My Ramblings

May 5, 2011
Over spring break we decided to take a trip to the Fresno zoo.  It had been at least 8 or 9 years since I had been there last.  There have been so many changes!  It was almost unrecognizable to me!  It seems bigger, the exhibits are larger, there are many more exhibits than I recall, and it was really well kept.  Not that is wasn't well kept that last time I was there, but I thought it looked really well maintained - enough that I took notice of it.  One of my favorite exhibits (which may have been around for a while, but was new to me) was the giraffe feeding area.

The girls got a total kick out of it!  Sammy got licked.  She squealed.  She said, "I wanna do it again!"

Julia posed in front of a sea lion.

This girl never misses a photo op. 

Except when there are Capri Suns to be had. 

Hello, from the Fresno Zoo!!!
April 22, 2011
Man, am I tired.  I've hardly posted a thing in the last few weeks because I've been so busy with extracurricular activities at home.  The curricular activities being housework, cooking, cleaning, chasing preschoolers around with wash cloths and various ointments, homeschooling (in our lazy, preschool, kinda way), crafting, gardening, and being a tired mommy in general.  The EXTRA-curricular activities being planning my five year old's birthday party, throwing that party, cleaning up after that party, spring cleaning while my husband is on spring break, planning for Easter, shopping for Easter, having house guests, making a spring break trip to the zoo, and entertaining the neighborhood children who are also an spring break and have just discovered that we live on the same street. 

Let me say this - if you give a kid a Capri Sun once, he will come back everyday to tell you how thirsty he is. 

Without fail.

Kids are persistent little boogers, aren't they? 

The answer is yes. 

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you...  in the midst of all this busyness, my husband decided to surprise me with an early birthday gift.  You wanna guess what it is?

I love to read.  I can't decide if I'm happier about the fact that I got a Kindle for my birthday, or that fact that my husband used his knowledge about who I am as a person, and applied it to the task of finding me the perfect birthday gift without so much as a hint from me, whatsoever!

He earned major points for this one!  Way to go, Babe!

I'm hoping to get more posts out to you soon, after the spring break whirlwind dies down and I can see clearly again. 
Unless I decide to hide in my room with my Kindle. 

March 16, 2011
I have sunk to a new low.

Not only did I make chocolate pancakes for my kids the other day,

but I decided that plain ol' chocolate pancakes wasn't sinful enough for me.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Yep.  I added chopped Andes to my pancakes. 

I think I'm going to hell.

But it might be worth it.

February 26, 2011
I LOVE THE CRICUT MACHINE.

I'm so glad I got that off my chest.  Its been weighing on me.

Let me give you an example of why I love this dear machine.  You can make things like this:

St. Patrick's Day place mats, in case you were wondering. 

Aside from the operating of the machine, which does the cutting of all the shapes, these place mats are 100% preschooler created.  I let them choose the colors and which figures to use for their place mats, but they did all the gluing and placing of characters on their mats.  I had my husband take them to work to laminate them.

 I used the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge to make these place mats.  I don't have many cartridges, but this is my favorite one.  There are so many cute characters to make and they have some adorable accessories to go along with them.  This mermaid is one of my girls' favorites.

I think the pirates are adorable.

And how cute is this?!?

You can create cute little scenes to go with your characters, too.

I can't tell you how many different ways I can think of to use this cartridge.  I've made cards, puppets, bookmarks, and place mats.  It would be perfect for scrap booking.  I cut out random pieces and let the kids create their own little characters and scenes.  They glue them to a piece of paper and hang them on their bedroom walls.

If you own a Cricut machine, you NEED this cartridge!  There is also a similar cartridge called Everyday Paper Dolls.  Its got options for creating people dressed as various occupations and hobbies like fisherman, skateboarder, and rock star.  I really want that one.  REALLY WANT  that one.

If you don't own a Cricut machine and are considering purchasing one, I will personally accept all blame for being the one to push you over the edge.


February 6, 2011
Oh, to be a kid again. 

Today is Superbowl Sunday.  It's been a wierd day.  It was pretty warm outside.  My husband threw his back out so he's been camped out on the couch all day.  (Coincidence?...Hmmm...)  I got a strange, overwhelming desire to rearrange furniture and organize bedrooms. 

All of this has nothing to do with anything.  I'm just letting you know.  You're welcome.

I had a lot going on what with making chicken wings, microwaving a large bag of rice because I don't own a heating pad, moving my daughter's bed to the other side of the room, and trying to sell a large piece of furniture from my front lawn.

Which didn't happen, by the way.  I got an offer and a promise to come back with the money...only my potential buyer never came back.  Figures.

Meanwhile, my kids were pretty much left to occupy themselves.

And they did.   

February 3, 2011
Last night Julia came into our room in the middle of the night claiming she had a bad dream.  She went straight to her daddy.  I have a vague recollection of the events that followed, as I was wavering in and out of sleep and wasn't entirely sure that I wasn't dreaming.  Jeremy welcomed our frightened baby into our bed and snuggled with her until she fell back asleep.  He then took her back to her own bed.  He never woke me up, asked me to take care of her, or nudged me in my sleep so that I would handle the situation so he could get back to sleep.  He is the one who has to get up for work in the morning, after all, so losing sleep on a weekday is a big deal.  I used to work.  I know. 
He just did his daddy duty.  And without knowing how much I would love him for it, he did some husband duty, too.  He let me sleep.  He suffered so I wouldn't have to.  And I love him because he does things like that.

He is the best daddy my girls could ever hope for.

January 27, 2011
I have two sick babies.  That means two ear infections, two runny noses,  two coughs, two 10 day antibiotic regimens, and two extra needy and extra sensitive personalities pulling me in two different directions.  Not that I'm not up for the challenge.  Bring it on.  But it doesn't make life easy. 

We've had to cancel two playdates this week.  I don't want to spread infections all around the valley.  As a mother, I would appreciate it if our playdate did the same for us if they were sick. 

As terribly selfish as this sounds, though, I'm really disappointed that those playdates didn't happen, because playdates during my "work week" are like a 15 minute break during the work day.  Its just as much of a relief to me as it is for the kids.  I get to have a conversation with an adult about adult topics and not feel guilty about not being the ringleader to our family circus.

On an average day I am the organizer of activities and giver of personal attention, but on playdate days I get to hand over that responsibility to other children!  How ironic is that?!?  Its good for everyone.  The kids get to practice being leaders instead of followers, and I get to sit instead of run.  Its been a while since we've had a playdate and we need one...badly.    We have one scheduled for next week, pending no illnesses on either end.  I'm really hoping it works out because I'm starting to have personal space issues.  If my children (or anyone, for that matter) comes within two feet of my body I start getting irritable and anxious.  I'm just one of those people who needs quiet, alone time.  But with the weather keeping us couped up in the house and rhinoviruses taking over my children's bodies, I'm not getting much of that lately. 

So I would like to send a message to our local weatherperson:
Dear Aaron Pearlman,
Please make the sun come out.
Respectfully,
Heather

And one to rhinoviruses, the world over:
Dear Rhinovirus,
You're mean. 
Hmph.


January 21, 2011
I took the girls out for a walk around the neighborhood the other day.  We were experienceing a little sun and we wanted to take advange of it.  While we were walking... well, I walked, they ran... 
                                               
and skipped...

and stopped to spin around sign posts...

I got a glimpse of thier love for each other. 

They make me so happy.