Photo Shoot in Big Bear

Belated post here, as we were in Big Bear last week, but I wanted to share Jack's photo shoot with you. He loves to take pictures with the iPhone and he is getting better. I did not say great, but that is partially due to the fact that his favorite subjects are dog butts. Enjoy!

Night Night

Over the last week or so Jack has taken to sleeping anywhere BUT his bed. Frankly, if he sleeps past 6:30 a.m. then I don't care where! I was reminded by my friend Julie, better the dog's bed than mine! Tonight he was so tired he fell asleep in his own bed. I'm sure Gracie will be grateful.

In the Dog House

When Rob checked on Jack tonight this is what he found. Seems that our little boy bumped the dog out of her bed and took it for himself.

Santa Barbara Natural History Museum

Monday is laundry day. But today was absolutely glorious, so heck with the laundry, it'll still be there for me Tuesday. I took the kids to Santa Barbara to see the new exhibit at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. They have a very realistic animated T Rex and Triceratops. They were big and loud. Both kids were a little scared and frankly I was a bit intimidated too. They "drove" a jeep, touched a skeleton and got to play a triceratops video game. Sadly, we were all eaten by predators, but it was great fun. Jack was a perfect big brother, holding Lauren's hand and showing her the ropes. We had picnic lunch near the creek and hit the gift shop on the way out. Fun way to kick off the week, for sure.

Fredericks Household = iPad Nation

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9:00 PM on a Friday night

My how our lives have changed. 9:00PM on a Friday night and Shannon is out...done...finished! She had a long day.




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Ray of Sunshine

Some days are just tough. I know you are all with me on this one. Yesterday was one. Nothing major, just not great. Baby had a cold and was fussy. I was in a funk too. Probably not the best day to overhaul Jack's toy closet, but since I couldn't get to the gym I figured I'd better do something productive. Jack did a great job collecting two big bags of toys to take to charity and we reorganized all his toys so he can find them more easily. So after our long morning we sat down to a late lunch, feeling rushed to get the kids down for a nap. While I mentally planned the list of things I still wanted to get done Jack interrupted me, "Mommy, you know why I don't want to sit next to you at the table?" Oh great, now he's going to give me a list of all the reasons I'm not good enough to sit next to him! "Because if I sit next to you I can't see your pretty face. I love you." Through a shaky voice I replied, "Oh Honey, I love you too."
Later that night I put Lauren to bed. I gave her her blankie, read her story and kissed her goodnight. Just before closing the door I heard, "Mama?" And I reopened the door to see her blow a kiss to me and snuggle back down with her blanket. Heart melt.
Lesson for the day? Is any day really THAT bad? Not when you have the love of your family to help battle the blahs. Thanks for the early Mother's Day present kids! I love you guys!

Dinner and a Show

Last week Rob and I had a double date with Mark and Julie! It was lovely! One of our favorite authors was in town doing a reading, so we headed up to Santa Barbara (on a school night!) to see him. First we had dinner at Opal-delicious!! Rob's skirt steak with cipolini onion sauce was incredible. Also an amazing appetizer of shrimp wrapped in phyllo in a coconut cream curry sauce. Everything was amazing. Best of all was the fact that the only food I had to cut was my own!
The show was right next door at the Arlington. Great venue. And David Sedaris was hilarious. I laughed so hard that I almost worked off my dinner. If you haven't read his works before I recommend them. Sometimes a bit crass, but brilliant observations and hilarious stories about family and life.
And a special thank you to grandma Laura who raced up after work to take Jack and Lauren on a dinner date too. Something tells me Red Robin was not quite as yummy as Opal, but I guess it's a matter of opinion. And the kids by far preferred a visit to the Disney store over David Sedaris!