Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT!

So here in LA, we haven't had much of a 'summer'. In fact, I bought Kevin a bunch of 12 month shorts outfits thinking I would need them, and half of them sit unused in his drawers still! Well, all of a sudden this week (at the end of September!) the weather decided to wake up and pour on the heat. And pour on it did, we hit record highs on Monday, including 113 degrees in downtown LA!

So on Sunday I decided to finally set up the bouncer with the water tube it comes with, thus making it a water slide!

I apologize in advance, I was going to make a smaller collage out of these, but it seems Mike hasn't installed Photoshop on my new laptop yet, so I can't do it. So here are a bunch of pictures of the kids splashing and sliding around in the bouncer-ball-pit-turned-water-slide.

Amanda taking the plunge:
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Kevin joined her once he woke up from his nap:
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He was a little hesitant at first, and mostly watched Amanda playing in the water, but eventually he started laughing and getting into it:
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At the top of the slide
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Bullet Points

I've had a few posts I've been thinking about, but each seems to not be long enough for it's own post, so I'm just going to do a random bullet point-like entry of stuff.
  • Addiction - I have never thought of myself as having an addictive personality. However, I heard on the radio the other day about someone with a 'food addiction', and it sounded JUST like me. I am *so* addicted to sweets/sugar, it's not even funny. I can't have just one, I need to eat a ton, and even when my belly is full I want to eat more! So now can I say I have a sickness and get disability pay?
  • 'The Grace of Silence' - I heard an interview with Michele Norris about this memoir she wrote (I think it's released this week) and it really made me think. They talked about a particular experience that her dad had in his younger days that he chose not to tell his daughter about. And she was saying how her life would have probably taken a completely different path had he decided to tell her instead. It makes me wonder since my parents are still alive, if there is anything like this in their lives that they have chosen not to tell my sisters & I about. And also, is there anything like this in my life I would never tell my kids about? And what if I did tell them and the path it put them on was not what I would have liked? Weird thought, huh?
  • Working mom vs. Stay-at-home mom - For me, this wasn't a choice. We live in an expensive city and I need to work if we are going to be able to afford a house and luxuries. But it amazes me how if I mention how hard it is to work AND raise two young kids, everyone jumps all over me and says "then just stay home!" Really? Is that supposed to be easier? Because I don't think so. Work is almost my repreive. I get to talk to adults. I get to eat lunch at my leisure. I get to write in this blog! Yet the 'accepted' norm is still for moms to stay home with the kids. I think we are stuck in the in-between generation where it's still not 100% accepted for moms to work full time. And sometimes it sucks when I know it's necessary for me to do it, but by doing so I'm not making everyone happy.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Best Bath Toy EVER!

So I get Parent's magazine somehow (I think I was signed up when I ordered something on-line), and in the October issue was an ad for a bath pump by YooKidoo:


I'm thinking wow, that is a cool toy! So I go to order some stuff on Amazon and thought about that toy and decided I would like to order it. I find it, and below it Amazon suggested another toy, a fountain version!



OMG! OMG! This is perfect! Both kids like to play with the faucet, so instead of running water their entire bath, I can turn this on! Awesome, so I ordered it. And it came just a few days ago.

Kevin - LOVED IT!

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Amanda - LOVED IT!!

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Only problem - getting them OUT of the bathtub!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Why I hate the dealer

I've had to enter the GM dealer exactly 3 times now.

One - to buy my truck.
Two - to get a free replacement part that was recalled on the tailgate
Three - Today. I had to get a new driver's side lock & handle

All three times have been nightmares.
Well, the first one wasn't too bad because I left with my truck!

The second, I made an appointment at a dealer by our house. It's across the street from a mall. I go to drop it off, and can't find the person I made the appointment with. Finally they track him down, and he of course tries to sell me on a bunch of other things. I say no and give him my cell phone number and tell him I'll be across the street at the mall, call me when it's done. This is at 4pm in the evening. The garage is only open until 6. I head to the mall, and around 5:30 I head back (no phone call). I actually trip somehow on my way back and my ankle is in serious pain, but I make it and look for my "specialist" who is (yet again) not in his office.
I wait another hour in the waiting room with no phone call, no page, no nothing. Finally I walk up to the window and ask the receptionist about my car. She looks at me puzzled and asks me who my specialist is. I tell her, and she looks at me even more surprised and says "He went home hours ago!"
Great. Ahem.
So she goes to get someone else to help me. A half hour later, I finally get called over and sign some paperwork. She tells me to go wait out front and they will bring me my car. So I go wait. And wait. And wait.
Finally after a long time, someone approaches me and asks which is my car again? So I tell him, he looks at my receipt and disappears again. He comes back second time (still no car!) and this time takes my receipt from me.
FINALLY comes back with my truck and says he's sorry, it was at the very back of the lot. Ya, thanks.
So, 8:30 at night I finally leave.

Fast forward 4 years. My truck looks like someone tried to break in. The lock on the driver's door is now INSIDE the door, preventing my window from rolling down. I'm told by several mechanics that it's only something the dealer can fix. So, I make an appointment on Monday with, we'll call him "R". Why they insist on assigning you a "specialist" is beyond me. This time I had to go to a different dealer farther away because the one by the mall is now closed.
I pull in this morning, and eventually find him. He doesn't even remember why I made the appointment! He tells me they will have an estimate for me fairly quickly, but it shouldn't be more than an hour. I tell him I will be in the waiting lounge, and he says no problem, he'll come get me.
2 hours later. I'm still sitting there. So I go find "R" again (not an easy feat) and ask for an update. He shuffles through some papers, types something into the computer, humms and hahs, and tells me he'll go find out. Comes back to tell me not only does the lock need replacing, but the handle does as well.
Lovely.
"How long is this going to take" (read: it's already been 2 hours, what have you people been doing?)
"Well, since he needs to take apart the whole door, it'll probably be at least an hour & a half, maybe two hours" (read: We got her by the balls, let's see how much longer we can keep her!)
*sigh* "Ok, you know where to find me"
"Oh, and by the way, we recommend about another $1,000 in services to your truck. Do you want to do them now?"
"Um, no thank you. [you blood sucking, money-hungry, POS]"

Meanwhile, people have come and gone in the time I've been waiting there! What kind of service is this!

So, I go back to the waiting room, FINISH the book I started that morning, finish the magazine I brought, watch some soap opera, and finally it's lunch time and Mike picks me up to go get some lunch.

FINALLY, 5 hours after I dropped the car off, he calls my cell phone while I'm at lunch to tell me it's done.

And yet again, they "lost" my car and I had to wait nearly a half hour to get it.

My whole day was wasted. Sitting around waiting for a stupid lock and handle to be replaced.

Stupid dealer. Stupid people trying to break in my car.

Oh, and "R" told me I was "lucky" because if the lock thing doesn't work, usually they break your window to break in to the car. He says someone must have scared them off.

Ya, I'm real lucky I guess.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Growing up fast!

Kevin is growing up way too fast. I can't believe the big strides he's made in the last couple of weeks. He is walking all over the place now, getting more and more confident. He, like Amanda, likes to "help" me sweep the floor:

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And taste Daddy's beer:

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But he's still small enough to stand under the kitchen table!

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Saturday, September 4, 2010

Something about Kevin

Kevin LOVES the bath. So much so that as I'm getting it ready, he will push his way between my legs and try to climb in on his own. Here's a shot of him peeking through my legs, trying to get in.

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And now that he's walking, he will often run away from me if I turn my back for a second.

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I think Kevin associates the boppy with getting milk because he will purposely lay it down on the ground and lay himself down in it.

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He has also discovered "driving" and loves it just as much as Amanda does.

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At the park this weekend, instead of playing on the equipment, he preferred to chase the birds

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Family shot!

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And McD's afterwards

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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Little Blonde Mop

So being that I had a girl first, and her hair took FORever to grow long enough to cut, we didn't get Amanda's hair cut for the first time until she was nearly 2 1/2. Meanwhile, I'd see pictures of little baby boys with this long shaggy hair and I'd think "Why don't they just get that cut!" I vowed if I ever had a boy, I would cut his hair short and early on.

So now Kevin was born with a LOT of hair. And it has continued to grow. And I keep saying to myself I should get it cut soon.

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But those curls are just so damn cute! I can't bring myself to do it!

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