Magoomba Monday #11

1) I keep forgetting to mention this but I finally slurped all my blog posts from 2008 into a book format and am in the process of editing so I can publish a copy to keep. I am really excited about it, however, I have to say it turned out to be more work than I was expecting. Blurb automatically formats all the posts exactly the same, which presents a few problems. Some of my posts are text heavy. Many of my posts are photo heavy. They don't all ideally fit in the same cookie cutter format so I have to go through each one and alter the formats for some. The other issue is with the captions I frequently affix to my photos. Well in the book format the text is one place and the photos are in another so I have to manually go back and correct the wording for all of those posts. At one point I thought it might easier to just save the html and input it to another publishing site like Lulu but since I didn't anticipate the problems I am having with Blurb, that would be a lot of work to go back and do so I am just sucking it up and editing. As of right now the book will be about 240 pages. That's a pretty good record for one year of the Funny Noses!

2) With both the kids each just having birthdays I don't magically expect them both to start developmentally appropriate behavioral issues for their new ages BUT Jadyn was already giving me a run for my money and with Joe gone their seems to be a little bit more sibling squabbling than my patience can handle. One quick glance over my discipline book of choice (1 2 3 Magic) to polish up on technique and consider each child's temperament and age and order is in the process of being restored. I cannot recommend that book enough!

3) Speaking of books, we went to our local library this past week and I signed both the kids up for the summer reading program. For every 5 books they read or have read to them, they get a prize and if they check out 30 books each before the deadline, they get to participate in a party at the end of summer. While I was there, I was happy to find Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box by Anne Dunnewold, which has been making the rounds amongst by blogging circle and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which was recommended by another friend. As soon as I finish the June Cleaver book, I will definitely be writing a post about how I feel about the whole extreme parenting phenomenon and how the book has (hopefully) helped me to let go of some of my mommy guilt.

4) With the weather still unseasonably mild, I was able to take the kids to another local treasure we have somehow managed to overlook previously - The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and Covington Park. What an amazing treat it was! It is yet another desert oasis, boosting one of the ten largest cottonwood and willow stream habitats in California. Translation: For the duration of the 3 hours we were there, it was easy to forget that we live in the desert. We were surrounded by huge towering shade trees with green everywhere, boardwalk trails with lush vegetation tickling your legs along the way and the sound of trickling water. This on top of the fact that right next store to the preserve is a beautiful brand new playground for the kids to play and climb until their hearts content. Now that we have visited the preserve, I am certain we will be frequenting it often.

5) On Saturday, Jake had closing ceremonies for t-ball, which was rather anticlimactic given that his last game was 2 weeks ago. However, it was nice to see all the Grasshoppers unite one last time in order to receive their trophies. Jake, of course was excited to add to what is sure to become quite the collection of trophies and metals throughout his adolescence. Jadyn just had to be in the picture. I guess it is a good thing she was dressed in orange!

6) After closing ceremonies, I had promised the kids we would stop by the shelter to visit the kitties. We have gone a handful of times lately but Saturday turned out to be different because a litter of gorgeous 7 week old kittens had just become available for adoption and they were all cute, cuddly, playful and litter box trained. So after spending an hour or so playing with all of them and assessing their little personalities, and of course getting Joe's blessing, Jake and Jadyn each picked out their favorite and we are now the proud owners of two new female kittens - a chocolate point named Jasper (Jazz) and a tabby calico named Mambo. We are introducing them to our house and doggies very slowly and the kids are super excited to have the baby cats joining our family.

7) Finally today is the first day of swim lessons. I am extremely nervous about how Jadyn is going to do being in the water without me for the first time but I am hoping for the best and preparing for lots of tears. Who knows, maybe she will surprise me.

Hope everyone's week is off to a productive and great start!

Duck Duck Turtle

With the weather unseasonably mild for this time of year, it was the perfect opportunity to take the kids to Civic Center Park in Palm Desert before running the errands that sent us down to civilization in the first place. Ali was kind enough to come with me and provide adult company. When we arrived at the pond, the kids immediately parked themselves on the bench from my last post and exclaimed it to be a dog. Ali and I corrected them stating that we thought it was an alligator. Well there was something about Ali and alligator that set the kids off and before we knew it they were spouting off comments like, "Ali, we are sitting on you" and "Look Ali, you have a tail." It was comical.

But even better, not only were the ducks coming over to receive our gifts of bread and crackers, but the turtles were everywhere and it turns out they really like goldfish cracker crumbs. Here is Jadyn calling to the baby turtle. "Here turtle. Come here turtle!"

Another group had their little ankle biter dog with them and he kept coming over to the edge of the shore to check out the ducks BUT when this big guy appeared, he went ballistic, barking like crazy. It was hysterical.

I wish I could say the rest of the trip was as fun-filled as our trip to the park but unfortunately it was not a good day to drag my two children on shopping errands and I came home that evening completely drained. Then I looked at my camera and saw the beautiful smiling faces of my two kids sitting on that bench and my spirits were immediately lifted. Even bad days can have a happy ending.

Wordless Wednesday - Look Ali, you have a tail!

Birthdays Abound

This weekend we attended three birthday parties within a 24 hour period. It was exhausting but a lot of fun and well worth the effort of attending all three in such a short span.

The weekend celebration kicked off Friday night at Kalista's 6th birthday party. Kalista is the daughter of my good friend Michaela (who sadly will be leaving in July as her husband is getting out of the military). Kalista is also the first little girl that Jake seems somewhat smitten with. At his birthday party in April when I asked whom he wanted seated next to him at the party table, he choose her over all his other guy pals. At any rate, Kalista was having a sleepover party but the kids and I were invited to join in the evening's party activities beforehand. This meant that Jake was only the boy there (other than Kalista's little brother Malachi who is Jadyn's age) with 5 other girls in his age range. Of course, Jake loved all the extra attention he received. I don't think he minded being the only boy one bit. What do you think?

Saturday we went to the 5th birthday party for a t-ball teammate of Jake's. Sam was not only a fellow Grasshopper but he will be a kindergartner in the fall at the same elementary school Jake is attending and since Jake's preschool was the next town over, its nice to know that Jake will already have at least one buddy.

Finally, later on Saturday we went to the third birthday party of little Aden, a fellow playgroup friend of Jadyn's. What made this celebration even more special was that the kids former Kindermusik teacher, Ms. Heather had agreed to conduct a party session for the event before she moves in a couple of weeks. (Can you tell we live in a military community where summer is a big time for duty station moves?). Jake and Jadyn were so happy to see her and jumped right in, playing with the music and participating in the festivities. I cannot say that Jadyn made it through the entire party without a few meltdowns but at that point it was understandable being that we had been going all day.

I love birthday parties and I feel very blessed that we have been invited to join in so many celebrations as of late. However, I am also quite happy to report that as of right now, we have no parties on our schedule in the near future. Because as I mentioned birthday parties are exhausting. Fun, but exhausting.

Magoomba Monday #10 (a day late again)

1. ) I can't believe that with all the commotion going on after last weekend that I completely forget to mention how much I loved the New Moon trailer unveiled at the MTV Movie Awards. I was squealing like a fangirl and yes, I rewound it and rewatched it several times. You can definitely tell that the budget is bigger and therefore the special effects are going to be much better. I was really worried how they were going to do the werewolf transformation and although I cannot say it completely compares to the vision I had in my head while reading the book, it came pretty darn close. I am so much more emotionally invested in how this movie turns out because it was my favorite of the series. Just watching the trailer made me want to go back and re-read it for the 5th time but I am trying to wait until closer to the movie release. November 20th can not come fast enough!

2) Although I am not good enough to stop giving my business to Kaycee and Kimberly, I finally figured out how to make hairbows for Jadyn! Kimberly tried to show me once but I just think she wasn't dumbing it down enough for me. However, today my sister in-law Tawnya was able to break it down for me and voila - I can now make bows to match Jadyn's outfits. I even have a burnt thumb from the hot glue gun to prove it. And man, I am not a crafty person but it can be addictive.

3) I took the kids to see the movie UP last Wednesday. We went the extra mile (or 50 miles but whose counting) and saw it in 3D. The movie was as good as the reviews have been saying and the animated short before the movie was amazingly cute. Right up my alley. Even the previews were in 3D. Jake wore his 3D glasses the whole time and although the movie kept her interest, Jadyn took her glasses off about 1/3 of the way through. Although I don't think you would lose anything essential if you didn't see the movie in 3D, Jadyn is still talking about the dog at the movie theater who licked her in the face so I know it had an impact.

4) Amongst all her new toys from her birthday, Jadyn got a new baby doll she had been wanting. One night last week I found her putting her baby to bed and "reading" her a bedtime story. I thought it was the cutest thing.



5) Another example of what a great big brother Jake can be - when we are trying to get out the door and Jadyn is having trouble getting her shoes on, he stops and takes the time to help her. Now that's love. Or impatience. Or a little of both.



More on our weekend coming!

Funny Nose Friday #1 Mad Edition

This weekly installment will be replacing the former A Funny Nose Knows. It seems like every since I started Magoomba Monday, I have been neglecting the Funny Nose bits. Basically it is a time to write about some of the funny, unique and imaginative things that the kids come up with.

This first Funny Nose Friday revolves around the theme of being mad. I hope no one reads this and gets the impression that we are angry people who make a habit out of yelling and screaming but in the end, I guess it is open to interpretation.

Last week Joe and I were arguing over a forgotten item on the grocery list. We may have been animated and raising our voices but I certainly would not have characterized it as yelling. At any rate, as our debate raged on in the kitchen, Jake entered from the living room and said, "Hey, stop talking mad!". Of course at that point we both forgot about the arguement and started smiling at him but it was actually a good reminder that kids are sometimes far more preceptive than we give them credit for.

Another day recently, Jadyn was deeply in character as a princess complete with her dress up clothes, high heels, jewelry and crown. I was in the other room busy doing something when I heard the kids raised voices followed by Jadyn's cry. I asked her to come to me so I could ask her what happened and when I inquired as to what was wrong she replied, "The princess is mad" I tried to take her seriously and keep a straight face but it was pretty difficult.

Finally, I think I have mentioned that instead of calling them bad guys Jake calls them mad guys. Well apparently the two words have been used so interchangably by Jake that the mix-up has rubbed off on Jadyn. One day Utah was in trouble because in his excitement to run outside after a noise apparently only dogs can hear, he accidently knocked over Jadyn. Well Jadyn got up off the ground, glared at Utah and in a very stern voice said, "That's a mad Utah". Again, she was so serious in her convinction that I didn't have the heart to laugh or correct her but it really was rather amusing.

Hope everyone has a mad-free weekend!

A Little Mermaid Party fit for a Princess (major pic overload!)

Since Jadyn's birthday fell on a weekend we were able to plan to have her party on her actual birthday, which is always nice. Even though she is very into puppies and kitties right now, she was very adamant that she have one of the Disney princesses as her birthday theme. When she finally decided upon the Little Mermaid, it seemed a natural choice to have her party at the water park again, since it is always pretty hot by the end of May and because, well Ariel, Flounder and Sebastien all come from under the sea. So here are the invitations, which I made this year:

And here are the favor bags - a very cute Little Mermaid purse, which I filled with a jump rope, sand mold, candy necklace, Ariel fruit snacks and princess ring stamp. Each guest also received a water blaster as well.

Upon waking the morning of her birthday, Jadyn immediately started chattering about her birthday. Here she was talking about her all the candy in her Little Mermaid pinata:

After packing up the car, I had a quick photo session with Jadyn in her outfit anointing her the birthday girl:

Unfortunately, Jadyn is still quite uncooperative with picture taking so I really concentrated on getting some good shots of her through all stages of the party. The problem is that between hosting and running the party and taking pictures of Jadyn, I didn't have a lot of time to take pictures of everyone else so this is what I have to share. The party went really well. Between the concrete splashground, skateboard park and two playgrounds, entertaining the kids is fairly easy. We had sandwiches, pizza, pasta salad, chips and refreshments out for everyone to eat while we let the kids play and then moved quickly through the pinata, cake and gifts. It well by really quick and before I knew it, I was passing out favor bags and thanking everyone for coming.

Jadyn and her cousin Madison in their matching swimsuits:

Jake and Kalista hamming up on top of a sprinkler head:

Okay, sorry I did actually get A LOT of good pictures of Jadyn. But then I couldn't decide which to share so here are all the ones I liked:

Jake and Jadyn getting wet:

Pinata time! There was so much candy in there that each child's goody bag was full and they actually walked away with candy still on the ground because they got bored of picking it up. Oops!

The cake:
While singing happy birthday:

Yes I know, several of the boys (Jake included) kept their tiaras on for quite some time while most of the girls refused to wear them. Go figure!

She had lots of help opening her gifts:

A barbie jeep with real working stereo. Now she can ride in style with her brother:

Mommy with the birthday girl:

Family photo op:


Jadyn had a really good time and really seemed to get that all the fuss and attention was for her birthday. Once at home, we let her blow a candle off an ice cream cup since the wind at the park prevented her from doing so at her actual party. She also had a great time playing with Jake and her cousins Madison and Ethan who were all racing Jake's Tony Stewart car against Jadyn's new jeep. I think once Jadyn gets the steering down better, they are going to have a great time together riding around in their vehicles.

Jake and Madison getting ready to race:

I would really like to know what made Jadyn strike this pose:

Blowing out her candles back at home:


Jadyn loved all her gifts, each time she played with one of her new puppies, kitties or Ariel themed toys she exclaimed that it was the only thing she wanted for her birthday. It was really cute. If I had to guess though, I would say the mommy and meowing baby kitty from Great-Grandma Kat was her favorite. At least, that is what she took to bed with her that night when we all quickly fell asleep after a very exhausting but fun party day.

The next morning Jadyn asked if she was still 3 and we tried to explain to her that this was in fact her new age and she would never be 2 again. But I really can't blame her for not understanding. Everything has happened so quickly, it almost feels like a dream and honestly, I have not yet fully come to grips with the fact that my baby girl is 3 yet either.

Wordless Wednesday - An End to the Season

Graduation Day

I don't think I could be more proud of Jake on the day of his preschool graduation; to see how far he has come and how much he has accomplished socially in the last 2 years is nothing short of amazement. So I am just going to warn you ahead of time. This post I am pulling out all the stops and bragging about my son to no end even if it bores everyone ad nauseam.

I knew from the teachers as well as the program from last year that as a graduate from the 4-year old class Jake would be a team leader for one of the songs and recite a line into the microphone announcing something their class had learned from the past year. As a matter of fact we were given a slip of paper with the line he had to learn over Memorial weekend so we could help him memorize it. The funny thing was that Jadyn had it down pat about 24 hours sooner than Jake. But boy was I surprised when we arrived at the ceremony and sat down to peruse the program, only to see Jake's name listed as the student to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. A couple of us began joking that I should save the program to put on his college application because well you know, it's so competitive now you never know how far back they might go. In all seriousness though, it was pretty neat to have him singled out for such an honor. He got to tell everyone to please rise for the pledge. He recited it into the microphone as we all said the familiar words and he asked everyone to please be seated at the end. It was really cute.

The program then continued through songs like the ABC Disco, Little Red Wagon, 5 Little Fishes and the Letter Sounds, which was the song that Jake team led on after reciting his line, "We learned to clean up after ourselves". However, the best part of the program was to see how comfortable Jake was center stage in front of the crowd of parents, family members and friends literally singing and dancing his heart out. He was one of the loudest singers, one of the most animated dancers and after the program, several parents commented how he was the life of the party up there. What a difference 2 years can make.

And so while yes Jake learned his ABCs, letter sounds, how to cut with scissors, glue and write his name, those were all things I could have taught him at home. However, seeing him go from being a painfully shy mamma's boy to a confident outgoing 5-year-old is priceless. And I know in my heart that not only did I make the right decision by sending him to preschool but that the preschool I sent him to, the teachers, his classmates and the parents were all the exact perfect fit for not only Jake but our family.

I have some pictures of Jake with his teachers, his classmates and up on stage singing, dancing and delivering his lines as well as a short montage of the moments he danced the most and him reciting his line. Special thanks to Rose over at Beyer Life for the additional photos she got with her new camera (very cool) including a few of Jadyn before we went inside for the program and a hilarious shot of Jake and Gavin making faces at each other on stage.

These programs are so fun to watch and just like last year, I was super impressed with what the teachers managed to accomplish with about 30 or so preschool age children. It was really well-organized and a joy to watch. I know Jake will miss a lot about his preschool. But because of everything he experienced there, I also know he is prepared and excited to go to Kindergarten in the fall and that he is off to a bright start.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Magoomba Monday #9

1) Well we made it through our busy weekend and I am currently working on editing photos and writing posts for Jake's graduation, last day of t-ball with the Grasshoppers and Jadyn's third birthday. Meanwhile, I scheduled our first "free" Monday with an eye appointment for Jake, a well-child visit for Jadyn, the mandatory McDonald's for lunch as a reward, swim sign-ups and finally a haircut for Jake. Now I am definitely exhausted. So here's the scoop:

2) Jake gets to be two beloved movie characters/superheros all in one summer! It turns out he has refractive amblyopia in his left eye, which is also known as a lazy eye. It has nothing to do with how his eye moves or his eyes being crossed. That is called strabismic amblyopia. His vision in his right eye is so good, there is nothing forcing his weaker left eye to get any stronger. Sooooo, he will be a) getting glasses for the time being to correct his vision. He picked out a pair all by himself and he does look like Clark Kent (aka Superman) if I do say so myself. b) once his glasses come in around 7 to 10 days from now, we will be patching his GOOD eye for 2 hours a day and have him participate in vision training exercises to force his left eye to work harder, therefore making it stronger. Hence, Jake will get to be a pirate just like Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. This is the bad news. The good news is that the doctor was optimistic that it could take as little as a month or two to strength Jake's left eye so the goal is for him to not need "patch time" OR the glasses by the time school starts.

3) Jadyn had her 3 year well-child visit today. She roughly weighs 30 pounds and is 36 inches tall and is otherwise healthy with no major developmental concerns. But, I have to say her measurements are rough because despite having never received anything other than routine medical care, she screams bloody murder and refuses to do anything the nurses or I ask her to the entire time they are checking her in. She was better when she was in with the doctor but only because I am able to hold her more. Obviously I can't hold her on the scale. I just don't get it. By this age Jake was over fears like this but Jadyn hates going to the doctor, getting her pictures taken or getting her haircut. Basically anything routine is a nightmare with her. It just goes to show you how different each child's little personality can be. When Joe asked her why she protested so much at the doctor she replied that she wanted Mommy to be the doctor. Now that is funny! Since it will be her first experience solo with a teacher, swim lessons this summer are going to be interesting to say the least. Here is a picture of the birthday girl yesterday before we made our way to the park where we had her party. The shirt is from Carter's and my friend Kimberly made her bows to match.


4) This is the buzz on summer. I just couldn't stand the idea of dealing with Jake's little boy's cut all summer so we took him in and got a low fade. I absolutely love it. Jake's is lukewarm to the change but definitely much better than 2 years back when we last tried a shorter cut for summer. Jake is getting quite the makeover between his cool glasses and new hair cut.



5) While the rest of this week is not nearly as busy as today, we do still have places to go and people to see pretty much every day this week, not to mention that fact that Joe is leaving Thursday and will be away on business for 2 weeks. And people say there is nothing to do out here in the desert.

Hope everyone's week is off to a productive start!