Our Date Night/Birthday Party

We had dinner at Outback before heading out, just the two of us. That part was nice to have some alone time. We hadn't been to Outback in a long time. We were going to try going to the beach to eat, but we decided convenience was a better choice. Outback is about 1/2 a mile from the house. Steak was yummy! We had dinner then stopped by the house to kiss the kids good night and top Kay off with boob juice before heading out to the beach.

We had a fabulous time out on the Bahia Belle (floating dive bar). We just love it on the Belle. What more could you ask for? Drinks, friends beautiful scenery on the bay. We even caught the fireworks display coming from Sea World. It's very inexpensive to go on the cruise and that includes the ride and entertainment. They always have a two piece band that does 70's and 80's music, but they are quite good and play a good mix. Mark and I danced to Journey's Don't Stop Believin' cover and it was pretty well done. They played a little of everything. Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, KC and the Sunshine Band, AC/DC. They can really pull all of it off too! We had a drink

Happy Birthday, Lara! I hope you had a great 30+1 birthday.

Rawleee

At least that was how Ethan said it until Javi corrected him. We went
and saw it this morning with Grandma. What a cute movie! Loved it. We
never go to the theater. Javi earned behavior bucks all week to go see
it.

It was pricey, even for a matinée. I don't know how families afford to
do it regularly. Last one we saw at the theater was Harry Potter,
Order of the Phoenix and it was my "birthday date". Daddy stayed at
home with Kay, so we could take the boys. It was nice to spend some
quality time doing something fun. Ethan sat on my lap through the
whole movie, so it was nice to get some snuggle time in. The boys got
a Wall-e watch. They were giving them away with every kid's ticket.

Grandma is in town to watch the kids for the evening. Mark and I are
going on a date. We are going to dinner alone, then to my friend's
birthday on the Bahia Bell. It's a river boat that goes around the bay
for a couple hours. They have a cheesey two piece band that plays
classic hits from the 70's and 80's, so that's what makes it a party.
It's pretty fun and I haven't gone on it in years. Hope we have a good
time.

Sand Buffet

Kay helped herself to all the sand she could eat.  This was her first trip to the beach.  She had a great time.  She loved going in the waves with mama.

Nice

Its nice to have great friends and the love of my best friend, Mark.

Of course I was feeling down yesterday and I called up Amber to see if
she could meet up for dinner. Turned out she was meeting a good friend
of ours Chris at a great Mexican place in Old Town, so kids and all,
they said come on out and meet us (Mark works until 7-7:30pm, so he's
home late). It was nice of them to be so understanding and let me drag
my heard out. They were really well behaved, so that made it easier.
We didn't talk about any of Kay's issues. We just talked. It was nice
that we didn't talk about it. We just talked like friends talk, which
is what I needed.

Then when Mark got home, we talked. He's my number one best bud for
life (got the ring to prove it;)). He knew all I needed was lots of
hugs and encouragment, that we would love our kids no matter what and
deal with things as they were presented to us. Gotta love his simple
logic. I tend to over complicate things :)

Anyway, just want to show my appreciation for friends. Including all
the friends reading this right now.

Train off the Track

For months we've been chugging along thinking everything was ok with Kaylee. We sat down with the therapist today to track and measure Kaylee's progress in comparison to typical babies and it turns out that her gross motor is at about an 8-9 month level. Cognitive and Fine Motor are on target, but Gross is off. It seems like the gap is getting larger too. Before she was only a month or two behind, now it's three, almost four. I have been a little concerned with her lack of crawling. Kay's first birthday is just three weeks away, and even Javi (autism), our slowest to develop with everything has Kay beat with the crawling. I know that crawling is not considered for development, but almost everything she does is still wobbly, like a 6-9 month old baby would be. I called Dr. Neuro to make an appointment to see what he has to say about it. The therapist is concerned about her low tone. She is concerned that the reason she isn't crawling, cruising or walking is because of low tone. So though we had felt that she has made so much progress, it turns out that our developmental choo choo has been derailed. She has made progress, but only really in Fine and Cognitive in the last couple months.

I am a disappointed to think that we may have to go through another round of testing and hospital stays to determine if there is another underlying problem. I know that we are not alone there, since a couple of you that follow this blog are also going through testing right now. It just seems like if it's not one thing, it's another. I feel like it's a constant balancing act with the kids. It's like, ok, Javi's doing ok this week, now Ethan is having trouble with this, now Kay is having this issue, now back to Javi. If it were normal everyday issues, fine, but these are big ones. Such as Javi's issues with focus, concentration, flapping and his ever increasing needs for sensory input. He keeps hurting the other kids because he tries to give them "sensory time". Ethan's issues with his gross motor, last week it seemed like he fell down every 10 steps he took. Now Kaylee, who I thought was doing much better. I know that's life, this is the hand we were dealt and we are doing our best to play it and appreciate what we have but, sometimes it's just overwhelming. We'll have to hang in there and see what they say when we see Dr. Neuro in August.

My big boy!

Ethan took his very first ride on a school bus today. He was such a
big boy. He walked right on, picked his own seat, helped buckle his
seat belt and said "Bye Mom!". No reservations at all. He's only
three! Such a big boy, not a baby any more. I know he must feel cool,
just like his big brother.

Yosemite Trip

www.flickr.com We're home! Had a great time on our trip. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I was so exhausted, I just crashed out all day long. We took some great pics. I spent all night tagging an describing the pics. Click on the badge to see the set. I finally caught up on reading everyone's blogs. I haven't commented on them yet, but I will get to it when I can. Hope everyone had a great week! alphastatedotnet's Yosemite Trip photoset

No man's land

I have affectionatly called our cabin's location "no man's land"
because of our lack of cell phone coverage in this area. It is
beautiful country, but feel like an amputee without my phone having
full capabilities. No RSS, email, SMS, blogging, flickring, or talking
in the phone. So, if I have been MIA all week that is the reason for
it. I have been using whatever time I have had service when we are in
town to talk to daddy and to upload pics to flickr for him.

I will hopefully get a chance to catch up on Friday afternoon. As it
is, I am typing this post now (at 10:15 on Wednesday night) and hoping
that when we get a signal in town I will be able to pull it from my
draft folder and send it.

If you have followed any of the few pics I have been able to send out,
you will know that we are in beautiful country. We went to see the
giant sequoias, the old village and stage coach area, the falls, half
dome, and we drove through most of the park. Tomorrow we are going to
take the Jenny logging train in the morning then we will probably head
back toward half dome and Madera River.

Ethan and Javi loved the falls. I thought they would jump in the run
off creek that was connected to the falls. We took tons of pics. Will
post some when I can.

It has been a great trip, so far. A little stressful with the kids,
but still fun. Javi and I took a nature walk at night last night and
it was great. I got eaten alive by bugs, even with repelant on.

Ethan has been having a blast. He's definitely had fun being a boy. I
think he has been the dirtiest he he ever been in his life over the
last few days.

Kay is getting more teeth, started to crawl a little and just as loud
as ever. Finally got her to stay in her playpen tonight, hopefully she
will sleep better tonight.

Ok, bedtime. Early morning to tomorrow. Hope everyone is well!

Shanna Grimes
(Sent from my iPhone)

Happy Fathers' Day

I made my check list last night (every mom's best friend, the
checklist :). It's so funny, because daddy would just throw stuff in a
bag and call it packed. Mom's match whole outfits for each travel day,
itemize lists, check and recheck lists, and bring everything that we
may possibly need for a trip.

It's those cute little differences that we celebrate today, Happy
Fathers' Day!

Also a very happy 62nd wedding anniversary to my grandparents, aka,
Emmie and Papa!

Shanna Grimes
(Sent from my iPhone)

Happy Hour turned into Happy All-nighter!

I met some old friends of mine at a US Open party for Phil Mickelson at Jack's La Jolla. Mark stayed home with the kids to give mama a break. He gets his next week when my Mom and I take the kids to Yosemite. It was fun. Hosted bar for two hours (hosted by Grey Goose Vodka). Phil didn't show up. He had an 8AM tee time, so we didn't think he would, but it was fun. Jack's in a pretty swanky place. I felt like I was in an episode of Nip/Tuck. With the $14 martini's I was glad it was hosted, although, I am not much a drinker (more the driver type because I get a headache from one drink). We had a really good time. It was nice to see everyone. I didn't take pics, I brought my camera, but never ended up using it. Wish I would have taken a couple pics now.

It was nice to catch up with my friends that I hadn't seen in years. I had planned to leave to go home between 10 and 11, but ended up going to a different bar for what was supposed to be one drink for my friend Brian (I was drinking double ice waters on the rocks). We ended up meeting the owners of second bar we went to Jose's and they kept feeding Brian shots. I guess it was also the allure of the pretty bartenders as well. Since I was the DD, I was patient at first (Brian was having a good ole time and I didn't want to be the party pooper), but then I started to get really tired and it was time to go. It was much later night than I anticipated, but still really fun. I had really debated whether or not I was going to go, but I'm glad that I did. Paying for it today, because I still had to get up at the normal time, but it was still good to catch up with my old friends.

Cake Trials (cont)

Well, I finished one cake. Didn't come out that great, it was just a simple cake, but I am not the best at working with buttercream. It could have used a bit more powdered sugar, since it was just a little too soft, but I ran out of sugar :( Posted the picks to Flickr.

Further makes me realize that while I enjoy making cakes, I will probably never be great at it. It's fun and it tastes good, which is equally important...at least that's what I keep telling myself :^P Thanks for the recipes Sharon! You are right, I will never go back to using the Wilton prepackage stuff!!

Cake Trials

Today I am going to attempt Sharon's fondant recipe and make two cakes for the last day of school. One for Javi and one for Ethan. They will be small ones, since each cake only needs to serve about 12-18 people. I will update later as I'm sure I will be up late tonight!

Baby Loves Disco

Bubbles
Originally uploaded by alphastatedotnet

We had a lot of fun at Baby Loves Disco today. We plan to do this event with the little ones as much as possible. We won't get to do it again until September :( I guess the club they host it at must be booked for the summer months or it's too expensive during their busy season to host the event there during that time. It is getting to be pretty popular! We always have a good time. What a concept! Having an event both Parents and Children can enjoy equally.

We saw a great kids band today called Hullabaloo. They were playing in the "chill out room". The kids really had fun. Apparently, they play at the play place we have a membership to called Kidsville Playland. We are looking forward to seeing them again.

We had so much fun and we can't wait for September's BLD event.

Javi of the Jungle

SD Zoo, originally uploaded by alphastatedotnet.

I just love this picture of Javi. He really enjoyed the Bonobos. We must have watched them for over 30 minutes. It was nice to take a rest. They were really cute. Javi got out his notepad and took his "zoo notes" on the Bonobos. They were wrestling around with each other. I think Javi could really identify with this, since that is pretty much all he does with his brother :)

How does your garden grow?

We went to Mark's company picnic today at the San Diego Zoo. I posted
the rest of the pics from today on Flickr. We had fun, Javi was a
little overloaded with sensory, but still a good day. We saw so many
peacocks. Apparently all the babies we saw last year when Javi was
nearly attacked by a mama peacock, have grown up!!

Yosemite Trip

We are going to take another trip as soon as the kids get out of
school. We booked a little cottage in Mariposa (where my sis lives)
just outside of Yosemite National Park. We are pretty excited about
seeing everyone and also getting to see the beautiful park. We are
going to take a real live steam train ride (my little engineers are
thrilled about that part) and we are just going to hang out and relax.
We are going to see the giant sequoias, the beautiful waterfalls and
nature. I got the boys some little lanterns so we can take some night
time nature walks. I loaded up on the all natural bug repellant for
that :)

I have some pics of the cottage we booked courtesy of their website.
They boys are excited about the pool. It is supposed to be in the
upper 80's while we are there.

21 Ways to Enjoy Being a Mom

My husband sent me this article and on CNN and I wanted to share it with all you mom's out there.

1. When you're tired, hand your kids a brush, point to your head, and tell them to play beauty parlor. When you're really tired, pretend that you're Sleeping Beauty.

2. Take your mother to a spa. While you're both getting seaweed wraps, tell her all your favorite memories of growing up.

3. Take a bath with your infant. Make sure your husband is around for the handoff, so you can relax until the last minute. (Don't forget to smell your baby right afterward. Heaven!)

4. At the end of every summer, take a family photo for the holiday card (you'll be happy to have this accomplished once December comes). Every year, add a framed 11-by-14-inch print to your front hall. Your kids will be proud now and laugh later at the funny styles.

5. On St. Patrick's Day, dye the milk and eggs green and turn the furniture upside down so your home looks like total chaos. When your little ones wake up, tell them that the leprechauns came.

6. The next time you have to go to a boring kiddie activity, invite another mom-friend along. Hide wine in sippy cups for the two of you to nurse undercover.

7. Play Freaky Friday with your husband and switch roles for a day. Enjoy his renewed appreciation for his Super Mom wife.

8. . In the dead of winter, fix some snacks, get under warm quilts, and watch Happy Feet on DVD. Tell your kids you love them even more than the penguins love their chicks.

9. Go to the beach in the off-season. Throw rocks in the water and collect shells. Put them in a vase and use it as shelf decor in your living room.

10. Skip the Raffi and Barney. Turn your kids on to Bob Marley, They Might Be Giants, and Gwen Stefani.

11. Take your baby out to the movies at night. (Infants love the dark, and loud trailers make them snooze immediately.) Then you can sip your soda and munch your popcorn in peace.

12. Buy yourself that fancy watch, strand of pearls, or whatever piece of expensive jewelry you've been lusting after. Justify your purchase by rationalizing that you'll pass it down to your daughter (or son's wife) eventually.

13. Take your kids to live music performances from very early ages. Cheap ones outdoors are great to start with in case you need to make a hasty exit (like when a diaper explodes).

14. Use your kids as an excuse to do the things you want to do, like going to silly feel-good movies, eating mac and cheese for dinner, and jumping in the moonbounce. Use your kids as an excuse to get out of things you don't want to do, like going to a wedding or office party.

15. Every Mother's Day, have a picture taken with your kids. Keep the photos all together - along with special cards, ticket stubs, mementos, and anything else that makes you feel good about being a mom - in a shoe box. (Of course, you must get those new shoes you love in order to do this correctly.) Every year, look through your Goddess Mom box and see how much your kids have grown.

16. Give your kids quiet time every day. Let them learn to be by themselves with books, crayons, or blocks.

17. Let your whole family take a day off and hang out in pj's all day long.

18. Rent Sex and the City on DVD, and reminisce about the days when you were single and the biggest problem you had was whether the "He" of the moment was going to call. Let the romance of your youth seduce you. Then remember that, despite your freedom, all you really wanted was to fall in love and have beautiful babies.

19. Pitch a tent in the backyard. Use it as your outdoor reading room. Or when there's a full moon, plan a family campout with sleeping bags, a transistor radio, and s'mores, of course.

20. Invent a house fairy. Give her a name, and tell your kids that she is always watching them and counting up their good deeds.

21. Listen for the deep, happy sighs that come after your kids play or laugh really hard. Tuck them away in your heart.

For full article see parenting.com

Summer Snowstorm

Ethan decided his room was a perfect place to create a snowy condition for his trucks. He took an entire bottle of "papa powder" a.k.a. Shower to Shower Talcum Powder and spread it all over his room. Just another one of those kid things that drive you crazy, but are a good laugh. I couldn't punish him. He knew he was busted when I came up stairs. He was sorry and knew it wasn't a good idea when it got all over the room. Daddy helped clean it up when he got home, so no real harm done. Yesterday was just one of those days ;)

Here are some funny pics, enjoy!

Mommy's Big Girl

Kaylee is growing up so fast. I decided to try giving her soy formula
in a big girl cup to see if she'd like it, and thankfully, she did!
Thought I was going to have to pump all day long today to supplement
her tomorrow. Javi has a field trip to the park tomorrow and I am one
of the drivers. We have respite care lined up for Kaylee tomorrow. I
hope she will be a good girl for her. I will be gone from around
9am-2pm, that will be the longest I have ever been away from Kaylee.
She always does fine, but I always get nervous when I can't be with
her. I know they are fully trained, but that's my baby girl. I think
its pretty natural for a mommy to feel that way. I feel like its
important to give Javi that one on one time.