RED, WHITE and BLUE day!

Once again I must repeat, pregnancy keeps me from blogging as often as I want but before letting another week go by I thought I would at least post some pics from our fun 4th of July in Del Mar. I know, I know - I have missed Father's Day, my birthday (made special by DH and the kiddos), DS's first day of preschool ... and much much more. My hope (too wishful of thinking I am sure) is to go back and blog about those events too.

Until then ... here are some snappy's of our wonderful 4th of July at the beach. Unfortunately I left the DC at home (by accident) - you know the DC, the fancy schmancy Dear Camera that makes me look like a photographer but at least had my little compact in my purse to capture some of the fun (and only some since my compact camera was low on batteries and didn't even make it to our bbq/smores/firework fun!).

I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day too! If you are interested in seeing the wee ones the last couple Independence Days you can click HERE and HERE - my how they have grown!

DH and DS on the right and leading the charge across the street to the beach with all our sand toys, umbrellas, chairs, coolers and more (yes, we were beyond excited to spend the day/night at my sister's Del Mar beach house ... just steps away to the beach):

DS spent the entire day playing in the sand - digging holes, building sand castles, jumping, running, splashing ... let's just say, he had a WONDERFUL 3 hour nap before fireworks!:

DD was right there with DS playing all day in the sand (including long nap as well ... and that was after a short one on the beach too!):

The last picture before the compact camera died (the battery actually died while taking this picture and wasn't even sure I had gotten it until getting home and checking the memory card). The kiddos cleaned up and ready for BBQ time, smores and then off to watch the big firework show at the beach displayed from the Del Mar Fair (they LOVED it!):

7 down 2 to go

I walked down stairs this morning in my jammies and immediately upon seeing me (before a good morning, before a hello ... ) ...

DS: "Wow, Mommy, your tummy is getting big.".

Me: "I know.".

DS: "Pretty soon the baby is going to break it.".

DS still looking at my tummy in amazement

DS: "And the Dr. is going to have to fix it ... (long pause) ... with tape.".



And to think, I still have 2 months for this tummy to keep growing, I am thinking tape sounds much easier then the working out I have ahead of me ... and besides that, DS is going to still think the baby is in there anyway when he sees how big the post baby tummy is. Oh, the joys of pregnancy.

Happy (early) Birthday Mommy!

Like all stay at home mothers the 5:00pm hour is probably my most challenging with the kids. That is why on days when my DH won't be home for dinner, bath and bedtime I will often treat the kids and myself to dinner out for less mess and a change of scenery. One of my favorite choices is Chick-fil-A. The kids love the food, it is affordable and they have a fun play zone to burn off their last bit of energy.

On our most recent trip to Chick-fil-A I noticed DS eyeing with wide eyes all the kids getting balloons and ice cream while we were getting ready to leave. We had already eaten our dinner and we had already played in the play area. I knew what question was about to come out so before he asked I decided to beat him to the punch and said, "if you go potty we can get an ice cream". (okay, cheating a bit, this preggo lady was looking for an excuse to get an ice cream and DS was already doing the pee pee dance, lol) His eyes lit up. After a quick potty break I ordered a chocolate shake (no, I didn't give him a choice, I let the baby in my tummy pick this time). I split it up into 3 cups and the 3 of us sat down in a booth enjoying our chocolate shake after a good dinner and a fun time in the play area ... and if his huge smile on his face wasn't enough (the smile that makes his eyes sparkle even more and every bit of frustration I had with him that day completely disappears) he leans across the table, looks straight into my eyes and with his red balloon tied around one wrist and his chocolate shake in the other hand he says in his sweetest 3 year old voice, "thank you Mommy, this is like a birthday party!".

Awwwwwwwwwwww, not only does he melt my heart from showing his gratitude but he makes me feel proud knowing he thinks of these moments as special (as special as a "birthday party") because I can't lie there are those days when DH is away and I'm exhausted and I wonder after I put them down for bed - did I let them watch too much TV today? did I give them too many treats today? did I give in too much today? (in other words, **mother guilt, mother guilt, mother guilt**)

Nah, he just made me hope that the balance I strive for is still there even on the long(er) days.
(or maybe I should just say, at least on this day, and leave it at that!).

California Candy

Am I rubbing it in if I say how lucky we are to not only have the sunshine to enjoy in Southern California but many many wonderful activities available to us with out having to travel far?! And getting there has become part of the fun in the new family minivan (an entire post needed just for the new shiney family 'mobile - stay tuned). So what have we been up to lately on our weekends?

Several days just enjoying the sun, sand and surf in Laguna Beach, CA:

Train ride at Griffith Park and visiting the Observatory: with a stop at the famous Phillipe's for sandwiches:

Ferry ride from Balboa Island to the Peninsula where we rode the merry-go-round and had lunch on the Pier:

Really?! Why would you live any where else? (*spoken like a true native Californian!*) ... gotta run, off to the beach, park, nature center, Sea World .... oh, so much to do!!!

Not-So-Picky-Eater

We have been enjoying our long holiday weekend. Saturday we rode the train at Griffith Park and visited the Observatory. Yesterday we spent most of the day at Laguna Beach where my little girl proved once again just how un-picky she is with food.

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all who have served and given us our freedom.