How I miss the Northwest

We took a family trip up to Seattle to have a fun filled weekend with our good friends Josh and Lluiva, and their two girls Layla and Willow (same ages as Connor and Aaron). It was so wonderful to get out of the 110 degree weather, and enjoy the rainforest.

I keep trying to tell myself that I want to move back there "just because I want to move" and that's the way I was brought up, but I saw firsthand how great it was for my kids loved it, and I still have a dream to make it up there with them. We spent 90% of the time outside, and really took advantage of the beautiful 70 degree weather.

We went to the zoo, and the kids enjoyed the Gorillas, Elephants, and Giraffes the best. The next day we went to the Strawberry patch, and I tell you - those were the sweetest melt-in-your-mouth strawberries I've ever eaten. Layla kept eating them instead of putting them in her box : ). We also took a train ride to see a waterfall, and it was the highlight of the trip for my boys.

Connor begged to ride Laylas tricycle in the culdesac constantly, and it was nice that there was a park right across the street, which we visited several times. Connor couldn't get enough of the outdoors.

I even had the chance to run 3 and 1/2 miles with Lluvia through the forest, which got a little scary when the bugs started coming out around the lake! We really pushed ourselves when that happened.

Maybe we will make it up there someday! It's nice to know the boys do love being there.

What a day!

This week is flying by, and I've been jamming it with so many activities! I was surprised that I still had to force sleep upon my kids, but once they hit their pillows they were out pretty quickly. And now here I am at 7:49pm with the rest of the night to spend in peace : ).

It all began with Connor being dropped off at Bible School, which he decided that he didn't want to go to this morning, so it was a little bit of a struggle to get him out the door. Once we got there, he was excited to go.

I came back home, played with Aaron...and yes, I put him down for a nap. I had to make several calls for various appointments, so it was nice to do it without the kids interrupting me every couple of minutes.

Then the real adventure begun! I picked up not only Connor, but Mateo from VBS, and took them back to my place where my friend Jackie, Mateos mom, met us with her other kids. I stopped at Sonic to get the boys a "special drink". I asked Mateo if he wanted one and he said, "I'm down for that!"

The kids enjoyed their drinks, until Mateo decided he didn't want his because he realized it was pink! Oh no! Maybe the slushes were the downfall, they were already acting pretty "energetic".

The kids had fun playing with toys at my house. We actually had a good lunch of Mac and cheese and other snacks, it was time to head out to the swimming pool in my neighborhood. That's when all craziness broke loose!! I was actually pretty comforted by the fact that the chaos was not only my kids, but all 5 kids contributed to it in their own little ways of trying to get them in bathing suits. We did finally accomplish the goal of getting them all ready.

We finally arrived at the parking lot, and we had to get them to walk in an orderly way to the pool, desperately trying to have them do something to keep them from running off into the street...act like trains...hold hands...ahhhh. 2pm and we're finally at the pool, sheish! Jackie and I decided that 30 minutes would be plenty of swimming time.

Somehow she miraculously changed all 3 kids into dry clothes before leaving (I wasn't even going to attempt), although Nico waded in the shallow pool a little after being changed into dry clothes - bummer. I only hope they fell asleep on their way home!

What a day.

Hopefully tomorrow's adventure to see Toy Story 3 is a little calmer : ).

Fun Fathers day!

I had a cup of coffee this evening, so I figured I should post something! Hopefully it won't keep me up, but I might be in trouble.

The kids had a fun time making Dad breakfast in bed. Aaron was a little jealous, so he ate a few bites that dad spared.

We had an afternoon bbq at the in-laws house, and Connor acutally struck out on his own in the swimming pool today, which is a huge accomplishment for him! It would have taken him an anchor to sink him since he had not only a life jacket on, but floaties too, but it really gave him the confidence to swim! Very exciting! I guess the lessons are starting to build his confidence. They are paying off.

Tomorrow Connor starts vacation bible school, so I'm going to try and make a point to spend some quality time with Aaron for those 3 hours a day this week. Any good suggestions? Playground might be too hot...I'll try and think of something. Maybe even taking him to a museum one of the days. Just Aaron and mom. I will be tempted to go home and put him down for a nap, but I'm not going to do it (not every day at least)! I WILL spend time with Aaron!

Good night!

Routine

I need to get a more defined routine for the boys. We have a loose schedule right now, but they really take advantage of the loopholes. I even have an outline of the day that I writeup every morning, and try to put certain things in place to try and get my kids to be structued, but it keeps falling through. Maybe it's me.

For instance, I tell my son he must do 4 good things before he gets to play video games. That seemed to work for the first week, and then he starts constantly asking for it, which is more annoying than just letting him play. I have set a time limit on it, but video games seems to agitate him in general. I'd like to limit it to weekends, but it's hard when I already have a way of rewarding him with it. He's only 4 so it should be easy to switch.

Starting in the fall I'm going to start on a pre-school curriculum with him, and I'm hoping that will give us a little more structure and predictability in his day. He really enjoys knowing what's happening next, and I think he will thrive on the structured day more. I've gotta discipline myself to stay on track...I think that's the key.

Who am I kidding?

I remember the dreams and wishes I had as a little girl, and as you get older you can't help to think, what if I just did that? As I get older, I am now becomeing more and more thankful for the choices I did make in my life to get me to this point now. I realize how lucky I am to be married to my best friend, and that I am a mom. Yes, it does define one aspect of me, and I'm so happy that I am a mom. I've always wanted to be a mom, so check that off my childhood dream list : ).

So I hope creating this blog can be not only an outlet for me, but a way to appreciate my children's childhood, and when I would rather type than write it down with pen and paper - this will be that place. Hopefully I'll get a little support from the people "who know" what it's like to be a stay at home parent. Even if you're not - it would still be great to have you along for the ride, which I call MY LIFE!!!!

What an adventure of a lifetime I'm on!