Blessed Burger

For being so broke, tired, a feeling quite fat I am pretty darn blessed.  I have 2 beautiful children a third on the way (who is now strong enough to kick me hard enough for me to feel).  I also have a husband who still wants to make me smile.  That's a whole lotta love.

My family enjoying strawberries

From Izzy with love

Ty headed off to work and Izzy made it to The Little Gym and was able to participate 100%.  Unfortunately only two kids showed up today.  Izzy still had a great time.  She takes their 'Sports Skills' class and they were finishing up their soccer series and it was fun to watch.  Grandma Orpi came again today.  She loves being able to spend time with her grandkids.  HQ had her normal fun playing in the toddler toy box/exploring the gym and taking Grandma for a walk.

I NEED a better camera.

It's so fantastic to me that the girls have family so local that like to spend time with her.  I grew up states away from my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents so it was really hard  to develop a good connection with them.  I always wondered what it would be like to have that.  I feel it's good for kids to have family they can go to when they need a break from their parents.  Plus, in my experience, no one will really care for your kids well being as much as you, but their Grandparents are as close as you can get! (Most of the time!)  I know that Ty's mom and my mom love the girls, have similar values to us, and actually care and seem to respect how Ty and I want to raise them.

Anyway! After Izzy's class we went to Lazy Dog Cafe.  What a fun little place.  I ordered a BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger which is NOT a normal order for me.  I guess Peanut must have wanted it.  HQ had some mashed potatoes.  When we got home HQ went straight to bed while Izzy and I watched Barbie Princess and the Pauper.  I actually enjoy watching that movie.  Is that too much information?  Anyway, it was a great day.

Video: "Flabby"

Click here for Izzy and her Phonics

Izzy asked me to make a video of her during Phonics.  

She learns the words 'Fled' and 'Flab'.

For Some reason I can't upload the video as a regular video, I had to go through YouTube. 

Toto

I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning.  Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the fact that I have been so drained of energy (when is my second trimester energy going to start?), or maybe it was just a case of the blahs... I think everyone has those days.  Ty lured me out of bed with the promise of blueberry pancakes. They were so delicious!  I think not having to make them made them even more tasty.

We took Izzy to her last Gymnastics class today (at least for a few months) and I was really hoping to get a good video.  I took out my camera and found that it wouldn't turn on.  Ty immediately looked guilty and told me that he had taken the battery out to charge it and had forgotten to put it back in.  So no video :(  In the midst of class Izzy told her coach that she needed water before her mouth turned into a sausage.  

We decided it would be a fun little surprise to bring the girls to Chuck E. Cheeses for lunch.  My brother had given me a gift card for $100 to Chuck E. Cheeses for my birthday.  Such an awesome gift for me!  I know most people think 'that's not a gift for you, that's a gift for the kids!', but I have the most fun when I get to be with my family and see them having fun.  When Izzy was about 2, we used to take her there all the time.  It's free air conditioning and she had a blast just using the jungle gym and slide.  When she realized there were things like tokens and prizes we went a little less often.  $100 gets us many C&C family dates! 

Another package arrived for Izzy today.  This time it was a Toto in a basket and a pair of ruby slippers to match the dress she got yesterday.  She immediately got herself decked out and had a blast with Toto.  She spent about an hour feeding him her play food and making HQ giggle by barking at her with Toto.  Our living room is now covered in "food"!

I have been trying to find a new TV show to watch by myself on instant watch on Netflix.  I started to watch Veronica Mars... not that amazing.   I'm just looking for something to watch after the girls go to bed while I clean up.  Any suggestions? 

The Moon of OZ

She needed some concentration food.

Moons and M's

It's "Let's Learn About: The Moon" this week for Izzy.  It should have been last week, but she was sick and resting so we took the week off.  She now knows the difference between full, half, crescent, & new moon. She practiced writing her M's and 2's and we did a reflection experiment using a globe, mirrors, and a flashlight to show her how the moon shines.  She is now also more than halfway through with the second level in Hooked on Phonics! (which is the best learn how to read series in my opinion) Yay!  Ty and Izzy then painted.  Ty made a picture of a butterfly and flower while Izzy made half a dozen pictures of fish and spiders.

Enjoying leftovers for lunch.

After lunch a package arrived for Izzy.  It was a Dorothy costume (from The Wizard of OZ) from one of her Grandma's.  She immediately put it on and then Ty, HQ, and I HAD to play The Lizard of OZ with a Cinderella flair to it.  Following is a scene from the Lizard of Oz where Dorothy needs to get the orange out of the Lizard's hand but she unfortunately falls asleep after smelling a flower. 

The Lizard of Oz and Tada, Dorothy's little sister.

Ty and I were able to go out for a date tonight.  Ty's mom (Grandma Orpi) watched the girls for a couple hours while we went to the Cheesecake Factory and used our gift certificate for a delicious dinner.  It's always awesome to spend alone time with him.  We then spent about 15 minutes browsing a baby clothing store.  Who are we?!  

We picked up the girls and Izzy had picked three beautiful little white roses from Grandma and Grandpa Orpi's yard for me.  We learned HQ had pasta for dinner and managed to get it all over herself and Grandma.  She's just like her dad!

Swim Party!

Apparently today was the hottest day of the year so far.  I even broke a sweat vacuuming! The first thing Izzy asked in the morning was if we could go swimming.  We told her that we would go after lunch around 1:00.  She immediately got herself ready with her goggles strapped to her face and all. She then grabbed HQ's bikini and insisted that we get her ready before it got too late. It was 7:30am...

This morning Izzy and I had a heart to heart conversation:

"Mom, can kids pick their eye boogies?" She asked.
"As long as they wash their hands after" I responded.
"Good, cause eyeballs are the most important.  You don't want to take them out and hold them in your hand.  That would hurt."

Around lunchtime some friends of ours (Bill and Christina) came over for a relaxing time in the pool/on the couch.  Ty and Bill tried to turn the pool into a wave pool/whirlpool by running around in circles while Christina and I watched in quiet admiration of our husbands... (i.e. laughed out loud).  It did actually work though! Izzy, who had spent the whole morning complaining about how hot she was and how she needed to get in the pool decided that she would rather hang out in the jacuzzi.  HQ had a blast chilling in her inflatable starfish.  Of course I forgot my camera... I stink at blogging.

After the pool it was decided that watermelon, Trader Joe's goodies, and a friendly game of Mario Party was in order.  HQ went down for her nap and the four adults (Izzy was on my "team") did some serious partying.  Christina won much to her surprise.  It was a great afternoon with some great people.

We aren't gambling people, but Ty got this thinking it would be fun and we won $20!

Vikings Won! And I have heartburn...

Today was enjoyable.  The majority of the day was spent at my parents house for the Vikings' game.  It's about a 45 minute drive for us to get there, but worth it.  They record the game in the morning and we all watch it together in the afternoon.  It was a day of food, football, beer (not for me), and family.  We also usually get sent home with yummy left overs.  My parents and brothers are always happy to see the girls.  My sister is too, but she gets to see them more often.  I think the family just tolerates Ty and I so they can get to the kiddos...

Izzy and her broken crown asking Ty if she could go swimming. 

I sewed this sweater onto the biggest Vikes fan of all.

During the game Izzy and my mom went swimming, read some books, and watched a movie while HQ took a good nap.  It was especially good that HQ napped since she seemed to be cheering for the Lions.  Ty also passed out for almost the entire game.  Thank goodness the Vikings won!  We really needed that.  Sure, it was only against the Lions but being 0-2 it still felt good to win.  

Yay!  HQ and my brother are happy the Vikings won.

Ty and I are now going to battle each other on the Wii.  Bleh, and now I have heartburn... ooh!  At least that can be my excuse should I lose!  Who am I kidding.  I wont lose. 

Vain Teeth

 I am so jealous. Ty, Izzy, and my little sister went swimming today. I have always felt like I was supposed to be a mermaid but lately I have been drying out. I haven't been swimming since I was pregnant in the first trimester with HQ. I wish I had a better reason, but to be honest it's just pure self consciousness/vanity.  Being pregnant three times in two years (one miscarriage) and 7 months of bed rest does NOT do amazing things for your figure.  So I do not own a swim suit that fits this body.  I use the excuse that we are strapped for cash and it's just a luxury we can't afford.  That's only half true...

Ty and Izzy spent some time playing Wii Resort before he left for work.  It's her favorite game because she gets to fly a plane in it.  She wants to be a pilot when she grows up.  A pilot and a mom.  It warms my heart!

HQ was pretty miserable today.  I think she may be getting her molars in.  I can't imagine how bad it must feel to have teeth ripping through your gums.

Izzy, my sis, and I made some yummy banana bread tonight.  It's Izzy favorite thing to make because it tastes great and she gets to mash up bananas like they're play dough.  I know Ty is looking forward to having an nice big slice when he gets home too.

First Day of School

Today was Izzy's first day of "school".  By "school" I mean her first day in Hope's Pre-K where she hangs out with other kids her age and plays etc. with them for a couple hours.  She LOVED it!  However when we got back to the car when it was time to go I asked her the usual questions.  What was your teacher's name?  What did you learn/do? What was the name of another friend in your class?  She replied, "I don't remember" to every single question!  I said, "You don't remember anything?" She said, "I remember they had a kitchen set..." -_-  My child is weird.

HQ spent the morning in the nursery.  This would have been her usual nap time, but she decided she would rather play.  I can't blame her, the nursery is full of fun toys and colors.

Ty and I got to be helpers in two of the classes.  The second class we helped out in was a class full of two and three year olds.  Ty, being 6'6 and male was looked upon as an amazing jungle gym/toy/villain to spiderman.  He was completely saturated in saliva...

Her first day of school picture...

The second we left she passed out

as did she :)

Sorry to keep things short, but I am quite pooped and my little sister is here wanting to use the space I am currently taking up.  Ciao! 

Death and Ice Cream

It seems there was a death in our family today.  My beloved computer appears to have kicked the bucket.  It is a mere 2.5 years old (which is ancient in computer years, I know) but no less heartbreaking!  I suppose I will be making myself comfortable on my husband's...

Speaking of husbands! I have been thinking about the pet names wives give their husbands.  I'm talking about things like "hubbie" "husbie" and whatever else wives use when talking about their men to others.  These sound just completely awkward and emasculating to me. I guess Ty probably wouldn't care, but I equate these to a husband calling his wife something like "sergeant" or "big mama".  Things that just don't sound feminine... I may be alone on this.  I guess it's probably because I grew up with six brothers.  They are all very different from one another, but I can't imagine any one of them loving a pet name like that.  Especially in public. But eh, to each their own I guess.  Sorry for the odd tangent! 

Today was similar to yesterday.  Izzy spent much of the day on the couch.  Ty spent much of the day in the WoW, and HQ spent much of the day rearranging our dvd's and throwing food on the floor. We did put Emma in her pink sparkly ball for the first time today.  She immediately peed on the floor and then 

took off around the apartment.  She's just like HQ!  We do have a video of the incident, but I would like to edit it before posting since it is over 4 minutes in length (it's not THAT exciting). 

After throwing all the clean clothes around HQ was finally able to attack Ty's bowling bag.

Ty left for work in the afternoon and both of the girls fell asleep.  A smart mother probably would have taken the time to do something productive, I however figured it would be the perfect time to take a nap myself as both the girls asleep at the same time is quite rare during the day. 

After we all had our naps it was time for Izzy's gym!  She had been talking about it all today and all yesterday.  She was super excited to go.  When she woke up from her nap she was a little grumpy, which is usual for her, but still insisted she wanted to go to the gym.  We were also meeting Grandma and Grandpa Orpi down there who were looking forward to watching Izzy (and HQ who wasn't enrolled, but still fun to look at). But of course!  After arriving Izzy decided she didn't feel well enough to participate.  I finally talked her into going into class and after 15 mins she decided she needed lemonade to help her feel better... After her lemonade I realize she's in one of those "moods" and we decided to leave.  After I buckle her in the car she tells me, "OH! I know what will make me feel better! An ice cream cone!".  We head home sans ice cream.

We get home just in time to meet Ty for his dinner break from work.  I had slow cooked some pot roast, potatoes, and carrots.  Izzy regretfully informs Ty of her time at the gym, but says next time will be much better.  After dinner Ty headed back to work and I sent the girls off to bed early.  Since then I have been working on their invitations and I know there is a load of dishes calling my name.  I hope Izzy will be back to her normal self tomorrow. It will be her first day of "school"! 

 

Injuries and Hello Kitty

Izzy knocked the pins over and...

was injured due to this crisis.

She still managed to create a "most beautiful dress" for HQ

Well, Operation Invitations failed.  I finally found and ordered some cheap invitations to the girl's birthday party (vistaprint.com).  The plan was to have them mailed out today.  They are still sitting right next to the computer.  I NEED to do it tomorrow! 

Izzy spent most of her day on the couch watching Hello Kitty.  She is still recovering from her sickness. The only time she spent off the couch was to help me with her Halloween costume.  She and I also watched The Princess and the Frog today on Netflix (we don't have cable and refuse to pay for it).

Ty had the day off, so he spent much of the day in the World of Warcraft and hanging out with HQ.

Since Izzy has been feverless since this morning we should be able to make it The Little Gym tomorrow for her class.  She LOVES it there, plus HQ has some little friends there who like to hit her on the head.

Emma and Dad

Recovering Izzy and couch potato HQ breaking in the "new" couch.

We have a new member of our family!  Izzy is now the proud mama of a teddy bear hamster she named Emma (she names everything Emma).  This will be her first official pet!  Of course Izzy had to pick out the sparkly pink hamster ball for Emma to run around in.  This is quite an event in our lives!  It's one of those things that makes Ty and I feel even more like parents.  Getting a family pet.

Because Izzy said HQ NEEDED a matching pair.

Unfortunately Izzy is still a bit sick.  After spending the weekend at her father's (his mother's) she came home and told me, "Grammy says Dad is my step...dad".
I responded with, "Well, he is, but he is still your dad.  If your other father gets married, the girl he marries would be your stepmom".
"WHAT?! I thought Grammy was making it up because she doesn't like Dad!  She said her baby is my REAL dad!  I don't understand" she was shocked.  I really don't understand why this was said to a four year old...
I just responded with, "They are both your dads.  One helped put you in my tummy and the other one spends just about every day with you. He works hard to make sure you have a nice home to live in and yummy food to eat.  You have two dad's that love you very much.  Isn't that great?!" I was pleased with my quick answer.
Izzy replied, "Yeah and poor HQ only gets one... but at least he's good".

Happy Anniversary!

Sorry we have no actual pictures, I was feeling too romantical to take any... 

Ty kept what we were going to do for our anniversary a surprise.  The day was perfect.  The girls had spent the previous night at grandma's so we got to sleep in.  At 8:30am we moved in our "new" couch and it is pretty darn handsome and cozy.  Ty then surprised me by making blueberry pancakes (my favorite) we then spent the next three hours being lazy and digesting these carb-cakes.  

Around lunch time we went to go check out a few of the Halloween stores near us.  I love those stores (I love costumes) and the stores help make it feel like it's fall which is my favorite season.  When we got tired of walking we headed to Hooters.  Before some of you think, "What?! Your husband took you to Hooters?! AND on your anniversary?!" You have to know that it is a place near to my heart as a former "Hooters Girl".  Ty wouldn't take me if I didn't want to go, and in fact, I am the one who introduced him to the allure of their hot wings.  It's not as 'trashy' as some believe, we love their hot wings and salads, we always get great service and football updates.  We also had the latter half of our combo bachelor/ette party there. 

After stuffing ourselves we hopped into the car and slowly made our way to the grand finale of our evening.  We hit a nightmare of traffic on our way there, but it was well worth the wait.  Ty had surprised me with finding the most amazing drive-in theatre, Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatres http://www.missiontiki.com/ Ty had asked me a LONG time ago what my idea of a perfect date was.  I told him the drive-in theatre was my ideal date.  He has taken me once before when we were dating (we showed up an hour late and the movies were awful, but I loved it).  This time it was perfect.  The theatre is all tiki themed and they had a great selection of new movies playing.  Plus, for two people it was $14 for two movies.  Awesome!  

We were pooped, but it was perfect :D 

Anniversary Day Eve

I have a love/hate relationship with the South Coast Plaza.  It's a beautiful mall, but I feel like I don't belong there.  Today HQ and I went there to get a small anniversary gift for Ty and some Spanx.  I noticed I was parked between a brand new Lexus SC 430 (the pretty little hard top convertible) and a lovely little red BMW.  My poor decade old SUV felt fat and ancient between these two svelte ladies.  When I got in the mall I was reminded of the fact that this place is quite difficult to get around if you are using a stroller. It is especially difficult since most of the shoppers in this mall are quite rude and will run right into you should you be in "their" path.  Pfft!  The sales chick at A Pea in the Pod was quite pleasant and so was the lady at ____ (store shall remain blank as Ty will read this and I don't want him to know what his gift is!)  All in all it was a productive morning.

When Ty got off work we made our way over to my parent's house to watch the Vikings lose... again.  But win or lose, I love The Vikings :) I really would like to get HQ a little Shaincoe jersey.  Izzy said she wont wear a jersey, but she really "needs" a Vikings cheerleader outfit.  My little creep.

We also got a couch today.  YAY! It's a beautiful used leather couch.  Someone in Ty's family gave it to us since they got a new one. We made off like bandits with this one!  I can't wait to see it in our place.  It's exciting that our home is starting to actually look like a home.   Thanks uncle Roger!

On our drive home (since we were childless... kinda) Ty drove us over the Vincent Thomas Bridge.  It was quite romantic.  The weather was perfect and all the lights looked quite wonderful.  It gave us the illusion we were on vacation somewhere else.

Tomorrow is our two year anniversary.  Ty is surprising me with a day of events, so I have no clue what we are doing.  I just hope it includes food. 

The Princess and the Zucchini

Uhg!  I whipped out my cutting mat in the hopes of using to shorten the amount of time I would have to spend cutting out the fabric for our Halloween costumes this year and I discovered that it was damaged!  I pouted for a good half hour and after telling Ty how much it would cost to replace ($50+), he pouted too.  

What "Princess Izzy"'s dress should look like when it's completed.
Who can guess the color she wants?

I got a call from Izzy today, who is still with her father, and she is sick again : /  Slight fever and a lack of appetite.  I wish she were home...

"I don't know why the bad bacterias are still in my tummy, Mom.  I don't want them there!" 

Another tooth popped through for HQ today!  Now it's 3 on the bottom and 2.5 on the top :)

Enjoying zucchini, strawberries, and toast on our magical
deflating-inflatable mattress (it's popped)

Right now, HQ is asleep and Ty should be home in a little over an hour I look forward to beating him in a lovely game of Mario Party tonight. 

A Bed Fit For a... Us

Tonight is the first night in a looong time that Ty and I will be sleeping in a real bed.  We tossed out our old one when we moved from our last apartment.  We left due to a cockroach infestation (they were crawling out of our dishwasher!) so we figured getting rid of our bed and couch made sense.  The only problem is that we have not been able to afford a new one.  This bed was donated to us.  The only catch: dig it out of a ridiculous storage full of computer parts/electronics and christmas decorations.

It's amazing what one finds in another's storage unit...

After locating our new bed, we headed to my parents' to pick up HQ.  Today is the day Izzy heads off to her father's house where she will spend the weekend.  It breaks my heart every time she heads over there, but I know she has fun and I take comfort in that.  

When we got to my parents' HQ was covered in food and a huge smile.  She was quite excited to see us :D  My mother handed us a mound of groceries and we left for home.  After putting the little one to sleep we set up our "new" bed and I must say, it's pretty darn inviting.

"Is our Sun pink?"

"Back to School Night"

Lil HQ slept in until 8 this morning!  Being the paranoid freak of a mother I am I must have checked her breathing a good 10 times from about 6-8am.  I wonder how common that is... We have diagnosed her with the lame tummy bug.  To make things a little more exciting today maintenance had shut off our water for a good three hours.  Durning this time HQ managed to cover herself (and the floor) in the product of her tummy flu.  Izzy was horrified.  "MOOOM!! WHY DID SHE DO THAT?! Now our room is bisgusting.." Not being able to clean their room up for a couple of hours meant it remained "bisgusting"so we hung out in the living room instead.

The "Sun" is our subject this week. 

"S" Homework.
 I am so proud of how well she
writes at four! 

Late afternoon rolled around and we packed up the girls and brought them to Grandma's house.  Ty and I had to go to "Back to School Night" at Hope for Izzy.  Being surrounded by all the other parents got us even more excited for her "school" to start. 

The meeting let out quite late so we left the girls at Grandma's for the night and headed off for a mini date of frozen yogurt.

Of Sickness and Tutu's

I am so exhausted.  Both of the girls got sick last night which means no sleep for Mom and Dad.  They were both feeling better my morning however that didn't stop HQ from waking up at 5:00am...  Which is unheard of for her.

Since the girls weren't feeling 100% and I was pooped we took a lazy day and spent most of the time at home lounging.  After Ty headed off to work the girls and I finally cleaned up their room.  We also got in a trip to Target to pick up a few essentials.  Izzy, using any excuse to be fancy, made sure she put on a dress and used her Hello Kitty umbrella as a parasol.  She also made sure I put HQ in her "Sunday Best".  This IS Target we're talking about here...

We managed to leave Target while spending less than $25. That even included a much needed orange/sparkly tutu and a couple packs of $.99 heart shaped stickers.

HQ was knocked out by 5:30pm (I'm sure this means I will be up early again!) and I was ready for bed too.  Izzy and I snuggled into bed and watched a movie together, by 6:30 Izzy realized she was hungry.  I did NOT want to move from my spot.  I actually wanted to talk her out of wanting dinner.
"Mom, we should start dinner."
"You can't possibly be hungry, you had that pizza and veggies not all THAT long ago"
"Mom, that was lunch.  I'm ready for dinner."
Feeling sorry for myself but remembering my duty as a mother, I got my butt up and made the poor girl some dinner (and it was good too!).

I now look forward to spending the next 15 mins that I will be awake with my awesome husband who just got home from work :)

 

My Family

This is Ty and Myself
He is my best friend and the one whom my soul loves.  Without him my life would lack romance and stability.  He's an excellent father and husband.  We were married almost 2 years ago.

Here's Izzy
She will be 5 at the end of October and is quite precocious!  My life changed the day I discovered I was pregnant with her.  I have found my capacity for love was so much greater than I had originally thought.  I quote her often as her insight always brightens my day.

This is HQ
She will be 1 at the end of October!  When I was pregnant with her I wondered if I would love her as much as Izzy and if it were even possible (I hear it's a common fear) I couldn't imagine a day without either of my children and I love her just as much!  She is spunky, but doesn't talk much yet : ) We  look forward to her insights as well.  She is an amazing dancer!

Peanut
We don't have a picture yet, but Peanut is our third and final baby.  Peanut is currently in utero and won't grace us with his/her presence until mid March.  Peanut came a little earlier than we had originally planned, but we are very excited for our final addition to our family.

Hi, I'm BoB.

I have never blogged before so my plan is to make the first one short.  I wanted to start an online "diary" for myself and anyone else who was curious or just plan bored.  I plan to include just about everything as my life really is an open book with only a few pages stuck together...  I love my life and family so much I thought it might be fun to share pieces of it.  I intend to share pictures, videos, quotes, and whatever else there is to share! I hope you enjoy.