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!