Archive for May 2014
Hectic..
Posted on: May 23, 2014
Things have been a bit chaotic in the household lately.
M caught some sort of bug. Maybe it was a bug, maybe it was all the smoke from the fires, see here. What ever it was left her all phlegmy and coughing. It triggered asthma and I took her into the doctor on Monday. Sure enough, asthma. She was put on her breathing treatments for most of Monday and I was on watch for Tuesday. Luckily, all the breathing treatments she did Monday were enough to make her better on Tuesday.
She still has a little bit of a productive cough, but it happens rarely now and I’m sure it’s on it’s way out.
I had a short work week of just Wednesday and Thursday, but even those two short days were full of stuff.
Today, I have the day off.
I know the blog posts have been a little sparse this month, but I’m trying my best.
It’s life.. right?
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San Diego fire storm.. we’re ok!
Posted on: May 19, 2014
Last week, San Diego was on fire…
It started on Monday or Tuesday. That was the Bernardo fire, and that was the particular fire that got us the most worried as it was the fire that was closest to us.
For most of the night we were on alert. Had the winds moved the fire in the other direction, we would have definitely been evacuated. By the grace of God, the firefighters and the winds were able to keep the fire going away from homes and opposite of our direction. While we were worried, we knew we would be safe.
The next day, the firestorm started. I believe at it’s peak, there were about 9 fires simultaneously burning.
Thank God, none of them were near our apartment.
However, my afterwork commute was in for a treat as I found myself stuck on a freeway that had to be closed because fires had erupted on the sides of the freeway lanes. I believe they called this fire the Highway fire. I left work around 3pm and didn’t get home around 5pm. What’s usually a 45 minute commute turned into 2 hours! It didn’t help that it was 103 degrees outside, so even if I wanted to turn my car engine off, I couldn’t because I would have roasted for sure!
Thursday night, we drove up to my parents house which is an hour and half north of San Diego. We had this planned for awhile, so we weren’t evacuating because of the fire, but it was great timing anyway. Because we didn’t know if any other fires would come, or if one of the fires suddenly decided to head in our direction, we took some of our most valuable documents and items with us.
As the fires burned, the smoke drifted. By Friday, my workplace, which I mentioned was 45 minutes way, north, of the San Diego fires, was blanketed by a cloud of smoke and there was ash sprinkling down. I had my car windows opened a crack while I was at work and when I came into the car at the end of the day, there was a sprinkling of ash on the car seats..
The air quality hasn’t been great, and I think it’s starting to affect M a little bit. She’s been battling some allergies and asthma symptoms since this weekend.. I’m hoping the winds pick up once the fires are out completely and we can clean up our air.
This was my first San Diego fire storm. While I know it’s not going to be our last, I now know what to do, what to bring, and how to act.
Thank God for those brave firefighters!
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Barnes & Noble
Posted on: May 16, 2014
- In: Parenthood
- 1 Comment
It had been YEARS since I had stepped foot into a Barnes & Noble. In my teens, I remember visiting that bookstore at least once a week. There was always that familiar “book” smell when walking in and I always loved it.
A few weeks ago, I decided to introduce M to the joys of this bookstore.
Immediately, when walking in, I was hit with the familiar book smell.. I told M, “Do you smell that? That’s a book smell!” She took a deep breath in, but I don’t think it really mattered to her like it did to me.
I took her to the back of the store, expecting a huge children’s book section that was separated off from the rest of the store. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t like I remembered. This was the first time I visited this particular location, so I’m not sure if the children’s section was ever sectioned off.
I tried to draw M’s attention to all the books, but she immediately saw all the toys and just went for it.
Toys??!?
There were so many toys! She LOVED playing with all the toys… no matter how much I tried to show her books..
She insisted on playing with the toys. At least they were all educational, but I really wanted to get her into the books!
We spent a good hour in the book/toy store. I pulled up a chair and just sat in the aisle while she enjoyed pushing buttons, hearing songs, and talking back to the toys..
Eventually, I was able to focus her attention on some books featuring some of her favorite cartoon characters. We purchased our books and went home.
I’m glad she was happy with her book purchases. No, we hadn’t started driving yet when I took this picture. I had just strapped her in and noticed how engrossed she was in the book, I had to take a photo!
I never realized how many toys Barnes & Noble sold. I wonder if they had always been this way and I was just too old to notice…
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Those potty training ups and downs..
Posted on: May 15, 2014
In the last two weeks, I thought we were getting so close to perfecting the whole potty training thing. She was keeping her diaper dry. I was able to catch her to go potty before she would go in her diaper. Although she was hesitant, she would still cooperate. If I didn’t catch her on time, she would tell me that she had to go potty, even though she already went in her diaper. While I begged her to try to tell me BEFORE she went, the fact that she would even tell me was a victory already.
This week, I feel like we took a step backwards. She’s adamant NOT to go to the potty again. She’s constantly going in her diaper. When I do get her on the toilet, more often than not, she won’t go. She’ll wait until I get her diaper on again for her to go AND she won’t tell me anymore.
They weren’t kidding when they said that potty training really tests your patience.
My only consolation is knowing that she will eventually learn. I know she’ll get it in her own time. We just gotta keep pressing on..
How do you deal with the ups and downs of potty training??
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Disneyland Hotel
Posted on: May 14, 2014
- In: Parenthood
- 2 Comments
Last week, the family and I took a little Disney vacation.
I’ve been going to Disneyland for all my life. This was my first time staying at the Disneyland Hotel.
I made Hubby slow down while turning the corner into the hotel parking lot so I could take this photo. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone behind us!
We had such a great time and it really completed the Disney magic for me.
Staying at the hotel really added some extra fun for the whole experience.
The room wasn’t huge, but we had enough room for all of our belongings. M also had enough room to run around a little bit, but not too much room that should could accidentally hurt herself.
The best part about the room is the back wall against the bed. The back wall was a carving of the castle in the park. There was a little switch on the night table with a little Tinkerbell next to it. I flipped the switch and the back wall lit up with little LED lights simulating fireworks and stars! “A dream is a wish your heart makes” also played when the switch was flipped on.
M LOVED it. We would have it on all night until she wanted to go to sleep. She loved flipping the switch so she could hear the song too.
That little detail made the room so magical and special!
We truly had a full Disney experience!
I hope to share more Disney stories and photos in the coming entries. I just have to load the photos from my camera onto my computer!
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My motherhood journey…
Posted on: May 13, 2014
To continue in the ‘mother’s day’ spirit, I want to share with you something I wrote about becoming a mother on my Instagram on Sunday.
In January 2011, my dreams came true when I got a positive result on a pregnancy test. Being a mother was something I had always wanted for as long as I could remember. Nine months later, this precious girl came into my life and my world has never been the same. She’s exhausting, challenging, and has taught me more about patience than I ever expected. She’s also entertaining, charming and probably the sweetest, most loving person I know. She is unconditional love. I cherish every second that I am your mother. You, my dear made all my dreams come true. I love you lots!
Motherhood is something I try not to take for granted, ever. I love being a mother. I love being HER mother.
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Mother’s Day 2014
Posted on: May 12, 2014
Yesterday was Mother’s Day and it was great, like always.
My parents came over for the weekend and my younger brother surprised my mother by showing up for the weekend also.
It was a very laid back holiday. We ate out, then hung out at home.
When my family left, we ended the day having dinner with Hubby’s family.
It was a day full of love and appreciation.
Did I get anything for Mother’s Day? No. I never do.
Is that a problem? No. It never is.
Why? Because gifts don’t really matter to me.
All I needed was to hear M tell me, “Happy Mother’s Day. I love you, Mimi.” Ok, so I had to tell her to tell me all of that, but hearing it all in her little voice made me melt regardless.
One of these years, she’s going to tell me all of that on her own accord, and it will be just as special.
Motherhood is the best.
Happy mother’s day to all the mommies of the world!
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Vocabulary jump…
Posted on: May 9, 2014
The strangest thing happened when M came home from Grandma and Grandpa’s house this past Monday.
She came home with this huge leap in vocabulary and sentence structure development.
So strange. Her pronunciations of certain words she was struggling with suddenly became so clear. She was able to make more full sentences!
One sentence that I remember was during bedtime. She was sleepy and could barely keep her eyes open.
She told me, “Close my eyes, turn the lights back on, and sleep.”
“Turn the lights back on” is her way of saying “turn the lights off.” We are still working on that one..
It was the first time she had said anything so complex like that!
She really is growing up. There is no holding her back, she can’t be my baby forever…
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Nick & Knight
Posted on: May 8, 2014
Last week, Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys and Jordan Knight of New Kids On The Block made the announcement that they created a musical duo together, will be releasing an album, AND will be going on tour!
Nick and Jordan are my favorite members of the two boy bands that basically defined my childhood.
Til this day, I still squeal with delight every time I hear news about them, or catch them on TV.
They’ve been such a part of my life for so at least twenty one years! Amazing!
It made me wonder about M. What kind of music will she like? What sort of celebrity will she have a crush on? What pop culture phenomenon will define her childhood and adolescence? What will make her giddy and squeal way into her adult years?
Motherhood.. it really makes you think sometimes..
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“Make it better…”
Posted on: May 7, 2014
Over the weekend, M started asking me to sculpt various objects from pieces of Play-Doh that she would hand to me.
These objects range from spoons to dogs to little boys and little girls…
They were pretty bad, but I thought that M was ok with it. I mean, they LOOKED like what she wanted and she smiled like she knew they were what she wanted. I’d ask her if it was what she wanted and she’d say, “yes.”
So, I thought I was golden!
What do you see in this photo? I see a bed, a refrigerator, a chair, a hotdog, a plate, a house, and several spoons..
Last night, M was asking me to do make little sculptures again. So I would.
I’d hand her the finish product and she’d set it on her table. Seconds later, she’d come back and ask for the same object, but this time she’d add, “to make it better..”
Say what?!
She wants me to make it better?
She asked me to remake an ice cream cone “to make it better..” She asked me to remake a cupcake “to make it better..” And other things…
What a critic!
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Living life in the carpool lane.. 