Moon Sand

One of the great discoveries found at Art Beast was Moon Sand. I had seen it before but I think when it first came out I had heard some negative feedback so I stayed away. In some ways I wish I had continued to avoid it because I think it's messier than playdough, if that's possible, but the girls love it so I gave in and picked some up today. Kate chose to eat her boppypop (aka lollipop to the rest of us) while Alli tried out her Moon Sand. I have decided that I really like Moon Sand...at someone else's house.

The Greatest Place in Downtown Sacramento

The girls (and I)and some friends made another trip to Art Beast on Tuesday. Art Beast is a trek for us since it's located downtown Sacramento but it is worth the drive in every way. It's a wonderful art studio for kids where they can use just about any media they want. The girls and Bressington boys started the day in the puppet and dress up room. From there they went to the open studio where they painted and played with stickers and moon sand. Later we went outside to play with the rocks, sand, and water and had lunch. After lunch, we went back to the open studio for more painting and then into the loft for some birthday celebrations care of Evan and his wonderful pretend-cake-making skills. It was a great day and it was nice to share it with friends, too.

Hot Chocolate and Pudding

Kate slept through the night in her very own bed so her big reward was a hot chocolate from Starbucks. We had to run in to Folsom today for some errands but we made our stop at the girls favorite one on East Bidwell because they have a small play area for the kids. Usually Kate sips her hot chocolate and rarely finishes it. Today though, she must've known it was well earned because she drank every last drop.


We finished the afternoon off with a little Painting with Pudding. I figured if Kate Gosselin could handle the mess then so could I. In the end, I could handle the mess but Allison couldn't. She had to rinse off in the pool every so often, but Kate loved it and so did the boys next door. Good times.

More Birthdays

Today we got to go to Sky High and jump on huge trampolines at a birthday party for a good friend. This is not your average jumpy place. This place is wall to wall trampolines. We used to go all of the time last summer, but for some reason we never made it this summer. The girls had a blast. What could be more fun? They got to jump for hours, eat pizza, and eat ice cream cake. Happy Birthday Evan. Thanks for a great time.

Busy times

We've been so busy I haven't even had time to take pictures...really. Yesterday we met Shane, Logan, and Whitney in El Dorado Hills for a cousin playdate. We came home for naps and then went to one of the lakes by our house for Ryan's cross country team's BBQ and then went to the old neighborhood for the Powers Family Hasta La Vista dinner/dessert. It's always nice to visit the greatest neighbors we've ever had.
This morning we had Alli's second soccer practice. I did take pictures but none to be too thrilled with. I can always find her because she's the only child standing amongst 100 other kids. Agressive she's not. Maybe we'll try music. Both girls took late naps so after dinner we headed to the park for a rare evening bike ride playground experience while Ryan worked on the deck. Yep, still not done. I'm exhuasted...and yes, Kate is still sleeping in our bed.

The funny things they say...

When Alli first started talking I wrote down all of the funny things she said. Since we moved that list is buried somewhere but I think I need to start a new list. Almost 4 seems to bring out a whole new attitude. Tonight while starting bathtime I was attempting to talk to my grandfather on the phone. Now telephone conversations are never without interruption but tonight was better than most. She wanted a beach ball in the bath, but she had deflated it so I told her (while on the phone) I would blow it up when I was off the phone. Her response at the top of her lungs, "I WANT YOU TO DO IT RIGHT NOW." For those that know me well, the beach ball didn't get blown up at all tonight. We'll try again another day.
Later, we were cleaning the house before bed. A common saying around her is, "You get what you get and you don't get upset." I asked her to put her chair away. She moved it, but didn't put it away so I told her again that she needed to put it away. Her response, "I put it where I put it and you don't throw a fit."
Kate is at the really great age where she's slowly putting words together so we're getting two and three word phrases but very deliberate. She's still talking about her day with Nana where they saw an airpane and coco (airplane and helicopter) to kye (took off into the sky). It was Monday, but she loved the experience of just her and Nana on a playdate. She's also talking about the Sesame Street episode that she watched where no one was sharing. She's gets this concerned look on her face and says something to the effect of Elmo, Big Bird, and Zoe weren't sharing, but Cookie Monster (ahmumum as she calls him) must have a special place in her heart because he did share...but he didn't either :-)

Happy Birthday Ryan

Well, unfortunately Ryan didn't get to enjoy his brand new bed. Kate decided she was not going to sleep in her crib at all last night. I know many think I'm a softee but I tried to let her cry it out last night and once again she threw up on herself. At that point I'm not willing to clean her up and then plop her in her crib to start the whole thing all over again. So she was in bed with us chatting, singing, and kicking until 10:30. At that point, Ryan grabbed his stuff (in a huff) and went to sleep on the futon. I must say that after he left she didn't make a peep and within 5 minutes was fast asleep.
This morning we frosted cupcakes and then went to bring Ryan lunch at school. We stopped at his favorite, Dos Coyotes, and then had lunch with him and his fellow teachers in their staff room. He made it home early from cross country practice and we all had dinner together and opened his presents. It's not the same since he has to teach on his birthday, but hopefully he had a good birthday and hopefully he gets a good night's rest.

Happy Birthday...almost

Tomorrow is Ryan's birthday but his birthday present arrived one day early in the form of a new bed. The only way it's a gift for him is that he won't have Kate kicking him in the side while he sleeps, but we take what we can. Saturday and Sunday mornings the girls like to crawl in bed with us and watch cartoons while we try and steal a few more zzzs, but lately there just isn't enough room for 4 people in a full size bed. The girls enjoyed playing on the new bed while I tried to organize everything.


Later we made cupcakes to bring to school tomorrow while we have lunch with Ryan for his birthday. Because he's in school and coaching there really isn't much we can do for him, but we'll try and make it a special day.

Luau

One of the greatest things about Murieta is that you don't have to leave the gates for many of the events. Tonight we went to a Luau, complete with Hula dancers and fire dancers. The girls had a great time with good friends and Ryan and I were able to have a few drinks with friends while still being completely responsible parents. It was a busy, but fun day.

Our good friends the Himmelmans
We stayed later than we should have but the girls had a great time with friends

Little Kickers

Allison had her first soccer practice today. It's a new program in our area called "Little Kickers." She loved it and so did I. It was very organized and age appropriate. They arranged them all by age and then lead them through some stretching. Next, they did a few minutes of drill practice and then the kids played several three on three games. Lots of laughs and smiles all around. One more reason to love Rancho Murieta.



Getting organized
just the 4 year olds












Time for drills

1st game












2nd game

Tent and Bath Fun

We had the carpets cleaned the other day and I'm not in much of a hurry to put ALL of the toys back in the playroom so we decided to take advantage of the open space and break out the tents. Last summer Alli really wanted to go camping, but she had no idea what it really meant. We didn't ever do it but this summer she doesn't want to, but again she still doesn't really know what it means. When we set up the tents; however, she decided that she really want to sleep in the tent. Someday I know we'll make our first family camping outing, but I'm holding out as along as I can.


I was off to BUNCO on Wednesday night so Ryan and the girls had a little fun in the bath. He loves to play with their hair wet or dry. Good times had by all.

Special Conversations

I'm not really sure what sparked it but Allison's latest conversation starter is, "Mom, I want to live in the same house as you even when I get older." I think we started talking about going off to college and that someday she would get married and not live with me. Since then, she seems to bring up the subject each time we get in the car but she always has this very solemn look on her face and it just breaks my heart that she's already thinking about such distant things. I've tried to tell her that someday she's going to want to have her own space, but she knows that she can live with me for as long as she wants. Today on our way to a friend's house we decided that she can live with me for as long as she wants but when she does move out she has to live in Murieta :-) We'll see just how long I can hold her to that promise.

A typical day

Ryan continues to work hard on the deck so the girls and I did our usual weekend shopping. The grocery store and Costco were on the agenda for this morning. We ran into half of the Pettus family today and Allison decided that whenever we go to Costco, we always see someone that we know. The conversation kept them both occupied which was necessary since getting out of the cart was not an option.

During the afternoon we traveled outside again to allow Ryan more time to work on the deck. We played on the slip and slide, with the squirting octopus, and then in the plastic pool. We also had our own little photo session to prepare for tomorrow's real photo session. Stay tuned....



The girls also finally got a chance to play with the neighbors, Dakota and Dawson. It has been a long time since our schedules allowed for the kids to play together. It was a good afternoon. Ryan was even able to take a break and head out to the lake for some fishing with a friend.

3 going on 13

Allison refused to nap today. She goes back and forth between resting and napping, but for about 2 weeks now she's been sleeping during nap time. Today was a different story, not only was she not napping but she wasn't resting. After rest time, I was doing some cleaning and found her room a complete disaster. Not the usual mess after playing, but this was one of those days where her intent was to make a mess. Bed was moved across the room against her dresser, closet emptied onto the floor, etc. I asked her to clean her room to prepare for company later and her response was, "I'm NEVER going to clean my room." So I replied, "if you want to play with your toys later, you need to clean your room." To which Allison replied (with attitude), "I want you to help me." I said, "I didn't help make the mess so you need to clean it up yourself." Her response, "I'm NEVER going to clean my room but I know that you will help me anyway." I didn't justify it with a response more because I was laughing, but her room was clean by the time I was done vacuuming. For the record, I did help her move her bed back to its spot, but she did the rest.

Slip and Slide, Counting, and Elmo Potty Time

We spent the day outside. In the morning we met some friends at the park and then came home for lunch and naps. While at the park, I was admiring two moms who brought books to the park...you mean moms can read adult books during the day while the kids are awake? Seriously?

By the afternoon Ryan and I were more than frustrated with the still incomplete deck project. He still has hours and hours of work to do which, for me, means hours and hours of "girl time." So the girls and I headed outside. Somehow the slip and slide made it's first appearance of the summer. Both girls loved it. I quietly pulled a chair up and pulled my book out remembering the genious that I witnessed at the park today. I think I got two pages read before someone pushed someone else over on the slip and slide. Oh well, my intentions were good.

Now that Kate's vocabulary is expanding by the day I hope to add little tidbits that bring a smile to my face. Hopefully they will do the same for you. She loves to count, but she's missing a few numbers, namely one, so her counting goes like this, "two, fee, fi, six, seven, eigh, ni, ten." Followed by, "Yeah, Kate." She's proud of herself and not too shy to say it. Another favorite, is Elmo's Potty Time. She's making potty progress thanks to the M and Ms.

It's been about a year since my last post. So long that I don't even remember setting up the account or the blog so here goes attempt number 34. To catch you up to speed Allison will be 4 at the end of the month and Kate is 21 months old. Allison loves to "read" and play dress up. She also loves playdough and her babies, Isabella and Mary. In a nutshell, Kate loves her mommy. Alli runs a close second but Kate rarely leaves my side. She loves to eat goldfish and pirate's booty and "bobbypops." Our days are filled with park visits with friends and playing outside. Hopefully it will not be another year that passes before the next post. Until next time...