Payton's Birthday Party

Payton had a My Little Pony themed party. She invited her whole class, a few additional friends, and lots of family member. I was a little stressed when the RSVPs started pouring in. Almost every single person came! She was beyond excited for this party. From the day we sent out the invitations she was counting down the days until her party.

We rented a bounce house for the backyard and luckily the weather was beautiful, so most of the party was held outside. Everything pretty much ran smoothly. I did forget to buy candles and realized it a little while before cake time. My neighbor tried to find some for me and ended up bringing a "4" candle. I would never have lived that one down. Thankfully, my mom ran out and got a more appropriate "5." The party was definitely a success and Payton was absolutely thrilled!

A pre-party kiss for my birthday girl!

Payton and her Pinkie Pie Pinata.



Jump and Slide!

Pulling the strings on the pinata. At least we didn't try to break it open the old fashioned way with this many kids. 

Now that's a pile of presents.

Rainbow Dash cake.

Our attempt at a family picture before we light the candle.

Last but not least, a frosting licking little sister!

My Dad is our official event photographer. I always feel bad, but I really never have time to take my own pictures when I'm running around hosting a party. Lots of his other photography and my Mom's work can be found at their website http://shadesoflilly.com/

To My First Born on her Birthday

Dear Payton,

Five years ago today, on the best day of my life, you made me a mom. To this day, I am so proud to be your mom and I have loved every minute I've spent watching you learn, grow, and become the person you are now.

At five years old, you have an amazing enthusiasm and joy for life. You love numbers, counting anything and everything, and telling me how many days, hours, or minutes until some upcoming event. You enjoy playing games, doing puzzles, and creating things out of whatever materials you can find. Your latest castle of plastic cups, paper plates and saran wrap was pretty amazing! You still love dinosaurs, reptiles, and lots of other creepy crawly creatures that I could do without. You enjoy drawing and are beginning to shine as my little artist. I think your drawings are quite exceptional and realistic for your age,

Last summer we put you in swimming lessons with not much hope because you were adamant about not wanting to learn to swim and you told me that you would never put your face underwater. By the end of the summer, you did learn to swim. This spring you have really blossomed into a full on fish. You love to swim and jump right in! You recently moved up to the second level in swimming lessons and I'm very proud that you conquered your fears of the water and have found another activity that you love.

In school, at the park, or almost anywhere we go, you can find a friend and have a great time. You love school and interacting with your peers. Missing one day of preschool, when you were sick, was absolutely devastating to you. I'm  feeling a little sad that we are just a few short months away from the start of kindergarten. I know you are very ready for kindergarten. I have no doubt that you will excel and continue to love school, but it will be hard for me to send my first baby off to school five day a week! I will miss the freedom we have had to go on adventures, get together with friends, or just have a lazy day at home.

I am also very amazed at how much you have matured emotionally. Recently, I have seen your sympathy for others, including your sister, really grow. You are sharing better, you strive to problem solve and work out conflict, and you want others to be happy. Seeing this really pleases me, because more than anything, I want you to grow up to be a kind and loving person.

Payton, I can't wait to experience more milestones with you. You are a beautiful, talented and unique person. From the day you were born, I knew there was nothing more important to me than doing my best for you. Being a mom to you and Ella has challenged me, changed me, and been the most rewarding part of my life. I love you more than words could ever describe. Happy 5th Birthday!

Love,
Mom

Halloween: 6 months old

Bath time: 18 months old

Christmas: 2 years old

Disneyland: 3 years old

Swimming: 3.5 years

Climbing at the Park

Maui Trip:  Almost 4 years old

Feeding the birds at Discovery Kingdom: 4 years old

About Me ABCs

I got this cute list from Jennifer over at http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/ I thought these looked like fun questions to answer. Here it goes!

Age: 27

Bed Size: Queen and on nights when Ella comes in our bed, I really wish it was a king!

Chore You Hate: Laundry. I'll do almost any other cleaning to avoid doing laundry. Every time I get it all done I say I'm going to do a load per day. That lasts about two days. Enough said on the topic!

Dogs: Love my dogs. Layla, a Boxer, and Mighty, a boston Terrier. I don't think I would want to live without pets. Since having children, some days the dogs seem like the straw that is going to break this camels back, but really I do love them!

Essential Start of Your Day: Coffee and reading in bed for a few minutes. Telling my girls I love them and asking if they slept well.

Favorite Color: Purple and Brown.

Gold or Silver: Silver but I have warmed up to gold a little more recently.

Height: 5'2"

Instruments You Play: Sadly, none. I'm not very musical.

Job Title: Housewife and Mother and I'm pretty sure every mom know all the jobs that come along with those titles.

Kids: 2 girls. Ages 4 (almost 5) and 3

Live: Beautiful Northern California

Mom's Name: Lilly. She one of the most fun people I know and one of my best friends.

Nicknames: None really. My husband calls me honey or baby. My dad used to call me Erin Pie.

Overnight Hospital Stays: Two nights after having Payton. One night after Ella.

Pet Peeve: Parents who don't want their kids to get dirty. That's what being a kid is all about in my opinion.

Quote From a Movie: I seriously have not seen very many movies in the last 5 years and I am not a person that remembers movie lines. Sorry, I've got nothing!

Right- or Left-Handed: Right

Siblings: 2 younger sisters

Time You Wake Up: I prefer not to wake up before 8:00 am. That will change next year when Payton has to be at school by 8:15 every morning. Ugh!

Underwear: Victoria's Secret.

Veggie You Dislike: Peas, but I don't dislike them as much as I used to, meaning I won't pick them out of something. I don't like zucchini that is mushy. It's not my favorite, but I'll eat it if it's pretty crisp.

What Makes You Run Late: Endless trips back into the house for this or that after I've already gotten the girls in the car. 

X-Rays You Have Had: Dental, Ultra Sounds, My wrist when I broke it in 6th grade and my ankle when I broke that when I was 18.

Yummy Food You Make: Tacos. Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies. My hubby cooks steak and chicken perfectly on the bbq.

Zoo Animal You Like Best: Giraffes

Spring Break

The girls' preschool has been closed all week for spring break and we have been having an amazing time! We have been so busy every day with play dates and activities all day. I am so happy that the rain let up just in time and we have been enjoying gorgeous weather all week.

On Monday we met up with some friends from school at a skate park. I wasn't sure if the girls would like this, but you never know until you try. They rode their scooters all over that place and since we went in the morning, we were the only people there. Right next to the skate park was a regular playground, so we went over there to play next. After all that playing we came home and ended up going over to our neighbors house until dinner time!

Tuesday, we went up to the farm to visit our horse. At first the girls whined like crazy about not wanted to go with me, but once we were there they didn't want to leave. They fed the chickens and Ella went crazy over a very friendly barn cat that she found. That afternoon we had our last swim lesson of the session. The girls did great and got a certificate at the end. Payton is moving into Beginner 2 for the next session. I'm so proud of my little swimmer!

The next day we enjoyed a relaxing morning at home and then another neighbor came over to play at our house all afternoon. The girls decided they wanted to try out our pool even though it is freezing and not really ready for summer yet. One thing I'm happy to discover is that the girls no longer protest so enthusiastically about putting on sunscreen, which is a very nice change.

Yesterday we met some more friends at a really cute park called Children's Wonderland. It is gated and huge! In the sand area there is a button to turn on water and make a little river. The girls thoroughly enjoyed that! Ella's pants were soaked, but it was such a nice day that they dried completely before we left. We had dance in the afternoon. I was a little worried because they played so hard all morning, but Payton did excellent and Ella made it through with a little bribery of a treat from the vending machine at the end of class.

We're planning on some more adventures this afternoon and I am bringing my camera for sure!

Spring is Here

Happy first day of Spring! It has been a very rainy week and I am so happy the sun is back today. I'm also looking forward to more spring weather to come. We are having Payton's birthday party in a couple of weeks. We are hoping for a backyard party so we need some sunny weather to dry out our water logged lawn.

My Aunt, who is known as Grandma Peggy to the girls, gave them some cute little Easter Eggs shaped pots with seeds. They really enjoyed waiting for the little Sunflower and Zinnia plants to sprout. The plants are about 3 inches tall now, so it's time to transfer them to bigger pots. Thanks Grandma Peggy for the fun spring project!

Our Trip to Adventure Playgound and a Few Random Thoughts

I think we have all managed to get over the horrible cold, or whatever it was, that brought the whole family down. I think mine turned into a sinus infection, but I didn't want to take antibiotics because the last two times that I've been prescribed an antibiotic, I've had a horrible reaction. Now I can never take those two again and in my crazy thinking, I figure I should save some antibiotic for future use if I ever have some life threatening illness. By life threatening, I'm thinking MRSA or something flesh eating, of course.

During the second week of my cold I did go to the gym a couple times and do light workouts because I was going to go insane if I had to spend one more day on the couch! Well, yesterday, since I was feeling almost 100% again, I decided to really go for it. By the end of the day, my ass and my legs were already feeling it. I'm definitely sore today, but I guess that's good.

I been meaning to blog about Adventure Playground forever. We went shortly before the virus took us down and it's too unusual not to share the pictures of it. It's a playground built completely out of donated, scrap wood and other stuff and it is built by random parents and volunteers. The other funny thing is that the kids can grab a hammer and nails, a saw, or some paint and add on whatever the want to the structures. It's absolutely crazy, not very safe, but still pretty cool. The playground is open only on the weekend and for $10 you can drop your kid off for 3 hours. I don't think I would ever do this because it sounds like a severed limb waiting to happen, but it was definitely fun with close parental supervision.

There were three old boats for the kids to climb on. There was also a sign that said "No Tools on Boats."

No problem. Nail a piece of wood anywhere you want!

One of the best things about this park is the location. It was a gorgeous day on the Bay. This was the view from the playground and you can walk a few feet down to a little beach.

These ground squirrels were everywhere on the beach and Ella was loving them. She really wanted to pick one up or feed them. Can you say bubonic plague? I have to say they were pretty darn cute!

Checking out a crab leg we found.

Beautiful day. Lots of fun with the family. I'm so glad we live in a climate where we can be outdoors year round and it looks like this!

We've Been Sick, Sick, Sick!

The months of February, and now March, have not been good to our family in the health department. Seriously, it seems like we get over one bug that cycles through the whole family, only to start the whole process over again.

I've had a horrible cold for a week now and have been feeling guilty about doing nothing but sitting around and letting the kids watch way too much TV and computer. Just when I think I'm turning the corner, two night ago, Ella wakes up with a fever and Payton wakes up after throwing up in her bed. Yesterday was spent holding Ella all day. She had a fever and was obviously feeling yucky between doses of tylenol and motrin. Her eyes were really watering all day and she kept breaking my heart, asking me for tissues to dry her tears. Poor baby!

Amazingly, Payton seemed fine all day. I checked on her shortly after she went to bed, only to find her sound asleep in he own throw up again! Obviously, I had to wake her up, strip her and the bed, and get her in the bath. She was completely covered in vomit and totally out of it. She slept fine the rest of the night and seemed perky and healthy this morning. Go figure. Seriously though, being a mother is a dirty job. Vomit is one thing I really hate cleaning up!

I don't know what to think about all the germs we have floating around here. All I know is that I'm ready for all of us to be healthy and for summer to be here! One highlight of the week was the Disney on Ice show we saw on Wednesday night. Even though Jason and I were feeling horrible, the kids were so excited and they loved it! After the drive home, I was carrying Payton up to her bed. She woke up a little and whispered, "Mom I'm so happy we went to Disney on Ice," then went right back to sleep. It was so sweet and definitely made it all worth it.