joe’s for buying a bottle of wine. Now, THAT is bliss, given that I was born in the year that ABBA’s Dancing Queen hit the top 10 on the Billboard charts.

Once again, I fell into the “Holiday Craze” trap and managed (despite my best intentions) to have to go out and shop for last-minute Christmas gifts. This year, EVERYTHING will be purchased online. As much as I love the mall, I want to avoid it at all cost come Christmas 2012.

Personally, my two best Christmas gifts were given to me a few weeks early: my awesomely amazing and rocking Hubster gave me a new laptop. Going into my office to sit down to check my email is impossible, given that the boys possess some sort of "Mommy-at-the computer-in-the-office-radar", causing them to come and find me before I can sit down.  In other words, a laptop solves many a practical issue around this house. In addition, I now have a device that is solely MINE. No sharing, no children, no alphabet movies allowed. Just Mommy stuff. I tell the kids that their movies don’t work on my laptop – I wonder how long that’ll fly with them…

That same night, Ryder fell asleep in my arms. He was restless, so I took him out of his crib and plopped down with my big lil’ buddy in the oh-so-comfortable glider. Within 30 seconds he was out. Could not remember the last time that that happened. It was heaven. I could have sat there the entire night.

David was out of town the first weekend of the month. It was the weekend of soccer practice followed by the celebration of “Sinterklaas” – a Dutch kids’ Holiday. My friend Stacey came along as I really wasn’t up for taking both kids by myself: large crowds, 2 toddlers going in opposite directions, both on sugar highs and impatient to get their presents – not my idea of fun. Kai was old enough to get it and seemed to enjoy it. “Seemed” as I unfortunately did not have the chance to really be with him as most of my time was consumed keeping Ryder from hurting himself in the midst of his tantrums. I was “that” mom; the one with the thrashing toddler, who screams bloody murder. Large masses of people, not being able to run free, not understanding why he is there and why he’s being stopped from running away: tantrum-fueling material. By far the worst tantrums I have ever had to see him go through.

So, here’s December in SoCal: I was absolutely ECSTATIC when we were graced with a couple of days of rain. Hallelujah! The rest of the month: warm enough to drive around in a tank top with the car windows rolled down …, or to play outside … and eat mud.

Something ain’t right with these temps.

We had a new house guest join us in preparation for Christmas: an elf. The boys named him “Tommy”. Tommy the Elf sits of a Shelf and was a wonderful phenomenon that fascinated the boys immensely. In the morning they would explore the house (most of the time holding Mommy’s hand), searching for Tommy who had chosen a new spot after returning from his nightly visit to the North Pole.

Tommy the Elf doesn’t talk, but he does listen and passes on any wishes to Santa. He’s quite the cool dude, that Tommy.

The days leading up to the big Holiday were filled with Holiday fun. David and I had a chance to once again go on our “Annual Christmas Date” as we attended the Christmas party at our friends’ Jackie & Greg.

This is the Christmas Party of Christmas Parties. Jackie’s eye for detail is amazing – with decorations in every nook and cranny of the house. I didn’t use their facilities, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she had Christmas toilet paper hanging in the bathroom.

David and I were not the only ones to have a party as Kai had his first Christmas performance at school. With big eyes, not sure what to make of all this and uncertain of his role in this performance, he stood in the midst of a gaggle of toddlers, singing and performing Christmas songs in front of a church full of parents (and screaming siblings - NO, not Ryder. I had been smart enough to hire a babysitter).

Then there was the cookie & fudge making that Kai and I did. Great fun. Dough needed to be made (and taste tested), cookies needed to be cut, re-cut and cut again. They needed to be baked and yet again go through rigorous quality control to ensure perfect results. Then they needed to be decorated:

Once cookies & fudge are ready, they ought to be wrapped

and then delivered to friends, family, teachers & coaches. Personally dropping them off with the neighbors was incredibly exciting for Kai. He was one proud little boy, spreading Christmas cheer the Kai-way.

I wouldn’t be the “Super Mommy” if we didn’t whip up a Holiday cupcake this month. So, Kai and I baked cupcakes.

Ate them. Shared them. Handed them out. I don’t remember what we did with them, but they were enjoyed.

And then…there are – what started out two years ago as “tickle lights” - “tinkle lights”. Tickle Lights have become Tinkle Lights, but no matter the name they are still excitement ensuing. Fascinated by it all and sometimes too excited to breathe in between exclaiming “Look Mommy, tinkle lights! More tinkle lights! And more, and more tinkle lights!!!”, Kai goes nuts around this time of year. But wait until you get to “the house in Tarzana”… At the bottom of the street where are friends live is a house that, at Christmas time, does not have a square foot in the front yard or on the roof, that is not decorated. Kai’s reaction (in awe): “That’s Crazy-mas!” Crazy-mas. I love it. We’re keeping that one.

Of course we met Santa this year. Once again, not a big success.

At least we had a chance to ride the train to the North Pole.

And Kai got to make his very first purchase: Popcorn.

Despite all the excitement and the busy-ness of the month, Ryder took the month to relax and calm down a bit. A week after the massive tantrum blow out, things eased down a bit. Maybe it was something he needed to get out of his system, I don’t know. If it was, I can see how you wouldn’t want to keep that sort of frustration in, but really, it was extreme.

In the midst of it all, Buster decided to break his nail at the nailbed. It had to all be removed, causing him to sport the lamp shade for a few days.

Keeping a stubborn and a too-smart-for-his-own-good dog from getting to his paw is difficult [strike trough] nearly impossible. Lamp shade or not, the dog manages to find a way to get to it. Nevertheless it healed, but still giving us a big scare (not knowing if it was “just” the nail, or a tumor) until the bandages came off 5 days after the procedure.

And then the day we counted down to (several times a day) had arrived. Well, first there was Christmas Eve. Santa’s bag with presents exploded right above our house. The result:

At the sound of Kai’s door opening at 7am, both David and I jumped out of bed to catch his reaction. Had it not been Christmas morning, we would have tried to bribe him with all that we possibly could to let us sleep for another 30 minutes. But Christmas morning it was – and it was wonderful:

Shortly thereafter, Ryder awoke:

The morning was spent opening gifts, having breakfast, opening more gifts and eating and drinking some more. Then there were gifts, and some more gifts. We could have EASILY saved some more of the gifts for their birthdays (yes, we actually did save some). Once the children were in a state of overwhelm, yet playing with Thomas and his possy – the obvious winners – David and I enjoyed having the day off without feeling guilty. What a delight! In the afternoon the four of us watched the Polar Express, while enjoying some yummy bites and snacks.

Christmas dinner was our non-American style. No turkey, no hams. I am still digesting all that, plus the stuffing and gravy from Thanksgiving. No, Christmas dinner at our house consists of a beautiful Filet Mignon in a Cognac Cream Sauce. On the side: Green Beans topped with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Almond Slivers. This obviously goes hand in hand with a beautiful bottle of red. For dessert: Home Made Vanilla Bean Crème Brulée and finally a decadent double Chocolate Martini as digestive. (If only I knew what awaited me on that 2nd day of 2012.)

And so, Christmas 2011 came to an end.

On to New Year’s Eve we went.

As per tradition, I spent the 30th baking Oliebollen: beignets with raisins, topped with powdered sugar – a Dutch tradition for New Year’s. Of course, I wouldn’t be “me” if I didn’t add some cupcakes to the evening. So, cupcakes were created:

Before our first neighbors arrived, David decided to rescue a cat from the tree across the street. It apparently had been stuck there for 3 days and it was screaming for help. Up he went (David), 25 feet up the tree, in the dark, to rescue a cat. Though terrified, the cat allowed him to pick it up and take it down. I swear that cat wasn’t half as terrified as I was, but that’s a different story. The poor thing was dehydrated and starving. We gave it food, water and left it to calm down and hopefully find its way home.

The evening consisted of waves of neighbors and friends coming over. Catching up with neighbors who had been out of town for a while, to meeting new people. The evening was filled with (surprise…) good food, delicious drinks and laughter.

Happy New Year!!

2011 had come to an end. 2012 had started. Here’s to a wonderfully happy, adventurous, healthy and fun New Year!

Fall '11: November

November was … November: a month filled with anything Fall and Thanksgiving. Oh, and romance. 9 years ago, on November 17, 2002, David went down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.

And here we are.  In 9 years we: got married, bought a house, adopted a cat, adopted a dog, adopted another dog, built on to our house, got our scuba certification and dove at the Great Barrier Reef, got our motorcycle license and traveled through New Zealand by motorcycle, went to Fiji, had a son, had another son and ... did a whole lot more, but can't remember.

With my parents living in Europe, Kai & Ryder don’t get to see their Opa & Oma very often. Although twice a year is still very good, considering the distance, it unfortunately doesn’t allow them to have the bond with their grandparents like the one children with grandparents living in closer proximity have.  Needless to say, it’s always a big event when Opa & Oma come over.  And with them spending Thanksgiving with us, came a whole lot of excitement. We had made a count down calendar on which we colored in the day past right before going to bed. Every day a different color, trying to color in between the lines, not on the wall, oh the excitement.

The kids needed to get their hair cut to look a little more “presentable” – the excursion from hell for all 3 of us. The frozen yogurt afterwards made up for it for the kids.

Mama was exhausted for the rest of the day and needed a bit more than just some frozen yogurt.

For the couple of weeks that Opa & Oma were here, a good time was had by all. Kai LOVED being dropped off and picked up from school by them, Ryder was just happy to have a house full of people and David and I enjoyed the family, the dinners and the conversations.

When Kai first spotted the poster, announcing that Happy Feet Two would be in theaters in November, he proclaimed that it was his “favorite show” and he had to go see it. I must have mumbled something along the lines of “Mama and Papa taking Kai to see Happy Feet Two, while Opa & Oma look after Ryder”, because from that moment on, he would tell me this (in those exact words), every single time he spotted an ad for the movie. I find it beyond fascinating (and canNOT) wrap my brain around the fact that something like this sticks like glue, while simple things like “Thank You” are so hard to remember. So, we took Kai to see the movie, add popcorn during the the showing and ice cream afterwards and it makes for the perfect afternoon.

The weather made for great leaf play again. Though not comparable to the gorgeous colors in the North East, I love the few days that the trees on our street turn yellow and gold.

Once the leaves start falling one of our neighbors always rakes them up in a pile on the front lawn; it is the invitation that says “Com’on over and HAVE FUN Kai!!” And fun we had.

Playing outside: great fun.

Colds: no fun.

Kai caught a cold and felt like crap. Add to that the heart break that he couldn’t go to school and it makes for a pretty miserable toddler. Poor dude. However, not being able to go to school makes for a great incentive to eat and drink everything that Mommy offers, if it makes you better, ya know?

Luckily the cold kept our schedule in mind and Kai was able to attend the Thanksgiving meal at his school. What a fun thing! All kids in the large assembly room, tables decorated, center pieces, head pieces for the kids, awesome! They had made their own place mats – so cute.

And Ryder? Well, Ryder was Ryder.

Cute kid, right?  Yes, absolutely cute kid.  In between the tantrums.  Back in the day the Terrible Twos came “early” with Kai as well, so it was no surprise that we found ourselves in the eye of the storm once again. I just couldn’t remember one thing: how long is this all supposed to take? I need to know, so I can keep telling myself that within a “reasonable” time things will get better. Though he understands very well in two languages, his spoken word is lacking greatly, which without a doubt, fuels the frustration that lies behind the tantrums. But at the end of the day the most important thing for me is just to get through it. All the reasons in the world do not make it any less frustrating. So for now, I just keep telling myself that it will get better. Some time. I hope.

At the beginning of the month the little one young one decided that he had enough of the high chair, which had served both him and Kai. High chair – Bye Bye. The booster seat reappeared out of the closet and got installed on the chair. Yay, less clutter. Oops, bigger mess. I guess that’s how it goes. Ryder wasn’t grooving on the booster seat. At all. We “fought’ for 4 days at which point I took it off and gave it away to Goodwill. Though he hardly appeared above the table, the kid got his own chair and sat at the table with the rest of us. The mess around his chair didn’t get any better, but at least he created it quietly.

So this month was pomegranate month. The fruits that are priced "light years above reasonable" in stores came in abundance in my weekly organic vegetable crate. Oh, I LOVE this service. For the price of approximately 8 pomegranates in the store, I received a crate filled with fruits and vegetables (enough to serve the 4 of us for a week), including about 3 pomegranates each week. DELICIOUS! Though the seeding takes time, it is all worth it, especially when the fruit "sings in his mouth" the same way it does in yours:

All in all, November went by fast. Too fast. I love the Fall, working towards the Holidays. The time spent with family, warm and cozy inside, comfort food and happiness. Life is good.

It's 2011!

So, where was I?  Oh, that’s right...September 30th...oops.  Is it really 2011 already?  What happened? Oh yeah, I remember...I enjoyed my life.  That is not to say that I don’t enjoy writing.  Believe you me, in the past 3 months the desire to pick up pen and paper, uhum, start typing, has manifested itself pretty much daily.  Why haven’t I?  Let’s see...

There is work (and all that that entails: grading speeches, reading, plowing & suffering through outlines that are written in English that sometimes can hardly be called ‘English’, listening to excuses that really aren’t creative and so on).  I will leave it at that.

The boys are absolutely delicious.

  

I cannot get enough of them and I absolutely love love love every minute with them.  (Except when they are whiny, demanding and don't let me cook).

6 days after I last wrote, on October 5, Ryder started crawling.  My life as I knew it was over.  Bye bye to plopping him down with a toy and being able to go make some tea.  No, nothing of that anymore.  Mr. The Explorer went everywhere and was in to everything.  Especially into those things that Kai is playing with.  And vice versa.  Need I explain?  With Ryder’s ability to crawl, brotherly rivalry had started as well.

My parents came out from Europe for a month to celebrate their 35th anniversary.  We went to San Diego and had some family time.  Visited Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, the harbor, and in short: had tons of fun.  Seeing Opa & Oma enjoy the boys was such treat.  With them in living in Europe and us living here in SoCal they really only get to see them twice a year, when they visit.  It was the first time they saw Ryder after their visit in February when he was born.  They had some time to bond and of course, Kai LOVED having Opa and Oma around.  He has been asking about them practically every day after they left; very sweet, but sad at the same time.  The little man just doesn’t understand why he cannot see them, just like he goes over to our friends’ places to go spend time with them.  Yes, we Skype, but his attention span isn’t long in front of the computer.  It’s about connection for him.  If the connection isn’t there it isn’t “real”.  Though he understands Dutch, he doesn’t speak it much, so he can’t connect through the computer.

And then...(drum roll please)...what seemed like the impossible, happened...Kai is potty trained!  The day that we were at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego, he decided that it was of the utmost importance to share with every one (including those who didn’t want to hear about this) that, if “Kai sit on the potty, he get MMS” – which translates to M&M’S.  Seriously.  Every.Single.Person.  So, when we got home, I asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty.  And the rest is history.  He was potty trained 3 days later, although it took me a bit longer to be convinced.  He has only had 3 accidents since the beginning of the training.  Did pretty much everything by himself.  It was awesome.  I guess they were right (whoever ‘they’ might be) when they said “he will do it when he’s ready”.

On another note, on October 27, I became a US citizen with about 5,000 other people in the same room.  Yes, that’s right: 5,000.  Oh yeah, and...it’s a monthly event.  Seriously, no kiddin’!  Anyways, after having had my green card since we got married, I finally applied for my US citizenship, so now I am the proud owner of 2 passports.  Dual citizenship.  Pretty cool huh?

  

Then there was Halloween.  Ah, the beloved holiday in our neighborhood.  When we moved in, the house was a heavy fixer-upper.  And read: HEAVY.  We fixed most of it up, except the front yard.  It just hasn’t been a priority, but it does allow us every year to go all out with Halloween and turn our front yard into a haunted cemetery / maze / heart stopper / scream inducer.  And oh, what fun it is!!  Every year we have a group of friends who come and help out and every year we do something different.  The thing that remains the same is the idea of the maze and the fact that you’ll be scared crazy.  Wonderful.  People come from other neighborhoods to trick-or-treat in our street, just for that.  But hey, no pressure to make it fun again :-0 

  

It was wonderful.  Let’s just say that we had people rolling over the sidewalk laughing (resulting from being scared), others lost their wigs as they practically jumped out of their skin, screams echoed through the neighborhood.  Fun times.  Fun times.

Before we started our haunted ‘house’, we took Kai (and Ryder) trick-or-treating.  For the first year, he really enjoyed it, however the fun was short-lived;  a few days into November, he had forgotten all about his candy.  I think I still have his basket with candy in the closet here.

A few days after Halloween, my friend had her beautiful baby girl Haven.  She is absolutely precious.  Sweet and tiny and perfect.  It seriously makes me want to have another baby, though I swear that Mother Nature makes you forget the sleepless nights, or at least how they felt, and the fatigue exhaustion.

At the beginning of November David and I were invited to a wedding of our neighbors’ daughter.  I don’t remember when the last time was that he and I went out on a date together, let alone, when we were able to dress up.  Wait, yes, the last time I wore an evening gown was for the wedding of our neighbors’ other daughter, 2 years ago.  2 years ago...I do have a life you know.  Just not one that involves dressing up much.  Nevertheless, it was great to go out, all dolled up and pretty. 

  

We had so much fun.  I’d almost say “they have to get married more often.”  Wait, that sounds wrong.

Kai started his co-op preschool class.  With a group of mommy friends we have started a co-op preschool.  Awesome!  One morning a week, the kids have class from 10-12.  It’s great.  Every class has the same structure, but around a different theme.  A class is taught by 1 mom, 1 direct assistant and 2 moms are around to wrangle, clean up and help out where ever needed.  Kai absolutely loves it.  He is so proud of all the art that he brings home and every time he sees it hanging on the fridge he announces that it is something he made with his friends at school.

I hardly dare to write this (as I fear I may jinx it), but it truly seems like Kai has left the terrible two’s behind him.  Now that he is better able to communicate he seems so much more relaxed.  Maybe his mood and state of being is affected by me being more relaxed, but I am certainly more relaxed because he is in so much better spirits.  He is loving, gives hugs and kisses spontaneously, gets really excited about things, loves having conversations, is a lot more inquisitive , shares his toys better, is more accepting towards Ryder, has fewer tantrums (don’t remember the last time he had one), helps out a lot, and I can go on.  It’s almost like I have a new toddler.  And I am LOVING it.  The simple “Good Morning MOMMY!!!!!” when he wakes up and comes running in to give me a big hug and kiss in the morning is just heart warming and it made up for the fact that Ryder was getting up at 5am.  Yes, 5am. Pretty much every single day.  That was one of those details that wasn’t working out so well for mama.

Leading up to Christmas, Kai and I were busy with Holiday arts & crafts projects.  It was so much fun and we both LOVED doing it.  It was definitely the beginning of some serious family traditions and childhood memories.  One night, after Ryder went down, I asked him if he wanted to make the gift for his god-daddy that we had been talking about.  “YES Mommy, YES!  Let’s DO IT!!!  Kai make a present for god-daddy Michael!”  We had a blast.  I stripped him down to his T-shirt and underwear and half an hour of laugher later, the present was done, he was covered in paint, and ready to get into the bath.  Snuggles, milk and a story followed and that was our evening.  A precious memory was created.

Ryder is doing great.  He cut his 3rd and 4th teeth a couple of weeks before Christmas.  He started crawling on October 5, 4 days after he turned 8 months, walked behind his shopping cart on Thanksgiving morning and started walking for real on December 16, at 10 1/2 months.

He is absolutely loving it and is motoring through the home like there is no stopping.  The fascinating thing is that after he started walking, he started sleeping better.  Coincidence?  Hmmm...  In pretty much everything, Kai is his example and he (Ryder) is hard at work catching up with the 2 years that he lacks behind.  He is loving his solids.  When Kai was his age, I made organic home made baby food.  Everything home made, as organic as it came.  With Ryder, I simply do not have to energy to do that, so at 9 months I decided it was time for him to start eating table foods.  I was sick and tired of spending small fortunes on jarred baby food that smelled (and tasted) like card board.  So, he’s eating table foods with us.  Occasionally I will puree things, but most of the time, I just give him small pieces to feed himself.  He loves broccoli, cauliflower, meat balls, chicken, fish, cheese, yogurt and pasta.  Fruits are winners as well and Mama cannot be happier.

Just to get an idea of the size of this boy, at 9 months (that was in November) Ryder:

• weighed 25.5 lbs.
• measured 31"
• wore size 5 diaper
• wore size 18 month clothes

Yep, I make big babies, and oh my goodness are they cute.

In December we often went out for walks around the neighborhood.  The leaves had turned beautiful colors and after the rain we had one weekend, they had started falling.  We live on a street with deciduous trees, but unfortunately we don’t have any in our yard.  They start next door.  One of our neighbors across the street had been so sweet to rake all the leaves together in 1 big pile.  1 big pile that was waiting for an almost-3-year-old toddler.  1 big pile that lent itself PERFECTLY for some good Fall fun.

  

  

When Ryder was 9 months old he signed for the first time.  He is seriously suffering from the 2nd-child-syndrome; I started signing with Kai right out the gate, I only recently started it with Ryder, not even being very consistent.  After only a few times of signing ‘All Done”, imagine my surprise tonight when this happened:

I wasn’t sure if this was waving or signing, but given his response to the food, I think he was trying to make a point.  Pretty cool huh?  Ryder is just an amazing little man.  He is such a happy and content baby. 

I am just enjoying my boys so much.  They are a delight and I just want to spend every minute that I can with them.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have a break some times, but even after 2 hours of me-time, I cannot wait to return home, see those big smiles and twinkly eyes and give those boys the biggest hug and smother them with kisses.  These days, when they are awake, I spend my time with them.  The other work has to wait until they are asleep, resulting in just less time to do the other things that I would enjoy doing, such as reading, watching TV, or...writing.  Nevertheless, this year I am making some changes.  While still spending as much time with my 2 monkeys, I am planning on setting aside 1 evening per week to write, 1 evening to read, 1 evening to spend on arts and crafts projects / hobbies and 1 evening for date night with the hubby.  Yes, that leaves me 3 other nights, which I am sure, I will be able to fill in without any problems.

Christmas was a great day.  We spent the day relaxing, being a family and it was AWESOME.  The kids took pretty much the whole day to open their gifts: they would open one, play with it for an hour, then open another one and play with that for a while. 

  

  

  

We actually ended up opening the stocking gifts on New Year’s Day!  How’s that for some stretching?!?!  David and I watched our traditional “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  Every Christmas we watch this.  Every Christmas it gets to us.  Such a beautiful movie, such a heartwarming story.  Truly inspiring.  New Year’s Eve was spent with neighbors and friends playing games, laughing, eating and drinking.  Can’t be much better than that, can it?

The New Year has started and it feels like I’m starting with a clean slate.  It’s a great feeling.  I feel energized, motivated, enthusiastic and happy and I’m excited and looking forward to making this year an amazing year.  So many new experiences await us, so many memories are going to be made.  The mere thought if that is inspiring and exhilarating.  May 2011 truly be everyone’s Best Year Yet! 

I Don't Have A Title For This Post

Do you know how frustrating it is when every day you experience things that in your mind you HAVE TO blog about, only to then not have the time...??  Of course you do, and if you don't: lucky you and I kinda hate you (in a friendly, but envious sorta way).

Here I am, 6 days after my last post and every single day there have been events that really needed to be put down on paper.  It didn't happen.  What did happen?  A lot.  We: spent a day in Manhattan Beach with David's uncle, had a guest from Spain stay with us for 5 days, went to Disneyland, had a finger painting adventure on Labor Day, worked, baked, cleaned, tidied, cooked, grocery shopped (that's my own language), almost started crawling (the baby, not me), sorted through both boys' clothes, got the new ones out, put the old ones away, did laundry and ... there's much more, I just don't remember.

5 years ago, the niece of a friend of mine spent a month with us in order to improve her English.  (She's from Barcelona.)  This summer she returned to the States to visit some friends and she was crazy enough to extend her stay and come out to CA for a few days to visit us.  She had never met the boys and Kai immediately fell in love with her.  Babiche had to play with him, cuddle with him before he went to bed, hold his hand, go where ever he went.  It didn't take long for him to get completely attached to her.  She was the first he asked for in the morning, the last he asked for at night.  Very cute, but a bit challenging now that she has returned to Spain.  This afternoon he asked me: "Mommy, when is Babiche coming back home?"  So sweet and heart breaking at the same time.

This labor day weekend was awesome!  We introduced Kai (and Ryder, but he's still too young) to Disneyland on Saturday.  It was a hot and crowded day, but it made an impression on him.  Metaphorically speaking, I can say that the Disney can has now officially been opened and there is no turning back.  NOT. A. CHANCE.

One thing I don't understand though: why is it, that my normally impatient toddler is most excited about meeting his favorite characters while he patiently waits in the line that leads up to the meeting?  But then, once it's his turn to meet them...oh my...the water works go into action ACTION.  As in: they go in overdrive.  Floods of tears and burying his head in whomever's shoulder he can get to the fastest.  Really?  That's what we just waited in line for?  Sweating off close to a pound in the burning sun, allowing the person in front of me (or was it behind me?) to nauseate me with their bodily scents, and refraining from making a snarky remark to the kid (who isn't mine) who is practically dancing on my toes.  I had hoped for a bit more of a delighted response.  Tears and "No Mommy, NOOOOO!!!" were not on my radar when I placed myself in the 'meet Woody / Mickey / Buzz Lightyear / Goofy' line.

Despite all that he does manage, every time he goes to bed, to tell me about the castle, the train that went through all the tunnels, the boat in the water (It's a Small World), the rocket ship, the French Fries, Woody, Buzz, Mickey & Goofy and the fact that papa, Babiche, Ryder and mama were all there.  Twice a day.  For the past 4 days.  I think he's hooked.

Ryder enjoyed a lot of the day as well.  It's a Small World was very exciting, and despite the heat he enjoyed bopping around in the carrier on my chest.  I think he enjoyed it a bit more than I did.  With temperatures well into the triple digits, carrying approx. 24 lbs. on my chest isn't quite my idea of being comfortable, but I am glad he was.  Imagine my delight when he decided to conk out after lunch in the stroller...

Labor Day (2 days later) was spent relaxing.  Seriously, we needed the long weekend after our Disney adventure.  The fun part for the kids: Kai's girlfriend and his future mother-in-law (my best friend) came over.  (I can't believe I have to say this, but please take the 'girlfriend' and the 'future mother-in-law' as a joke!!  I said that while winking ;-)The kiddo's went crazy making their biggest finger paint master piece to date: David had cut off a huge piece of paper from his 9ft. roll of seamless. 

Add finger paint to that and 2 toddlers and you have a recipe for success.  The inflatable pool that fits adults as well made it complete: we got to cool off while scrubbing down our little future Van Gogh's.  Finish it all off with some BBQ and you have a fun-filled Labor Day.

And now, on hump day, after a holiday weekend, I am already looking forward to the weekend again.  How bad is that?  I need it already.  It will be filled with children, play dates, craziness and baking.  Deep in my heart I would like to turn myself into (and live a bit more like) a Domesticated Diva, who bakes, who has her house always nice and party-ready, who whips up the best and most delicious meals every day and who has her kids always under control.  What a beautiful life that would be.  Oh well, a girl may have aspirations and dreams, right?  Maybe some day.  [sigh]