This is my first Mother's day as a mother of two kids. Each of my kids made me something cute in school. Yes...even Kiya. They took her picture and put it in a cute little frame with a card and a saying.
Caiden made me a flower pot with hands. The hands are like helping hands. Each hand represents something.
This is the helping hands flower pot and paper teapot that Caiden made in school
He also gave me a paper that is a fill-in-the-blanks card, and he decorated a paper teapot for me too. The comments are funny. Caiden's comments are after the "..."The card says things like:
My mom is special because....she loves me
I like it when my Mom...tells me to clean up my playroom (seriously this is what it says) :P
My Mom can do many things. I think she is best at...coloring
My Mom is smart. She even knows...how to write things.
I'd like to tell my Mom...I love you!
Then Dave helped Caiden make a card for me too. How cute!
This is the inside of the above card. Caiden even wrote Happy himself and of course his name.
My mom brought me a card with flowers from Caiden and Kiya. They are so pretty. I think I may try to plant them. I figured, they are going to die anyway, so I might as well try and keep them alive. :)
These are the flowers I intend to plant and the cute card that Gigi made
This is Caiden giving the flowers and card to me.
About Me
- Mel
- California, United States
- I'm the wife of a firefighter, a mother of two wonderful kids and a full time employee with a crazy busy life. But hey, at least I'm not bored :)
Well, not really. I mean, honestly I don't KNOW Martha Stewart, but I know the next best thing...Heather Wilson!!! Heather is actually BETTER than Martha Stewart. She is funny, quirky, a good hostess and baker and doesn't have a prison record - all qualifications that I look for in a friend. :p
How did this post come about? Why the blogging about Heather? Besides the fact that she would say she's "cool" and deserves a blog posting? Well, it is teacher's appreciation week, and I am trying to do something creative for Caiden's teacher. So, instead of thinking "What would Martha Stewart do?" I think to myself "What would Heather Wilson do" - and Heather would make cupcakes...so off to the store we went.
Caiden wanted sprinkles and stuff, so I had to comply of course. We picked a rainbow sprinkle cake, so the kids would like it when they bite into it. You know, it being colorful and all. Anyway, we ended up making Ice Cream Cupcakes. There is actually no ice cream in the cupcakes, but they are made to look like ice cream...duh.
Caiden pouring the water into the cupcake mix
Such a good helper, putting out the paper cupcake holders
Ice cream cupcakes baking in the oven...this is when they were still straight
Well, I have learned a few things. I may know my version of Martha Stewart (Heather), but I am NO Martha Stewart. My ice cream cupcakes came out all crooked, and transporting them is going to be a pain in the butt. My only blessing is that they are for teacher's appreciation week at Caiden's school. What are they going to say? Go home and try again...they don't know me yet. They can't say that...I'm no Stepford wife...I mean, Heather Wilson. :P
drum roll please...
Heather's cupcakes would have been perfect! I think I will hire her next time I am tempted to be creative. :P
My son is so cute, and now I can add both patriotic and adorable to the list. :)
He is really happy at his new school and learning so much. In fact, after his bath tonight I caught him singing "God Bless America". He was singing it with so much gusto I had to grab the camera. Of course he was then not as into it as he was when I was sans camera, but you get the picture.
I especially like the part where he is supposed to sing:
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam
Instead I think he says something about the fairies. :P
For those of you who don't know the song, I have included the lyrics below:
God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
Or so everyone says. Of course I happen to believe it, as I am a happily nursing mom. But, wait...there is more.
**Warning possibly uncomfortable information ahead. Stop and go back to start if you are grossed out by nursing talk**
Despite all that you have heard about the health benefits of breast milk for both the moms and the babies, there is actually more to the story than meets the eye *hehe...you will see how clever this comment was as you continue to read**. I mean I have always heard how it boosts the baby's immune system, helps decrease certain kinds of cancers, burns extra calories for the nursing mom, is sensitive for the baby's digestive system. Blah Blah Blah, but I recently read an article in a Parenting magazine about the healing properties of breast milk. Yep, you heard me right. The HEALING properties. They said stuff like, it will help clear up ear infections, eye infections and I think I read something about stuffy noses.
Like those of you who are more adventurous and are still reading this blog posting, I was actually taken aback by the advantages of this golden milk too. I remember thinking how interesting it was, but then I also remember thinking how I would NEVER try it. I thought it was a little to "out there" and "hippie-ish" for me. Yes I know. This coming from the girl who refused pain meds and opted for a natural drug free childbirth experience.
Anyway, fast forward to about a week later and Caiden scratched his eye playing. He was up all night, crying as it hurt really bad. I tried the typical things to remedy it, and was so at my wit's end, as my child was in pain, that I ran to the refrigerator, and grabbed some breast milk and squirted it in his eye. Magically, he stopped crying (no lie) and said he felt better. Of course I had to repeat this multiple times, but by the morning he was healed. I swore that I wasn't really going to tell anyone. It would be my little secret. I mean, what would people say? Honestly?
Then it happened again, only with Kiya. She got some kind of wicked eye infection, where her eye was all crusty and gooey. It was just gross. It was last Friday and the doctor's office was closed and would be for the weekend. Again, desperation got the best of me and so I decided..."aww..what the heck, it worked before". I tried the breast milk tactic again and Viola! Her eye has cleared up and she is all smiles again. This stuff is GREAT, and what an affordable option to prescription meds!!!!
I am loving my newfound knowledge and felt I needed to share in case there were other mothers out there who might want to give this a try. Now, I'm not going to go all nutty like that chick on America's Next Top Model and drink her own expressed milk, but I may just save some for medicinal purposes. Hehe :P
Dave, Caiden, Kiya and I thought we would go visit Auntie Pam and Uncle Jake. Pretty soon baby Hester will make his appearance, so we thought we would go visit and see how the parents-to-be were holding up.
Caiden with his kick board
*UPDATE Pam gave me the go ahead to post another video...Thank you Pam*
We even put Kiya in her swimsuit. She has a little bikini, some newborn sunglasses (which are frankly too big for her), and a sun hat (also too big for her). The bikini however fit, and it was 6-9 months. I have a little chunky monkey on my hands. So cute.
Kiya in her new ensemble
Dave taking a moment to relish in the sun with his baby girl
Kiya practicing her too-cool-for-school pose. Notice the drool :P
Kiya, sitting on the side of the pool with Pam
After we went swimming, we went back to Pam's house and hung out until Jake came home. Pam, Jake, the kids and I then piled into my car and we ran some errands (babysrus and petco). We then went back to their house and picked up sleeping Dave (clearly it was exhausting being around people as cool as us) and we all went out to a yummy dinner at Red Robin.
Cade practicing his back-up career ...barber
Pregnant Pam, Uncle Jake, Kiya and Caiden
Kiya helping Uncle Jake on his computer with her monkey toes
Caiden chillin' with an apple
Uncle Jake entertaining the kids. Caiden tried to compete a little for his attention
By the time we got home, Caiden was WORN OUT. I carried him inside, but he woke up. He went upstairs to put on his PJ's while I fed Kiya. Dave took the following picture when he went up to check on him. Caiden had taken his PJ's out (they are under him), took off his socks and shoes and then that's as far as he made it before he fell asleep on the chair in his room. So cute.
Thank you Pam and Jake for the dinner and for the great time! Now if we can just convince Baby Hester to come out and play :P
Kiya, Caiden and I stopped over to Gigi's house to spend some quality time. We decided to go to Ruby's, one of my favorite 50's style diners. Caiden, Gigi and I had so much fun, and Kiya seemed to quite enjoy herself as well.
Gigi and Kiya
Because when they do it itches like crazy!!! Now I thought that this was just a cutesy little saying that I say to Caiden before I put him down to sleep. Little did I know that it could actually happen! Of course it would happen to me. I have the worst luck.
The story starts where I go to Detroit. I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott, which from all appearances LOOKED clean. My room smelled really strong of smoke, but they also had a sign that said that they recently became a "smoke free hotel". They may have wanted to wash the walls, curtains, carpet and maybe sprayed some air freshener to ensure that the smell was out, but that's not really my problem.
My problem is that I think the room had bugs. I am COVERED in bug bites and I itch like crazy. So much so that I look like I have chicken pox and I feel like it too. :( I'd take a picture, but that is pretty gross, don't you think? I finally decided that I would complain to the hotel as I have stayed as many a Courtyard Marriott and not had this problem before. Hopefully, they can fix the issue before another customer has to endure this horrible itching. :( Until then...I'm going to buy stock in Calamine lotion.
Well, not exactly. I mean, I wasn't going it Eminem style or anything, but I did take a business trip to Detroit and stayed somewhat close to 8 mile (we stayed at West 12th mile). However, if you talk to Heather, you'd think that we should be ducking and driving with just our eyeballs peering over the steering wheel. In fact, she actually told me to have Michael Chapman drive and for me to duck (Sorry Michael, guess you know which friend Heather would miss) :P
It was quite fun. This is my second time to Detroit for business and I enjoyed this trip much more. We went out to dinner as a team the first night we were together, and received some unique awards. We went to a Greek restaurant where I tried something called "flaming cheese", where they light your cheese on fire and then sit it in front of you. It was funny because Cristill and I would jump every time someone would order it. She thought that her hair was going to catch on fire, and I was just...well there is really no excuse for me.
The next day was some organized fun at the Henry Ford Museum. I had never been before, so it was quite an experience. They had some really cool things there, like the car that JFK was driven in when he was shot; the bus that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in, as well as the chair Lincoln was assassinated in. In addition to the more serious things, they had some rather quirky things to like the Oscar Meyer Weiner mobile, some replicas of old hotel rooms (which frankly looked a little bit like ones I have stayed in today), and Thomas Edison's last breath caught in a glass (although I did not see this one, Michael swears that it is there).
Take a look at the size of the people compared to this engine...it was HUGE!
The restored bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat
I think my favorite thing there was the Rosa Parks bus, and not just because of what this amazing woman stood for, but because we had some school children that were there for a field trip. They all came on the bus and sat down. We listened to a recording of Rosa talking about that day and her experience. At the end a song started playing and all of the kids (unprompted) started clapping to it and singing "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine". I was so impressed at the level of respect they had for this experience and for what Rosa Parks did for civil rights. I am still in awe sitting her typing this, and was touched to be able to experience that with them.
Another cool thing about this museum is that they had a rather eclectic collection of different pieces of American history. For more info, visit their website at http://www.thehenryford.org/.
We had to take some silly pictures:
Of course we took some silly pictures too:
Me pretending to be asleep on a plane with drool (I was parched so I am sans drool) :P
We had to take a picture with a Wright brother. Lynne volunteered
Hey, whose the pilot?
Greg thought he would introduce himself to the locals
Of course what is a trip to the museum without a little competition. I mean, it can't all be educational right? :) Michael organized a scavenger hunt of sorts in which we were broken out into two teams and told to take "creative" pictures with different exhibits at the museum. My team was Greg, Lynne, Kim and myself. While the other team consisted of Cristill, Carl, Mike W. and Michael C. We were told to go around both the museum and the "village" and take pictures at certain places. Creativity is key as we would be judged on that. Both teams ran around taking pictures and hiding from each other. Who won you ask? Well I will let you be the judge.
Here are some of the pictures that were entered into this competition. Please judge on creativity:
Well, I thought I was exhausted before, but now I REALLY am. As Michael Chapman says, "there is never a dull moment when traveling with you". Maybe not, but it's REALLY not my fault.
Michael, Cristill and I were traveling to Detroit (pictures to follow in future posting). We were prepared as we could be. We got up early, arrived to the airport early, dropped of the rental car early (are you sensing a pattern here)? However nothing prepared us for the drama that was about to ensue.
Our first stop at this rather confusing and large airport was to drop Cristill off at her gate as she was the first to go. Cristill is visually impaired, so she required assistance in going through the process that we will affectionately call the Detroit airport "rats in the maze" experience. We shuffle through the airport, dragging our bags and leading Cristill to the nearest ticket counter. We wait in the appropriate line until we are able to check in our bags. To help you visualize, Michael is in the lead. His job was to get all of our boarding passes. Cristill and I are behind him with all of the luggage. My job was to get our baggage checked in. Michael is doing his thing to check us in on the kiosk when all of a sudden a rather rude, sharp and annoyed voice shouts at Michael that he cut in front of her and that he was in the wrong line. That "THIS is the line to check baggage and YOU need to be in the line to get boarding passes." *Mind you, we had been standing there for the last 15 minutes or so.*
Michael looks at the lady, says "Oh, I'm sorry" and starts to back away. I said, "He IS trying to get boarding passes". As Cristill's boarding pass is spitting out of the machine, the lady pushes Michael (with her body rather aggressively edging her way in front of the machine) so that SHE can get to the machine. She then loudly complains with her party about Michael, Cristill and I, as Michael and I are frantically trying to get Cristill's baggage, boarding pass and an attendant to assist her through the security checkpoint so that she can get to her flight on time. (Our flight was the other side of the terminal - which you would need to take a monorail-like system to get to...remember...we are early, but now we fear we won't make it to our own flight).
The lady continues to push her way through and is SO vocal, Michael starts backing up. At this point, the rather nice desk agent snaps back at the rude family "Just let this gentleman finish what he is doing". However, when the desk agent's back is turned, the lady successfully pushes her way to the machine, and Michael gets his confirmation code from his bag. Desk agent to the rescue!!! She stops the lady and shouts "where is that gentleman!". I said "Right here!!!!!!" while pointing to Michael and pushing my way through the lady to get Cristill's luggage checked in.
Finally, we get everything in order, drop Cristill off for an attendant to assist her and dash off to our security checkpoint. Now, I never knew how high tech Detroit was. In addition to the regular, take your shoes, and removable clothing off restrictions that all airports have, they also had this machine that you walked into (very Star Trek like) and it shot you with puffs of air in an attempt to detect explosive materials on you or your clothes. It felt like when you go to the eye doctor and they ask you to open your eye while they spit puffs of air, but all over your body. Michael went through it fine and proceeded to the metal machine. However, I on the other hand, had the gentleman who was standing in front of the machine blocking my exit as he was complaining about the lack of opportunities he has to train the TSA agents. The machine was yelling at me to "Please exit", I was bracing for more puffs of air and this guys is babbling about training while blocking my way out. I asked him 3 times if he could let me out and he said rudely, "Did it tell you you could exit?". I said yes and then he glared at me and begrudgingly moved aside.
Thankfully, I made it through the metal detector without getting wanded, and now I am sitting on the plane ready to take flight. Hopefully the flight goes better than the pre-flight experience.
It was hot this past weekend, and even though Kiya and I were feeling under the weather, we couldn't help but go next door to the neighbor's house to watch Mackenzie and Caiden slide down the water slide.
Caiden, Mackenzie and Megan going down the water slide with the assistance of Michelle
Caiden started jumping halfway down the slide...he got some air!!
Mackenzie before she slid face first :)
My cutie Kiya in her little sun hat. Her cheeks were red from the heat, but I stayed in the shade the whole time. I just threw in this one for good measure. How cute is my sleeping angel?
Well, it's that time. I went back to work last Tuesday, and I thought I would take a picture of what greeted me as I got in the car. UGH!!! I did not miss this drive at ALL. :(
Notice the right side of the freeway? That's the way I am going. Notice all the red lights...yea, me too. :( Also, did you notice how people on the left side of the freeway have their headlights on? That's because I have to leave so early that it is still dark outside. There are two problems with this:
1. I am NOT a morning person, and I have to get up EARLY to get the kids ready and myself and get out the door
2. I am NOT a morning person and I truly believe that no human should be awake this early, especially when it is still dark. Where are my warm covers when I need them. Is it time to go to sleep yet?
And with gas prices (at around $4 or more) a gallon, I may not be able to afford to go to work soon.
So today is my last day before I have to go back to work. Today is also the day that I made a payment to the kid's childcare place down in Irvine. After I did, I only had $600 left from my paycheck which did not even account for the $160 in gas a week that I would be using.
Unfortunately, we do not currently have the means to allow me to be a stay at home mom, but it was clear that we were not going to make it with the cost of childcare. You know how some people are house poor? We are childcare poor. It's amazing to me that Dave and I make good money yet we struggle with the cost of childcare for 2 kids. It's even more amazing to me that you can't claim the full amount of the childcare you actually pay on your taxes.
Well, I was so worried and in tears over what to do about the whole childcare situation. Clearly, we were not going to be able to afford it, but I didn't see any other options. I had been praying about this, and last Friday I did some research on schools in our area. I searched and searched and finally found one that happens to be right across the street. I had told Dave about it, but we just didn't see how it would work with me being so far away (when I 'm at work). I wanted the kids to be close to me in case of an emergency.
But of course God works in mysterious ways. Dave said we should just stop by the school and see what it's like. We did and LOVED IT! It is perfect for us. It is close, Dave will be able to pick Caiden up when he is not working and Caiden could make friends and play with kids in the neighborhood. Also, he will not have to spend 4 hours a day in the car with me!!!! The school is amazing, and the people were really friendly, and the more they spoke about it the more we knew our prayer was answered. It is a private Christian school (exactly what we were looking for) that goes until middle school. It is affordable for us, teaches the values that we want, and the children that attend there test over a grade higher than their peers in the public school system. Not to mention, I have been looking for a church for us out here and was going to try the church associated with the school last Sunday, but I had Pam's baby shower. They informed us that if we are members of that church we would get an extra discount off tuition - possibly as much as 15%.
The school program is actually quite big and instead of sorting kids by ages, they sort classes by birth months. We asked if they had any openings and they said they had one 4 year old position if his birthday matched up. They were looking to match a March 10th birth date, and he is March 12th!!! How much more perfect could it be. Everything fell into place. They even said he could start tomorrow!!!!!
When we walked in, I was in tears and felt a bit hopeless. By the time we left I was smiling and my spirit felt uplifted. This is truly what we needed at exactly the right time. Again, the Lord works in mysterious ways!! I feel so blessed and thankful. Now we just need to find childcare like this for Kiya. They don't have an infant program so we still need to find some other option. She is the most expensive of the two kids too. Hopefully, the Lord will provide a way for us again. I feel like a burden has been lifted - at least partially. All I have to say is Praise God...I feel happy and confident knowing that Caiden has an amazing, faith-based school that he can attend for years to come.
Today was Pam's baby shower and it was quite a success! It was a very traditional baby shower in that it was for females only. *NO BOYS ALLOWED* With of course the exception being the little men in our lives. No I am not talking about our husbands, I am talking of course about our kids. :)
The day was beautiful with a slight chill, and there was quite a good turn out. Plenty of people trekked in from out of town to celebrate the impending birth of Baby Hester (no first name yet - I have been getting a lot of comments about that. Hester is their last name - it is not the baby's first name).
Pam and friends
This was a game that we played. 
Pam mingling
The food was expertly cooked by Jim, but of course he was the "hired help" today, so he was able to escape the "No Boys" clause. :P Baby Hester received a lot of nice gifts and it was wonderful to meet new people and visit with familiar faces as well.
Baby Hester gifts
Homemade, hand stitched blanket
Caiden keeping a lookout for Baby Hester's arrival :P I guess I shouldn't have told him about the stork (just kidding)
After most people had left, the boys played in and around the pool.
They kept getting closer and closer until finally we let them go in the jacuzzi
Wendy and Kiya...she has a real affinity towards her Auntie Wendy
Grammie and the boys
Papa Jim and Micah laugh together
Kiya bundled up and Caiden
After the fun and festivities the real fun begins...the countdown until Baby Hester's arrival!!!!! I for one can't wait!! :)