Mommy and Marcie

Marcie's hair does this Pipi Longstocking-standing straight out thing any time I put in regular braids. It's pretty cool. Here, we're all dressed up for Marcie's Aunt Tiffy's shower (Tiffany is one of Marcie's Godmother).

At the pumpkin patch.

Oh How We Love Casey's Birth Family

Seriously. We always enjoy spending time with them-- and Casey absolutely loves it. When I went to pick him up (early) from school, he waved good bye to his classmates and said, "Good-bye friends!" When asked where he was going, Casey didn't boast Disneyland travel plans. Instead he shrugged and said, "I'm going to get my brother at the airport." He was giddy with excitement. And for good reason.

It's been a little over a year since we saw Casey's birth family. And the kids have grown so much. Marcie, who wouldn't even look at Papaw Jim without crying until our last night in October, over a bowl of popcorn. It did take her a little longer to warm up to him this year. But not that long. By our second day in Disneyland, she was giggling and hugging him. Here's proof:

The kids had a great time. When we arrived in Anaheim, ready to blast on over to Disneyland, Casey whined, though. You see, there was a pool in the hotel. And he didn't want to go to Disneyland. He wanted to go swimming. Can you imagine? But rather than drag them to an amusement park kicking and screaming, we succumbed to their request and Jason played in the pool with them.


The next morning, after breakfast we headed off to Disney. The hotel was one long block away-- totally do-able with the stroller. And the park wasn't too bad. Marcie and I started on Buzz Lightyear (her favorite ride) while the boys went into Star Tours. Then I bounded off to Nemo, while they did Buzz. They caught up with me and Marcie a little while later, and from there it was all a blur.


We did go to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner, which was a huge treat. Not only did the kids get a great picture with Mini Mouse, but the buffet was decent, and we were visited by a variety of Disney characters-- Goofy, Alladin, Princess Aurora, Baloo-- it was pretty neat.


On Friday we headed over to California Adventure and walked right on all the rights in Bug's Life Land. Marcie was even tall enough to go on all the rides. Then we made a bee line for the new Toy Story ride, which was super-4D fun (and Marcie's other favorite ride). The cranky kids did fall asleep mid-day and I couldn't make it back to the hotel carrying one and pushing the other, so I hung out right inside the park entrance and let them nap. We got lucky later in the afternoon and caught Wizard Mickey and Woody, and we walked right on the Monster's Inc. ride.


Saturday we headed home, and we had a barbecue with our families. On Sunday we went to Legoland. And it never ceases to amaze me how engaged kids are by the Mini Land structures. They could probably spend hours looking at all the cities if we let them. But we didn't. After Legoland, when we asked the kids which they liked more, they said both Legoland and Disneyland. As if they are even on the same level. Sigh. Oh well.

It was still a blast. And this kids miss their Ohio family. . .

Here are some highlights:

Jack O Lantern Grin

Friday was a milestone . . .

It came out after bed time Friday night. . . So we put the tooth in a cup a milk to save for Saturday. Then we placed it in a ziplock bag (so the tooth fairy could find it easily) and Casey put it under his pillow.

He came running into our bedroom at 5:45 a.m. this morning to share what the tooth fairy left. A level one reader of Star Wars Clone Wars, with a dollar bill in a ziplock bag. He asked where the tooth went, and we explained the tooth fairy must have replaced it with the dollar.

He sure did a happy dance . . .

Magnificent Mommy Moments

This morning I overslept. And so did Casey and Marcie. Which is probably part of why I overslept. It's so hard to wake up and get dressed when it's still dark out. . .

Anyway, as we were leaving, Casey asked if he could have some milk and cereal. A few weeks ago, I realized that when we're running late, we can put milk and cereal in a sturdy ziplock bag and the kids can eat it on the way to school. Same nutrition as at home. So that's what we did.

But Casey didn't have his shoes on yet, and he set his bag of cereal on the couch to put on his (brand new Lightning McQueen) shoes (from Disneyland, which Grandma Linda bought him and he absolutely loves). The bag tipped, and the milk and cereal began dripping out. It was a mess. And even though, at that moment, we weren't technically running late to leave just yet, stopping to clean made us, well, late.

After I cleaned up, we loaded up in the car and headed off to school. After dropping off Casey (who had a gaggle of three kindergarten girls waiting for him!), Marcie and I heard the bell ring as she climbed back in her car seat, about a half a block away. So Casey wasn't late for school (which means I did better this morning than Tuesday morning, when I really overslept and Casey was so late, I actually had him walk into his classroom as his teacher was beginning the day).

But then my brain went to auto-pilot for some reason, and as I crossed over a main road toward the freeway, I heard a voice from the backseat: "Hey! Mommy, you passed my school!"

Woops. I tried to play it off: "Gosh, Marcie-- Mommy is so silly. I guess I was just hoping to take you to work with me today. But of course we can't do that because you have school and it's pajama day. "

A u-turn and 15 minutes later, I was back on the road to work.

Good thing Marcie was paying attention. Or she really might have ended up at work with me. In her pajamas. Then it'd have been a really magnificent mommy moment.

Operator Error

Here are some snapshots of my left leg (shin) after an . . . uh . . . incident earlier today.

Can you guess what happened? Here are some hints:

1. I was the operator referred to in the title of this post.

2. We went to Legoland today.

3. This happened to me before we ever made it into the park.

Post your guesses in the comments. If someone gets it right, I'll even send 'em a prize!

Outa Touch

In July, a new California law went into effect-- no more cell phones while driving. Ear pieces are okay. Push to talk is okay (not sure why that is). But no phones to ears.

In preparation, I bought a blue tooth ear piece about six months before that. Opened up the box in June. And used it.

In June.

In July.

In August.

And then it disappeared.

I know it's because I had to bring it inside to charge it (why didn't they sell a car charger with it?). But now I have no idea where it is.

And it's left me out of touch. With everyone.
People are actually calling me, worried.

But I promise, I haven't forgotten about those I talk to on a regular basis. It's just that I can't talk in the car without the ear piece. No ear piece, no phone calls.

Sigh. Guess I should buy a replacement.

And for those of you wondering how I manage to talk on the phone with the kids in the car, I don't. There are a few times when I try to be 100% focused on the kids. One is during drop-off and pick-up. I leave my phone in the car, and we talk. One is while driving-- well, I guess I'm not really focused on the kids; I'm focused on the road. But I try to not to divide my attentions any further than the ruckus inside my car and what's going immediately outside my car.

I'm rambling. I'll stop.

In other news, we're actually taking a vacation next week. To Disneyland. With Casey's birth family. I don't know if I'm more excited to see his grandparents and siblings, or if I'm more excited to see them all experience Disneyland. But I can't wait. And I'll even have time to blog it as I go. . .