Lights Alive

We have had fun this weekend getting the front of the house decorated for Christmas. First Rob got all the new LED lights installed along the eaves. Jack was so impressed with them that we decided to kick it up a notch. We headed over to Lowe's where they sell every lawn Christmas character that you can dream up...snowmen, elves, golfing Santa, even a pig with wings! We decided on Snoopy with a Christmas tree. Jack loves Charlie Brown, so this one was easy. Since our olive tree has become pretty big, so we decided to string it with lights and add some plastic colored balls. Jack was a great helper with the tree today. We practiced colors, "Give Mommy the blue ball." And he climbed the ladder under me. Once it finally got dark enough we headed out to check out our work. The house looks great! In fact, our block is starting to look pretty good too. Two homes to our east are also decorated. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Giving Thanks

What a wonderful Thanksgiving. Rob, Jack and I had a wonderful, relaxing day together. It was looking a little questionable on Wednesday night when the thermostat on the oven went out while I was neck deep in pies. This is the second year we've experienced this SNAFU. Our neighbors, Sarah and Davis, gave us the key to their house while they are in San Diego in case we needed to borrow an oven or two. I was able to trick the oven into working and we filled our house with the wonderful fragrance of roasting turkey and all the trimmings. Jack joined us at the table this year. He liked the turkey and LOVED the cranberry sauce! He even got his first taste of little marshmallows on top of the sweet potatoes. We had a delicious meal and then watched a few movies. I don't think Kung Fu Panda is related to Thanksgiving, but Jack enjoyed it. When it was finally pie time, Jack helped Mommy whip the cream and then we dug in. He prefers pecan, just like Mommy!

P.S. Here's the Thanksgiving photo that never seems to make it into the album! HA! It was worth it.

San Diego Fun

San Diego is a very exciting town. We tagged along on Daddy's business trip, so he wouldn't have all the fun without us. It was a little crazy Saturday. We arrived around 4:00 p.m., but our room wasn't ready. Daddy led a tour of the facilities, including the gym and the pool, but our room STILL wasn't ready! Miraculously at 5:00 p.m., Daddy explained to the man behind the counter how there WAS a room available and we got a key! Daddy can be very persuasive. I wonder if my screaming in the lobby had anything to do with it.


On Sunday we met Grandpa Nick and Tutu for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. It was great to see them. I held their hands and walked all over the mall with them after lunch. Grandpa Nick even taught me how to ride the escalator (over and over and over...). It was a beautiful day, and we were so glad to spend it with them.

Finally, on Monday, Mommy and I went to Sea World. I did NOT like sitting still for the shows. I prefered climbing up and down the stairs (more work than those escalators!). But I did like viewing the sharks, penguins, polar bears, seals and beluga whales. Without a doubt, the very best part of the day was when we watched the orcas swim in their big pool! I pressed against the glass and they swam right up to me! It was amazing! I even brought home a stuffed Shamu to cuddle with.

It was a very exciting trip, but it's always nice to be home.

Week In Review

I feel like I say this every week, but...Man, were we busy!
First we bought a new microwave oven. Jack did not care so much about the microwave, so long as his bottle is warm he doesn't really care how it got that way. But he loved the box. He and Gracie played in that thing for about 30 minutes, long enough for me to make dinner:-)

Speaking of dinner, Jack decided he really liked to play "dog" and eat dinner out of Gracie's bowl. Although I was completely grossed out, I think it is building his immune system. Everyone in his daycare had stomach flu, including Karen, but not Jack! Coincidence?

Then on Tuesday night, Troy, Nikki and Max came up to Ventura for the evening. Mark, Julie and Everett came over to watch the boys while the four of us went to Cafe Fiore for dinner. We had such a wonderful time...I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. They brought Jack a cute new T-shirt with comic book characters on it. He loved it so much that he decided to wear it over his pjs the next morning.

We had family picture day on Wednesday in Santa Barbara. The park was beautiful, even if it was a bit cloudy. It had a gorgeous pond with ducks and turtles, lush gardens, little wooden bridges crossing trickling streams. What a lovely setting. Unfortunately, Jack wanted NOTHING to do with the camera! Our little ham refused to make eye contact with the photographer. We could not believe it. We tried everything! We jumped and danced like maniacs, we had other people jump and dance like maniacs, we tickled him, made goofy faces, everything. When we finally left the photographer said to wait before we paid her. "I don't know if we even got anything. I'll take a look and let you know." Well folks, that was three days ago and we haven't heard anything yet. Last year she emailed us a preview the next morning. Hmmm. We'll see.

Today we are off to San Diego for the weekend. Rob has to be there on business, so Jack and I are tagging along for the ride. We will hang out by the pool a little and hopefully visit Sea World for the first time on Monday. Stay posted for our mini-vacation posting soon.

Sorry, No Photos

Every morning I wake up thinking, "Lord, I don't have quite enough to do today. Will you please find some way for me to occupy my day?" And the Lord always abides. Today was no exception.

The morning moved along as a typical Tuesday would: breakfast, coffee, get us dressed, start some laundry, light chores, go on a walk with Lorena, reutrn home for lunch, etc. Well, this evening Jack and I will be going to Santa Barbara to watch Rob compete in the bocce semi-finals at Arnoldi's. Seeing how it is a bath night, I decided to give Jack his bath after lunch instead. He was having a grand time until...there in the tub beside him was--a poo. In fact, a few! DRATS! Well, not the end of the world, after all, it does happen. I was at least mightily grateful not to be in the tub with him this time. So I lifted him out onto the tile, scooped out the offending objects, drained the water, moved the toys to the sink for a nice bleach soak, and grabbed the Soft Soap and a scouring pad. As I was climbing into the tub to do some toxic clean-up, I notice that Jack had opened the bathroom door and was standing in the hall, peeing on the hard wood floors. Well, I'd hate for him to slip in that, so I got a towel, mopped it up, and resumed haz-mat duties in the tub. At this point, I was not concerned about him running around the house without a diaper because, frankly, what more could he do? Funny you should ask! He walked back into the bathroom about two minutes later carrying a flashlight covered in poo (no dangling participle, both he and the flashlight were covered in poo). Knowing I had already flushed the poo down the toilet, I was immediately horrified to think that I would spend the afternoon playing "Find the Other Poo". Since the flashlight is usually beside my nightstand, I decided to start there. Low and behold, a lone poo was waiting there, along with a bit more pee, inches from my brand new laptop. Again, I was mightily grateful, it wasn't ON my brand new laptop. Well folks, I ran a new tub, finished Jack's bath (because by then he REALLY needed one) and put him down for a nap. After starting one more load of laundry and making friends with Resolve carpet cleaner, I had to write this blog. I know when he is off to college one day and I sit in my empty nest, this will be one of those memories I cherish. Right now, not so much.

Healthy Breakfast?

100% whole wheat toast with Nutella. Healthy? Only if you eat the toast:-(

More Dino Treats

It did not take long for Jack to figure out the whole trick-or-treat thing. "I get candy? Candy is good. I get more candy if I wear the hat? OK. Let's go to the next house now." I must admit I am still impressed with how cute he was last night.