First Day Of School!!

Kindergarten Is Fun!

Colin started Kindergarten this week. It wasn't exactly hard for me because I went through the emotions when he started his preschool at three-and-a-half. Colin was so excited-especially since there are quite a few kids from his preschool that have transferred over with him. We needed to be at the school at 9:30 AM on Monday to have orientation, but Colin was ready with his backpack on at eight-it was so cute!

My favorite part of the orientation was when I had several little girls' mothers come over and ask, "Are you Colin's mom? My daughter talks about Colin all of the time!" Another mom told me that she can already tell Colin is going to be one of the popular kids. Not that this matters to me, but I was happy to hear he's nice to his classmates and has a good amount of friends. He took the tour of the campus holding one little girl's hand, and she even kissed him a few times! He didn't react how I expected. He just smiled and wiped his cheek.

His best friend from Mulberry was Franco. He talked about Franco all summer, and even named his Build-A-Bear after Franco. We were disappointed on Monday to find out that his friend is in the PM class, and Colin is in the AM class. I talked to Franco's mom for a bit, and at the end of the orientation, she told me she had switched him to the AM class so that he and Colin could be together again. I thought that was very sweet of her!

Each day after school, Colin comes home and proudly states, "Mom! Dad! I had fun at school today!" Then when I ask him what he learned, he tells me, "I saw Franco!" That's it. I can tell it's going to be a great year, and I'm excited to see Colin's progress! Good luck, Bubba!



My Tooth Is....GONE! Part 2

I was quite nervous for the next tooth to come out after the meltdown from the first lost tooth. However, Colin had quite a different reaction with the second tooth.

We had just gotten home from a fun day. We had spent time with friends, gotten ice cream, and had gone to the park. It was bed time by the time we had gotten home. Colin walked over to me with his hands behind his back and said, "Mom...I'm hungry." (After a full evening of eating.) I asked what he would like to eat and he pulled out the box of Pop Tarts that were hiding behind his back. Knowing how he usually reacts to bribes (he doesn't fall for them), I replied, "SURE! If you take out that wiggly tooth you can have a Pop Tart." In the blink of an eye he pulled the tooth right out, handed it to me with a simple, "HERE", and pulled out a package of Pop Tarts. Well that was easy.

Birthday!

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Blake turned two this week, so we had a low-key family party on his big day (the 12th), and then we had the big party today. We had Blake's friends party with us at Build-A-Bear in Downtown Disney, and then went to the picnic area just outside the main entrance of Disneyland for cake and ice cream. I must say is was a low-maintenance, low-stress day! We had a great time, and I think the other kids did, too. Blake really enjoyed himself and seemed to understand the concept of birthdays.

I loved seeing what the other little kiddos picked out for their animal, and the names they picked out were fun, too! Colin dressed his bear like an Angel's baseball player and named him "Franco" after a classmate, and Blake had "Beast", a bear that had a Buzz Lightyear outfit. I will admit that I was proud of my cake. I made two cakes separated into four round pans, and then it took me a good three hours (with breaks for eating) to build and decorate it. I felt good when my youngest S.I.L didn't believe that I had made it! Ü

Happy Birthday Blake! Please keep the "Terrible Twos" to a minimum, and we love you!



My Tooth is...is GONE!

Colin has had this dang wiggly tooth for the longest time, and he wouldn't let me get my hands on it! Finally, I was so worried that he would swallow it, I pretended to floss it and pulled it out. He didn't notice until I excitedly showed it to him, then...he freaked out.

We experienced a good twenty minutes of crying. He just didn't understand the concept of losing a tooth and growing a new one. I tried the Tooth Fairy route, and that just scared him. "NO FAIRY! My tooth is gooooone! Oh nooooo!" Eventually he calmed down, looked in the mirror, and said, "THANKS MOM!"

Now the tooth next to it is equally as wiggly, so here we go again!

Crabs

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST

Today we went to Jarron Livingston's 3rd birthday party. It was a swimming party, and we had the best time! (The best part...I didn't get burned! Thanks Heath!) At the end of the party, Jarron handed out his party favors that each had a cute little card game like "Old Maid" or "Go Fish!" Colin just happened to get "Go Fish!"

After dinner, Ron and I had decided to try and teach Colin how to play the game. He did pretty well (except for yelling out what card he drew each time). He was already familiar with his sea creatures, so we didn't have to teach him any.

It was Colin's turn to ask me for a card, so he and Ron made a mutual decision of what to ask me for. Then...he said it...."Mom...Do you have the crabs?" Ron and hysterically and immaturely rolled on the floor and laughed. And with delight, I answered, "YES I DO!"



GOLF

We had a coupon for a free bucket of balls at the Claremont Golf Course, so we utilized it and took the boys. Blake, of course, was extremely loud and inappropriate at the course (as any two-year-old would be), and Colin impressed several with his amazing swing despite the too-long golf clubs. We bought him a bucket of 100 balls...he hit them all!

P.S. Blake put the headband on himself. I thought it was very fashion forward.

CA ADVENTURE

I am realizing that Blake is now getting to the age where he is afraid of a lot of things. He used to be so curious, and now he's just scared. I took my guys to CA Adventure on a whim one afternoon, and we had a great time. They have seemed to enjoyed the same rides in the past, but during this visit, Blake held on to me for dear life on pretty much every one. The carousel was no exception. He even hid in the basket of the stroller during the Electric Light Parade!

Dance!

The Dance Festival

Yup...I went. A two hour show of a lot of mainly white Mormon kids that looked really lost and couldn't dance. Was it a good show...sure. Was it super entertaining to make fun of them...YES! And why shoes kept falling off of people's feet I will never understand. But I did like the girl that got trampled when she was running out with the other 2,999 kids! The dedication to Pres. Hinckley was really nice. I liked that part. The patriotic part was cool with the fireworks.

A. Ri and I went to Chili's after, and we ate. I didn't eat much, but I broke one of my rules. I drank a Dr. Pepper at 11 PM!!! Now...I'm still awake. I didn't eat dessert there, mainly because I've gained 30 lbs. I've noticed the fatter I get, the more I love junk food!! Why have dinner when you can just have a big bowl of ice cream? Food doesn't even sound good anymore...just chocolate, or candy, or cupcakes. Guess I should do something about this...I'll start tomorrow...or the next day. Maybe.

BUT...I have a patient who's the creator of a new ice cream! It's gluten free, is sugar free, and is only 126 calories for the ENTIRE PINT!!! I swear the guy is a member, so I started throwing out words like "nursery" or "primary" and he didn't take the bait! Dang it! Anyway, the ice cream is called "Arctic Zero" I believe, and I have yet to find it. He told me it's in stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Henry's. Apparently none of them are near us. If you see some...let me know. He's supposedly going to put in a request to get some in stores in this area.

BUGS

So we get a lot of beetles outside of our place in the summer. Some of these "beetles" might even be cockroaches, but I would loose my sanity if I knew they really WERE cockroaches, so I call them beetles. I got home tonight, and there was a beetle in between my screen and my door. He was just waiting to be let in. So I threw a stick at him. He barely moved. I thew another one..same result. So I threw another one. Still nothing. It was only about midnight, so I called Ron. He's my husband, and he HAS to save me, right?

Apparently this was annoying for whatever reason, and instead of saving me...he let it in the house and told me I was seeing things. Then proceeded to tell me it was "just a fuzz ball". Then it moved. I love my husband, and he's very accurate at throwing a ball, but for some reason, nearly every time he goes to kill a bug, he misses. This only makes the situation worse for me. You'd think after five years of killing bugs for me, he'd have plenty of practice. But he doesn't.

I guess my point is that I'm sad he gets irritated when I freak out over bugs. It is a legitimate fear for me. I know they can't ALL hurt me (although I think that's a myth), but I don't want them in my house or crawling in my mouth when I sleep. So husband...deal with my fear and protect me without making fun of me or degrading my fear! I NEVER degrade your fear of...of...what are you afraid of? Nothing probably. If you were afraid of saliva, and I wasn't, I would be understanding of it and protect you from spit. (I really do have a friend that is freaked out by saliva!)

Long Week

Happy Anniversaries!

Over this last week, Ron and I celebrated our third year as husband and wife! Yay! Of course I have to mention that it has been three wonderful years. I couldn't ask to be married to a better guy. I was surprised with roses, and I made breakfast in bed. Then we enjoyed a BBQ with visiting family, came home, and enjoyed a quiet movie night with Dr. Pepper and Tin Roof Sunday ice cream. Now that's what I call the perfect night!

Ron's parents are also celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, so Ron's sisters (and the two of us) threw them a party. We put a lot of work into it and it turned out really nice.


Ron's oldest sister, Rian, came to visit from Oregon with her two daughters, boyfriend, and his three sons. I must say they were the best behaved boys I have ever met! Very helpful and so cute! Colin quickly turned into best friends with the youngest, Dakota (4). It was great to see my nieces, Jade and Alyssa, too! Jade made me realize that three-year-olds don't necessarily act three. ("It would be great if you could get me that banana." "I'll be your best friend if you play basketball with me!")

Jade-the cutest busy body! Colin and Dakota all partied out

As a nice end, the six of us girls (Ron's mom, four sisters and I) ate at the Melting Pot. It was so fun, and the look on the waiter's face when we said we were all sisters was priceless! Thanks Tammy! I had a great time!

Ron's Twin

We cleaned Ron's parents garage a week ago in order to get ready for the party. As usual, going through old items takes people on a trip down memory lane. We found a lot of older pictures of Ron and his four sisters. Then...came the picture of all pictures....Ron's twin! Ron apparently has a twin, and his name is Blake!!! I still can't get over how much this picture looks just like our little guy now.

Ron circa 1981 or Blake circa now?

Tattoos

Last Sunday, it was nearing bed time, and Colin and Blake were quietly coloring. They were being so good I almost felt bad putting them to bed. I decided to join-in on the coloring, but I wanting to make it more exciting, so Colin got tattooed with my wonderful Kinder-art style! We had a great time, but I soon learned the tats didn't come off too easily. I'm sure his teacher loved to see Colin tatted up!

Just a couple of Colin's eight tats

It was a great week, a long week, a tiring week, but a memorable one!

Not Another One...

Crazy Driver version 2.0

I can't believe I have another crazy driver story within the same week...but I do!

So I was working in an operatory with Dr. Valdez at around 10:30 in the morning on Thursday. All of a sudden, we hear tires screech and a loud BOOM!! Thinking that a car ran into our office, I yelled, "SOMEONE HIT THE BUILDING!" Very professional with a patient in the chair...I know. Of course the Dr. and I leave the patient in the chair to run out and see what had happened.

We head to the lab in the back of the office. There's a large, tinted window. Tinted enough to where no one can see in. A Lexus SUV has just missed our office, but hit the fire hydrant in front of the office and water is starting to flood just below our back door. We call 911.

Eventually the fire department arrives, the water gets shut off, and the excess is being suctioned by a big truck. But something is missing....OH! The ambulance. Unfortunately I had to work, so I missed whatever happened between this time.

Each time I returned (I kept pretending I had things to get out of the lab, or another room so I could stop by the lab...), nothing much was happening. Then I see the lady who hit the hydrant get out of her car. She's pretty old and uses a walker. Still-no paramedics. Just a few policeman standing around and a tow-truck guy with a pony-tail, of course.

The lady starts to walk when all of a sudden, "TIIIIMMMMMBERRRR!!" she falls straight backwards taking the walker with her. She hits her head on the sidewalk and passes out! All of us girls at work are screaming as it happens, but the policemen stand there and WATCH it happen and do NOTHING! Nothing at all! Now I'm panicking and yelling, "CALL 911!" as I run down the hallway.

Again...the fire department shows up, but no paramedics. Eventually I see her start to move, so I know she's at least alive. Then I had to work again.

The next time I got back to the lab, everyone was gone at the scene. So I never found out WHY the lady ran into the fire hydrant in the first place, or if any paramedics showed up to get her. But it made for an interesting morning.

The Happiest Place On Earth

Since it was the last possible day for us to go, we (as an entire family) went to Disneyland. We finally talked Colin into riding on the new Toy Story ride at CA Adventure in exchange for Daddy taking him on Star Tours afterwards.

The weather was great, the streets were crowded, but the rides weren't. It was really a great evening. It's a rare treat to get Ron in the parks with us, but we enjoyed every second of it. Plus every time he complained how heavy the stroller is, or how wiggly Blake is I got to say, "I do this ALL OF THE TIME by myself! Aren't I amazing?!"

Haircut

Colin HATES haircuts. I know "hate" is a strong word, but I use it because it's true! We've yet to have a pleasant moment. We started cutting his hair at home thinking he would be more comfortable. Boy were we wrong! It was even worse! So we've started taking him back to Kids Fun Cuts on Moreno in Montclair.

Earlier in the school year we learned about Social Stories. It's a way of preparing your child for what is to come and basically telling them how they are going to act and what to expect. We tried it this morning (because it worked for the Toy Story ride yesterday), and Colin did nothing but scream. Then he was dramatic about trimming his nails, cleaning his ears, and brushing his teeth. Not wanting to deal with that on another day, and needing both of us to be there, we went anyway ready to brave the sound of our child being tortured.

Blake got to go first. He was fine. He knows he gets candy, and that kid will do ANYTHING for candy. Colin was next. He was apprehensive about sitting in any of the fun chairs like a motorcycle or jet. Ron told him he could sit in a big boy chair. He plopped him down and Colin whined, "NO! NO!...." "Here it comes" I thought... "I want the blue chair!" Hmmm...okay. That's unusual...normally he doesn't want ANY chair!

The haircut starts, and our child was silent. It was the most beautiful sound we had never heard. He even liked watching the haircut in the mirror. We buzzed his head to avoid coming back anytime soon, but enjoyed the entire time. He got his candy for being good (as well as a lot of praise), and talked about how great his hair looks for the rest of the day!

The buzz-cut brothers

Social stories work! They aren't just for kids with Autism, either. Some people get really descriptive with them or draw pictures. We keep it simple and easy for Colin to understand. Here's a link if you're interested in learning more about it or find that your child has a hard time transitioning from one thing to another. We've even been told they work great for kids that have a hard time taking tests.
http://www.autismnetwork.org/modules/social/sstory/index.html

Near Death Experience

Crazy Driver

Yesterday I was as happy as a clam to finally end my work day. Let's just say it was a long week. (and as a note to people who might be unaware...it isn't polite to just SHOW UP at your dentist or doctor's office and expect to be seen. It's better to call them. If they are a good practitioner..or person...they will MAKE time for you.) Anywho...I was heading to the Johnsons' to pick-up my kids. I was driving East on Baseline. When I almost reached Mills Ave, I decided to change to the unoccupied left lane. The light turns green. Myself and the car next to me proceed through the intersection when a loverly person decided to run a red light heading north up Mills Ave. The SUV next to me hit her and she spun around to where she was facing south on Mills.

WOW!

It pretty much happened in slow-mo, and so I watched the girl that ran-the-red as she spun around. She handled her car like she was a professional stock-car driver! AND...no change in her expression the ENTIRE time! Instead of pulling off nearby where she already was, she made a right back onto Baseline, made another U-turn on Baseline (ignoring on-coming traffic, of course) and then parked in a busier area on Baseline.

Not only did I realize that I was lucky to have missed that one ONLY because I had changed lanes just seconds before, but I realized there should be some sort of IQ test to get your driver's license.

And as a side note, I've also realized this was not REALLY a near-death-experience. But it almost was.

Peace Out

Someone taught Blake how to do the"peace out" thing...you know...pound your fist to your chest two times and then do the peace sign? Yeah...that one. He normally only does it when reminded or prompted (and his peace sign consists of one finger), but that has changed.

He's decided that when I do something that makes him happy, he does the "peace out" pound as he walks away from me. For example, I let him have an organic lollipop tonight. I opened it and handed it to him. Rather than the usual, "Daint doo, mommy", I got the peace out pound. This combined with the hip-hop dancing already says a lot about my nearly two-year-old.

FYI

For all of the fellow Disney enthusiasts, we are now unable to sign-in to Disneyland. For the rest of the summer, our Silver passes are blocked-out until almost September. Yes...I know. It's a sad day. I'm mourning the FREEdom of our Disney benefits, but happy to know they will return. AND...if Ron keeps working until after he turns 55, we get lifetime sign-ins even if he doesn't work there! WOO HOO! Only 29 years left, honey!