Sophie's First Day

Today was Sophie's first official day of pre-school. I was extremely nervous that she was going to have a meltdown when I had to leave her, but it ended up being the absolute opposite. I think Tim had to physically pull me away from her after my 5-minute long goodbye! I felt the need to make sure to point out all the teachers in the room, that I would be right back in a couple of hours, how to go about asking to use the potty, etc., etc. And unfortunately, I'm the one who had the meltdown the second I stepped out of the classroom! She ended up doing great and loved her first day. I, on the other hand, was watching the clock like a hawk just waiting to pick up my little baby girl! I'm thankful she had a wonderful first day and I only hope she continues to enjoy school!
Right before I left, she was starting to color. It was a nuthouse in there. There's the older kid next to her who actually had a little brother who was in the class...the older kid didn't want to leave to go to his own class. Every parent had a camera and was either taking pictures or videotaping. Parents, like me, had to practically be pushed out of the classroom so the teachers could actually get control of the kids. I promised myself I wouldn't be THAT parent and now I just don't give a damn....I'm okay with being THAT parent!

Congratulations Checkout #4!!!

First off, I must preface this blog by stating I know my life is not very exciting. So, it's the little things that really count in my book! Today, we had to do a little grocery shopping at Safeway. It also happened to be the newest Safeway in the neighborhood, so I was a little excited to check it out (I know, I know....save it)! Anyway, I was finishing up in the produce section and I hear over the loudspeaker that they're giving away free bags of groceries. They seemed to be spinning a wheel of numbers and saying, "Congratulations Checkout #5, you just won a bag of groceries!"

Needless to say, I speed over and we get in line. They're still spinning the wheel, but I've psyched myself out and figured it was over and we didn't win. I'm putting stuff on the conveyer belt and the checkout lady starts scanning our stuff....and then IT happened...."Checkout #4, you just won a bag of groceries!" Woo hoo! The checkout lady continues to tell us we won and Tim and I gleefully smile. An employee comes over and gives the people in front of us, who had already checked out and paid, the bag full of free groceries. WHAT??? Are you kidding? They walk away having no idea why someone just put a bag full of free groceries in their cart. They were literally just standing there checking their receipt. Our checkout lady says, "Oops, I thought you guys won," and proceeds to just smile. Tim is joking and tries to laugh it off with the checkout lady. Meanwhile, my head is about to spin right off my body I am stewing so much. What constitutes "Checkout #4?" Shouldn't it go to the people actually in the process of "checking out?" Shouldn't this go to the person whose items are actually being scanned? I mean, what are the rules to this actual contest anyway? These questions are running circles in my mind and I hear again, "Checkout #4, you just won a free bag of groceries!!!" Our number came up again and we ended up winning a bag of groceries!! Now, of course, I'm cool so I play it off like it's no big deal....but seriously, who am I kidding? I was SO excited. And it had great stuff in the free bag......I'd say 95% of it is stuff we actually like!

So, that was the highlight of my Wednesday. Now, I've blocked out the part about being almost ready to call foul on the contest and cause a scene in Safeway. I WON....that's all that matters, right?

Read Me A Story...and Do It Right!

I went out to dinner with a friend of mine last night, which meant Tim was left to put the kids to bed. I thought I'd make it as easy as possible and make sure the kids ate dinner, had a bath, were in their pajamas and ready for bed before I left. All Tim had to do was give Noah a bottle and put him down and then read Sophie a couple of books and put her down. Easy enough, right? Maybe not.

The evening was going really well until Tim was reading to Sophie in bed. He decided to read her one of her favorite books (an Elmo book) and they immediately were off to a bad start. First, Tim kept calling Elmo's friend in the book Angelina instead of Angela. After about the fifth time, Sophie snatched the book out of his hand and said, "NO!!! It's Angela!!" And then Tim thought it would be more entertaining if he did his Elmo impression while reading the book. Wrong again....this only annoyed Sophie more and she sternly asked him to stop. He gets to another part in the book and literally misread one sentence and Sophie had to correct him once again. Tim didn't believe her until he read it over again. Little does Tim know his daughter has practically memorized half the books in her library (she has hundreds of books....damn Scholastic gets me every time). Finally, Tim gets through the book to her satisfaction and she's ready for bed. Whew! Thank goodness he was prepared for the nightly ritual of reciting ABC's, counting, and finishing with a goodnight prayer (he hasn't learned my version yet!).

Thankfully, I returned home and Noah and Sophie were both sound asleep!! That's all that really matters, right?

Grammy Visits!

Grammy was nice enough to visit while she was on a business trip out west. Noah and Sophie both loved having her here and the time went by too fast. Not only did she spoil both Noah and Sophie with new clothes and treats, she also spoiled Tim and me and let us go out to a dinner AND movie! I couldn't believe Tim and I were out past 9pm, but we actually managed to stay awake throughout the whole movie. We always say we need to go out more often without the kids but never do, so it was nice to finally actually spend some quiet time together!

This picture of Sophie reminds me of Tim so much. She makes faces just like him!

Here's Noah with Grammy. She's tickling him and he's laughing like crazy. It doesn't take much to make this kid smile.

Look At Me!!!

Here's Noah showing off....he is loving that he can stand, but when he falls it's like a big shock to the system and he bursts out crying, realizes he's okay, and continues to try again and again!!!

This is approximately 2 seconds before he hits the ground, nice and happy, somewhat balanced....

So, What Did You Do Friday Night?

Tonight, we went to an ice cream social at church. Yes, you read that correctly the first time and no, it is not 1954. I would have never predicted I'd spend a Friday evening doing this before the age of 30 (heck, before 70) but it was a back-to-school event for Sophie. She starts pre pre-school at the church, going only two days a week for a few hours a day, and it was an opportunity to meet with other kids, have some fun, eat some ice cream, and mingle with all the other freaked out parents. I think if I had it my way, I'd be fine with keeping her home for another year, but I figure two days a week is a nice, slow transition. And the bodyguard I've hired to make sure she's safe isn't going to be terribly expensive for just two days.....okay, maybe that's a lie. But in all seriousness, I need to get my own anxiety and nerves under control before Sophie sees her mommy lose it!!!

Back to School!

I returned back to work last week and it's been nonstop since, hence the lack of blogging (well, that and my computer is still broken). I love work, but it's a different kind of exhaustion than taking care of the kids and I'm not so sure I've adjusted to it yet. Nonetheless, I'm so glad things haven't changed with my office conditions. I hope you can sense my sarcasm. They still haven't fixed the A/C and of course this week has been a heatwave with the temperature in the high 90's. They have assured us they called Orkin over the summer and they did their thing to get rid of the rodents, but I'm still skeptical. I could go on and on, but you see my point.

It was really hard leaving Noah this time. Sophie is a champ and she is beginning to understand pretty well and I can easily reason with her. But every time I put Noah down after I feed him in the morning, a little bit of my heart breaks each time. He's growing up so fast and I don't want to miss a thing!! He turned 7 months last week and he's already crawling (not scooting anymore...he is full on crawling) and pulling himself up to stand up. I swear I think this kid will be walking by 9 months at this rate! He's such a strong little boy and his smile melts my heart each time. The best part of my day is when I walk through the door, pick both of them up and smother them with hugs and kisses!!

Happy Birthday Sierra!!!!

No, we didn't just have a snowstorm in August in California. Since my computer is "taking a break," this is the only recent picture of Sierra I could find on Tim's laptop. This was taken after a snowstorm in Reno on my parents' front lawn. Anyway, Sierra turned 5 today....she's been with us about as long as Tim and I have been married, so she is definitely special to all of us. She truly is the best dog and I love watching Sophie play with her...I know Noah will be the same way.

Today, Sophie, Noah and I took Sierra to the park and threw the ball around for as long as Sierra could handle...which was a pretty long time!!! She then had a few treats today for her birthday. Sierra is not only the best dog in the world, but she's also the luckiest! What dog gets to go to work with Daddy every single day and ride around in a golf cart, have free reign all over the golf course, and is spoiled daily by everyone who works there? Sometimes I wish I could trade places with her! Happy Birthday Sierra....

Happy Anniversary Tim!

Five years and counting. I could only hope our future continues to be filled with fun adventures and new experiences. I'm so glad to share this crazy ride with you!

Computers Suck

My desktop died and now my laptop is on its deathbed. I don't know how to fix it and our "computer guy" is not getting back to us. Considering the depth of my computer-fixing knowledge is limited to restarting and banging the side of it, I really don't think I'm doing any good. It's not like I do serious business on the thing, really. Unless serious business includes blogging, checking other blogs, checking my bank account and email, and okay....maybe the occasional peek at Perez Hilton. So now, I must come in to work early to check all my stuff. Uggghhhhhh!

Let Me Out!!

Noah is always on the lookout to see if somebody is going to answer his squeals. He never cries when he wakes up from a nap (total opposite of his sister)...he just squeals and babbles until someone notices and comes to get him. Nine times out of ten he is greeting me just like this with a big smile on his face.

Metallica Lives

I was lying in bed relaxing, excited about watching the season finale to Hell's Kitchen, and I hear this scream come from the garage. I knew Tim was out there on the treadmill and I thought someone had finally slipped off the stupid thing and rammed into the car (this is my horrible visual of myself falling off the treadmill and sliding right into the front right tire of my car). But no, it's just Tim rocking out to MY ipod (I was nice enough to let him download the likes of Metallica and Rage Against the Machine) and singing at the top of his lungs. Thankfully, my camera was resting on the kitchen counter like it knew about the gem I was about to capture!!! I barely got through the taping without dying of laughter.....seriously, can I send this in somewhere and win money out of it?

http://www.vimeo.com/272670

And Then She has These Moments...

Tim and Sophie were in the backyard while Tim was cutting flowers. Sophie was sitting on the grass just watching him when out of the blue she says, "I love you Daddy." Tim told her he loved her too. She waited another minute and said, "I'll always love you Daddy." Hopefully, Sophie won't figure out these are the magic words to get anything she wants from her Daddy! Such a sweet little girl and a sweet moment between these two.

Why You Little.....

Sophie can be such a tattle tale sometimes. Most of the time I love it because she's tattling on her daddy ("Daddy's napping again!"), but yesterday she turned the tables on me. She went to use the bathroom and came storming out, "UUgggghhhh! There's no more wipes!" She then stomps to the hall closet, grabs a roll of toilet paper, and before she walks back in the bathroom she says, "Mommy, you forgot to get a new one!" I think it's funny now, but at the time I managed to get a little defensive! Hey, it was an honest mistake! It won't happen again!

Maybe Someday

Sad, but true. Sophie and Noah have not been to the happiest place on earth yet. They got these souvenirs from my sister who went to Florida with some friends. I just thought I had to post because they look so cute in their mouse ears! We were all set to take Sophie back in February and then Noah came along. Oh well! Once Noah is a little older, we'll definitely make the trip!
This fit so perfectly on Noah's head, he barely knew he had it on. It was hilarious watching him roam around on the ground like nothing. Okay, maybe I'm the only one who found it hilarious but come on, I'm all alone here!

Why Am I Up?

I am in big trouble come next week when I have to return to work. Right now, I'm a little bit tired, but I continue to check my e-mail and blog. I at least turned off the TV.....although, that's only because my DVR is broken and I could only watch live TV. My life does not allow for live TV...if I can't fast forward through the ridiculous stuff, then I don't have the patience for it. So tonight, I watched my usual Sunday night Entourage and turned it off (pat self on back). But, I'll still probably read two chapters of my book before I actually commit to turning in.

My sleep habits are all off and I am consistently waking up every morning feeling like I'm hungover. And trust me, it's been years beyond years since I've actually had a legitimate hangover. I really need to buckle down this week and get myself on a schedule. I'm so militant about making sure Sophie and Noah are on a schedule, you would think I could take care of myself. Nope, no such luck. I think my first step is to cut out the 5 p.m. Starbucks runs. That extra jolt of caffeine in the afternoon has been fantastic, but I must admit, not so healthy. I have found it is incredibly difficult to be a night owl and a mom. Really, the early birds have the advantage on this one. I just haven't figured out how to be a morning person and chances are, I never will!

When Bloggers Collide

We had such a good time visiting Kelli and her family this past weekend. As long as you forget the fact we showed up an hour late to dinner (I thought I was done being late) and got lost in Stockton (I swear it's a bigger town than it seems), everything went seamlessly well. Noah seemed to be very cuddly with Uncle Carl. I was fine with him holding Noah all night!!! But, Tim was nice enough to rescue Carl and let him have a break! Looking at these two boys in this picture, I swear they could be related.
Cake brings everyone together! Brendan, aka Tiger Woods Jr., and Sophie hung out. I figure with their combined golf skills, they should get together so all the parents can retire early!

I'm No Anne Geddes

God forbid my children actually let me capture a picture of them both smiling and looking at the camera. If one is smiling, the other blinks or forgets to look. Unfortunately, this is why I can't get professional portraits of them together yet! What I thought was going to be a cute picture event ended up with two kids crying....seriously, it went from enjoyable to torturous in 1.8 seconds. This is exactly how Sophie is when I turn on the video camera too. I ask her to recite her ABC's and she chooses to recite 18 out of 26 of them, she skips all around when I ask her to count, and she all of a sudden becomes colorblind when it's time to talk about colors. It's all a little game to her. We'll be in the car and she'll count to 15 perfectly, recite her ABC's like a pro, and identify colors from a mile away. The red light comes on the video camera and the girl turns on me. How is anyone going to believe me when I say my child is a genius?