Week 17

We had a very busy and exciting week with a very special visitor! We picked up Grammy on Tuesday from San Diego and brought her back to the house with us. We had planned on a trip to base on the way home, but Corinne got car sick and puked all over her car seat---so those plans were trashed, as I needed to get the car seat taken apart, washed, and reassembled for our trip to Disneyland on Wednesday. It was a nice cool week, as Grammy had prayed for cool weather for her trip because she was not looking forward to the original forecast with temps in the high 80s.

So we enjoyed a calm, quiet day on Tuesday. Corinne gave Grammy the initial inspection and decided she passed the test!




















Then she had to show off some for Grammy while Lincoln was still napping.




















After nap, Lincoln decided it was time for popcorn. Turns out that Grammy loves popcorn too!
















The kids were slight wild butts all week since they had another person around to entertain.
















Lincoln decided to give Grammy "tickets to the gun show".















Then we headed up to Anaheim first thing Wednesday morning. It was nice and cool and wasn't too crowded for being our last day to use our passes before the block out dates this summer.





















The first thing we did was hop in line for the Matterhorn since it was closed for renovations in February and it isn't a ride I can do when it is just the 3 of us.
















Grammy was super excited since she hadn't been to Disneyland since she was a little girl---a lot of it is still the same!
















Lincoln was really good about being patient in line all day.
















Back from the Matterhorn, he was ready to go again with Mom!






















And we raced up the exit for round 2---gotta love the stroller passes!
















Since Corinne was so patient with waiting, we hit up It's A Small World next---one of her favorites.














































Then we headed to Toon Town for Go-Go Gadgets Coaster--one of Lincoln's favorites.















After riding the kiddie coaster twice as well, we ate lunch in line while we were waiting to ride Rodger Rabbit. Despite having Grammy there to help, both kids wanted me to hold them most of the day. My arms got quite a workout!















Grammy and Linc played in Goofy's house while the crowds retreated to the eateries.















And Corinne took a nice nap while Grammy and Linc did Pirates of the Caribbean.




















Grammy was ready for a break so we road the train around the park. Lincoln enjoys the dinosaur exhibit despite how ancient it looks. Corinne could care less about our family photo opp---she just wants some more of that popcorn!















We made it over to "Buzz's House" as Lincoln calls it to shoot at Zerg. He is very in to Toy Story with the new movie coming out. And we finally got to catch the "Celebrate" Parade.
















Since the lines to meet the characters were ridiculously long, Lincoln was happy to see some of his favorite friends in the show.
















He even got to dance with a few.














Then he scored the lead position on the conga line rope.
















We hit up the Astro rockets and Dumbo and posed in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride car. Grammy was pooped, but we were stuck there until the traffic died down some (yeah right), so we ate dinner at Disney and headed home. Three hours later we pulled into the driveway! Oh how I hate LA traffic.





















We laid low the next day and visited the Temecula Berry Company that is just behind our house to get some blueberries to snack on the rest of the week. They were excellent in pancakes and peanut butter and blueberry sandwiches. Then we headed to Walmart for a very "interesting" visit to say the least (see previous blog).
















Lincoln was a blueberry picking pro in the end.



















Corinne got in on the action too.















But she kept "stealing" them and sneaking a few bites in before we got them packaged up and paid for.





















She had a good time





















And Lincoln now considers himself a blueberry expert!















We left with a full bucket of some very tasty berries.





















We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine after the kids napped.



















The kiddos were way overdue for a tubby, so we threw them in for some serious scrubbing.
















Then had a bit of story time after they were clean beans.





















Thursday night Linda and I tried our hand at a graduation cake for Stephanie. It was our wannabe "Ace of Cakes" night.














It turned out okay, but we could use some serious schooling in fondant!





















Friday was supposed to be our beach day, but Grammy must have prayed too hard for cooler weather. The beach temps were in the low 60s so we visited our favorite park instead.
















For awhile we were the only ones there.




















We did a bit of swinging...















and sliding.















Saturday we went to feed the ducks at Harveston. Corinne was our narrator, constantly saying "Duckie...quack, quack, quack", but she chose not to partake in the feeding.
















Lincoln made both Grammy and Mom nervous near the water, so Grammy kept a tight leash on her grandson.














Then we headed to the park for some more fun.
















A little girl was very bored as she sat with her grandmother reserving tables for a birthday party and asked Lincoln to play hopscotch with her. He was pretty good at the hopping part, but not so great at getting his marker on a numbered square. Not bad for his first time!















Corinne took a ride on a dolphin.




















And climbed up the equipment with Grammy.




















They even made time to stop and smell the flowers.
















Then I headed off to Amber's baby shower for Weston Gene---due one day after my birthday! I am hoping he comes into the world one day early---making her my third friend with a kiddo that shares my birthday!














Corinne entertained us at dinner, shoving her fingers up her nose. She sure is her father's daugther!
















She will do anything to make you laugh.
















On Sunday we headed to church....














...and stopped at Toys 'R Us on the way home where Grammy picked up new sprinklers for the kiddos.




















It was back to being a scorcher on Sunday, so the kids were perfectly happy getting soaked.















































Thanks for the great week Grammy!











QUOTES OF THE WEEK




Quote 1:

Pretty much all week long everytime Lincoln would see something out of order or spread out, whether it be crayons, play-duh, outside toys, etc.
Lincoln: "What a mess!"

Quote 2:
Every chance she got to grab the stickers during diaper changes she would cover Grammy with stickers and then proceed to take them off of her and distribute them to the rest of us and then back to Grammy---all the time saying...
Corinne: "Sticker, sticker, sticker!"

Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here

Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here

This should have been the sign posted outside our local Super Wal-Mart today!
Okay, I get the simple equation---
major discount chain + equal opportunity employment + employees getting paid minimum wage= slightly incompetent customer service + lower prices

I was appalled during my check out experience at Wal-Mart today. I literally was ready to jump over the checkout counter and take over myself.

As such, I have come up with a list that compiles my lovely experience this morning. Thank God my mother-in-law was there to rescue the kids and put them in another cart to "take them for a ride" around the store. (I did not make any of this up--my cashier was just "that dumb".)

TOP TEN REASONS YOU KNOW YOU CHOSE THE WRONG CHECKOUT LINE AT SUPER WAL-MART

10. Oh, no!---A manager is called over for assistance to help the person in front of you.
9. You notice the guy reaching down the counter to grab the next grocery for the lady in front of you because he doesn't realize it is a conveyor belt.
8. Despite having bar code readers at almost every angle so that items can literally be thrown across the counter and into the bag, your cashier picks up and examines every item looking for a bar code and then proceeds to wave it directly over the laser "X" and still manages to miss the "ding" sound.
7. Your checker appears to have been collecting social security....for the past 20 years.
6. After picking up your WIC check and folder that is neatly grouped with your milk, bread, and juice, he asks you "Is this your payday loan???" WTF
5. After scanning your first WIC check, he picks up the Father's Day cards in the stack and asks "Is this WIC too?"
4. You have to open all the bags on the turnstile for your checker because he can't figure out how to un-stick the first bag from the one behind it!
3. He then proceeds to pack your juice on top of your oreos!
2. He picks up a bundle of garlic and asks "Is this garlic?" (No you idiot, it's a watermelon that I am trying to disguise as garlic so that I can only pay pennies on the pound! Yes it is f-ing garlic)
1. He grabs your bananas and after frivolous search for a bar code without luck decides to swing them across the bar code reader in every direction until you finally inform him that "They are bananas and sold by the pound. They need weighed!"

Needless to say, it took me longer to check out than it did to do all my shopping (which included the timely task of choosing 5 cards to send out for upcoming holidays and special occasions) and take a toddler to the bathroom.

Next time, I think I would rather pay more and get an hour of my life back!

Week 16

This past week was great, but oh man is the summer heat hitting us! We were busy, which is always good, but we also had a lot of Father's Day projects to get done (No more on that--but stay tuned in a few weeks for pics). Some highlights include a trip to a new park for Memorial Day with the Dodd family, cleaning the inside of my car--for the first time with 2 very special helpers, a trip to the Temecula Children's Museum Imagination Workshop---http://www.pennypickles.org/, and a night out for me to the Lisa Lampanelli show with Jessica at Pechanga---http://www.insultcomic.com/.

Some not-so-good events include a lost shovel at the park and Corinne's new found obsession with dumping Lincoln's pee after he potties! Talk about disgusting. From now on Lincoln has to stay seated until I can get to him to dump the potty because Corinne makes a beeline right for the pee and then picks it up and pours it all over herself and the floor---grosser than gross!

We had a great time at the Memorial Day picnic with the Ann, Aiden, Colin, and Riley through their church in Oceanside. We were told to bring sand toys and the kids had a ton of fun playing. Unfortunately I didn't label ours and forgot to take a proper inventory when we got there. So after an exhausting day in the sun, we ended our wonderful afternoon with a tantrum because I made Lincoln leave a shovel behind---not wanting to take a toy that I was not certain was ours. Well, I should have listened to Lincoln because the kid takes an inventory of everything he owns. And now looking back at the pictures from the day---I see the dreaded shovel that I made him leave behind. He was devastated and so tired. I felt horrible on the ride home, second guessing myself about who was the rightful owner of the blue shovel. Had I just listened we could have ended the day on a good note--tantrum free! How awful Lincoln must have felt having me force him to leave a toy behind. But we are now the new owners of a set of 7 new sand toys---including a shovel! And lesson learned---label EVERYTHING!














Lincoln and Colin playing away!



















I was surprised at such a good sport Corinne was about staying in her stroller and out of the sun for most of the day.



















Lincoln and Riley had a few laughs in the batting cage.




















Of course Corinne finds a ball in the sand and is as proud as can be.




















Lincoln had to take multiple water breaks.




















Corinne enjoyed a few trips down the smaller slide.



















Oh, so what I forgot to mention about that tantrum is that when we left the park I made Lincoln try to potty in the back of my car on his small potty. We had been gone for over 6 hours and not once had he made a trip to the bathroom despite gulping down the fluids. It was a long ride home and I wanted him to be able to sleep in the car with a nice empty bladder. Well he was not a fan of my idea and decided to thrash and scream while I forced him to "try". Apparently his body knew better than he did that he really did have to go and he completely missed during his fit--peeing all over himself and my car. Fortunately I keep a tarp back there, but I decided it was time to detail the inside of my car. So on Tuesday after purchasing a replacement shovel we cleaned the inside of my car and I am now the proud owner of a Ford Escape without sippy cup splatter all over the ceiling!

On Wednesday we hit up the Museum with the Dodd family. There was a secret passage from the living room through the fire place into a black light maze.



















Lincoln got a magic skeleton arm drawn on him. It was by far both Lincoln and Corinne's his favorite room out of the whole place. Corinne clapped and jumped in the backpack carrier every time we went in!















Lincoln also enjoyed the music room.















He learned a little bit about gears---similar to the ones he sees on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse daily!




















This machine reminded me of a beloved toy that was popular when I was a kid.














You know, the one where you sit and spin yourself around---only the kind I sat on didn't power the gears on the walls.














Little Riley loved the place too and enjoyed a private tour of the hot air balloon!














Lincoln took a few cranks on the toilet gear in the super "fake dirty" bathroom.















Lincoln was too anxious to wait for a turn in the hot air balloon, so he hopped in with a preschool class that was visiting the museum.



















Taking after his Great-Grandpa Jinks--talking on an old fashioned radio operating system.



















Exploring gravity and airflow.



















The only bummer about the whole place is the secret passageways are not always parent friendly. I was so thankful to have Colin and Aiden help me keep track of Lincoln. By the time I walked the long way around, with Corinne on my back, to get to Lincoln, he would dive into another hole and be in a new room.














Not quite strong enough to hold up the wheel for the gyroscope, but big enough to pose for a picture and think he was doing it the same way the big kids were!















Lincoln was very happy to get to hang with the Dodd kids for the day.














I swear Corinne must be growing. She was a pooping machine all week long---I'm talking 5-6 dirty diapers a day. Plus she woke up one morning and just looked chunky to me and felt a pound or two heavier! The downside of all that poop is a red hiney. So I let her air out one day with a cloth diaper shoved in her shorts. She was not very impressed with my impromptu cloth diapering skills.



















But she did discover her love for the camera and I took the opportunity to take a few shots of the cheesy smiler while I had the chance.






































































Lincoln wanted in on the action.














And then decided to plop down in his sister's lap--much to Corinne's delight!














On Friday, Lincoln skipped his nap but when I ran upstairs to get ready for my night out, he crashed on the couch. Corinne and I poked and prodded him to get up, but had little luck. I knew if I tried to lay him down at 6 pm, he might sleep the whole night, but would then miss out on a visit with his leading lady--Miss Karen, our cleaning lady and babysitter! Luckily he woke up in time and had a blast with Karen. Although he was a little disappointed to see me the next morning and not "his Miss Karen". The show was hilarious---Lisa Lampanelli is an equal opportunity offender and cracks jokes on everyone, so no one left the show feeling left out. But too much time in the Casino has reinforced my suspicion that I am seriously allergic to cigarette smoke. Two days later my sinuses are still killing me! And Lincoln even set up an ice cream date with Karen and her daughter sometime later this month in "Miss Karen's big, red, loud truck!"




















Corinne has really started playing with her food lately and gets a great joy out of feeding me.















Open wide Mama!



















Oh yes, so yummy!














Our very tiny caterpillars grew into "big, fat caterpillars" this week. We have been reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" daily and tracking their growth.














By Sunday morning all ten had navigated to the roof of the containers to start their cocoons and by Sunday night, we had 5 cocoons total. I actually just watched one swing back and forth inside the cocoon until it's tail fell off the top part and dropped to the bottom of the container. Grammy comes on Tuesday, so hopefully we will have at least one butterfly "hatch" before she leaves! Lincoln has been checking on them about 5 times a day to track their progress. I have a feeling the next week might be a bit boring for him in the metamorphis process.















QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Quote 1:
This one broke my heart.
While talking to Nathan on the phone.
Lincoln: "I love you Dada. I miss you." Crying "Mama, I want Dada home right now!"

Quote 2:
After picking up Chomper from the groomer and Lincoln feeling very grown up when the lady hands the leash to Lincoln to hold.
Lincoln: "I got fun at Chompy's yummy shop!"
Me: "You mean the groomer? Where Chompy goes and comes back smelling yummy?"
Lincoln: "Yes, it's like a shop Mamom."

Quote 3:
While washing my car Lincoln found a dead baby bird near our driveway. Not wanting to go into great detail about it all, we brushed over the subject of death.
Lincoln: "Oh that's a baby bird."
Me: "Yeah, don't touch it. He's dead. It's yucky, but he's okay. He went to go see God."
Lincoln: "He's taking a nap."
Me: "Yeah, a really good nap--like the kind that lasts forever."

Quote 4:
Later after finding a feather in the backyard.
Lincoln: "This feather went to go see God."

Quote 5:
Another reference to Nathan's mustache...We were skyping with Nathan.
Nathan: "I love you big man. Can I have a moochie?"
Lincoln: "No, I can't do it. I will give you one when you get home.
Me: "Can't you give Daddy a kiss on the computer?"
Lincoln: "No, I can't. His face got poopy on it. That's yucky."
Me: "Does Daddy need to wash his face?"
Lincoln: "Yes, Daddy fell on the ground and hit his face and got Chompy poopy on it. That's dirty."


Quote 6:
After handing Lincoln a cup of juice.
Me: "What do you say Lincoln?"
Corinne: "Thank you!" signs it too!
Lincoln: "Oh, Thank you Mamom!"
I guess she is going to be Little Miss Know-it-all.



Quote 7:
The morning after my night out, Lincoln is standing at the gate at the top of the stairs right after waking up yelling...
Lincoln: "Miss Karen....Miss Karen???"
Me: Walking out to the hall "Hey Bug, good morning. What's going on?"
Lincoln: "Oh no, I lost my Miss Karen!" in a super sad voice.
He obviously was hoping that Karen spent the night and he would have another play day with her---too bad it was just the usual--Mommy! Can you tell I never have a sitter???