Gankoo

     Once again we are up late. I got myself up this morning at 10:15, worked out a little, took a shower, and attempted to wake up the kids. As soon as I placed Baby Z on the couch she melted down onto the floor, whining and falling back asleep.
     I decided to finish getting ready to go to the store before waking them up by putting clothes on them which always means "Bye Byes." By noon we were all awake and in the car. I was able to get Baby Z down for a nap around three and let her sleep for an hour and a half. This may have been a bad idea because it is almost 3am and she is wide awake.
     Baby J fell asleep around 8pm and woke up about 1am. He has had no desire to go back to sleep.
     As I write this the kids are happily playing with buttons and Baby Z is very sweetly saying "Gankoo J. Gankoo."
     Sometimes it's not all bad being awake so early.

Late Nights With My Best Gal

     Ever since Baby Z was weaned she has been such a terror to get to sleep at night. She has been going to sleep for the night at about 4am every night/morning. Every once in a great while she'll fall asleep around midnight so we'll head to bed thinking how lucky we are. But we are always wrong. She inevitably wakes ups an hour later with loads of energy.
     Things are made worse because she is not an only child. Baby J is actually quite easy to get to sleep, if you can get him alone. Z can always find us and wakes him up.
     J would be happy to help but he works during the day so he needs his sleep. I am a stay at home mom so really whatever schedule the kids are on, I am on. Also the kids don't like Daddy when they are tired. Mommy only. It makes things rough.

Here, Baby Z had discovered the walls make a great canvas.

     I've been trying to wake the kids up earlier but when I don't get to sleep until after 4am it's pretty hard for me to wake up just four or five hours later. I need my sleep too. It's a vicious circle. I feel like every time I start to make progress with this crazy schedule something happens (kids get sick, we go on vacation) and things just get worse than ever.
     It's a work in progress. They'll start school in three years and things will get better, hopefully.

Fourth of July

 My extended family has a barbecue every fourth of July and because J works in retail we haven't been able to go since we've been married. I really wanted to go this year but didn't want to drive two hours there and back with two kids all by myself. My dad really wanted us to go so he volunteered my sister H to ride with me and I followed my dad all the way there.

Here is Baby Z making herself at home with my aunts and cousin-in-law right before stealing their watermelon.

 We had a lot of fun running around! And great grandma asked us to bring Baby Z back soon to visit. We certainly will.

When we arrived back in Salt Lake Baby J and I took a quick nap before we headed off to Grandma and Grandpa D's house for fire works.

 Baby Z certainly enjoyed sitting on the table while she ate here veggies.

 Baby Z did not like the fire works at all so she stayed in the house. Jack LOVED them, especially the fire crackers!

We let Baby J try out the sparklers and he did such a great job. He held them away from him and only tried to touch the tip once.

While Baby J enjoyed the sparklers, Baby Z was inside reading to Grandpa.

The Seven Year Itch

  Well, not really itchy, but we did celebrate our seven year anniversary.
     We've been wanting to go to a taping of Conan O'Brien for a while now and couldn't think of a better time than our anniversary.
     Our anniversary is June 21st which fell on a Friday this year. On our actual anniversary we dropped the kids off at my in-laws for a couple hours and we picked up some Subway sandwiches (we had Subway party subs at our wedding) and a cake and went home to watch a movie while we had our sandwiches.
     We left for our trip the following Sunday. We dropped the kids off at my in-laws at about 9 am and headed out. The next day was Conan day! Check in was between 1 and 3 and we wanted good seats so we got there about 12:30 and there was already a crowd. We had to go through a metal detector and show ID. At About 1:30 we were given our official tickets and a number card and were told we were dismissed until 3:00. Well I don't know how well you know the Warner Brother's Studio but there is nothing around there. So finding something to do for and hour and a half was difficult. We found the Warner Brother's tour and souvenir center and thought about taking a tour but they take a little over two hours and we wouldn't make it back in time. So we walked around the shop for a little while and then drove around for a bit before heading back. There was a much bigger crowd when we got back. We sat down and waited for our number to be called.

Being Goofy

  It got a little boring waiting so we took pictures. These wrist bands have Conan hair symbol on them. They were our real ticket in.

Things just got real!

The Big Bang Theory is filmed next door. We walked right past their studio and I had to get a picture of the cast parking.

  One of J's best friends moved to Hollywood, right before we got married. So we grabbed a bite with him after the show.

Here the boys are sharing cheese fries!

 Tuesday morning we headed to Vegas. We got a room a the Luxor with a great big tub in the room (we thought it was going to be a Jacuzzi tub but were sadly surprised) After relaxing for a bit we headed to the strip. We walked around the casino malls for a while and caught a fountain show at the Bellagio before heading back to the hotel.
  Wednesday started with more walking but we got tired and chilled in the room until it was time to leave for Tournament of Kings. Afterward we headed for Carrot Top. Both were awesome. But I was sure missing the kids, especially during Tournament of Kings. I was so excited to get back to my babies on Thursday.
   It was a fun and Hot four days but I truly did miss my kids. I heard they were good and I'm sure they had a great time with both sets of grandparents (J's parents watched the kids Sunday and Monday night and my parents watched them Tuesday and Wednesday night).

What's been happening?

 Well let me tell you.
       The day before Easter, my nephew was baptized. J had to work so I took both kids by myself to it. Baby J did great but Baby Z wanted to run around the room during his confirmation and kept trying to play the piano.
     Afterward we all went over to my sister's house for lunch and an egg hunt. Baby J found great joy in plying in the gigantic dirt pile in her backyard while Baby Z LOVED being free to run around outside. J made it just in time for the egg hunt. Since his dad was there with the jeep, Baby J no longer has any interest in being there. All he wanted was to go bye byes in the jeep. And Baby Z was still have too much fun running around to even care about eggs.
     The Easter Bunny found us the next day and gave the kids lots of candy and bubbles. Then we went to the park followed by a lovely steak dinner with our friends.
    Sorry, no pictures.
    However a post is no good without something cute to look at.
    Lately the kids have been loving  wearing their sun glasses, or Zazzies as Baby Z calls them

 I found some child size noise canceling head phones for when we take the kids to see J play live. When she wears these, you can tell Baby Z feels awesome!

Here, the boys are hard at work. J on the laptop and Baby J on the tablet.

A Quickie

      When I was a kid my mom would buy dry cereal marshmallows so we could add them to whatever we wanted. But like all great things, they stopped being made. Now, all my children want to do is pick the little mallows out of their cereal and it drives me crazy! I heard a rumor  that stores were going to start selling these little marshmallows and I would check every store I went to, with no luck. Finally, I decided to check on line. Low and behold I found them! Amazon had a dozen 16 oz packs for under 20 bucks! It's been a great investment!

Well, the inevitable has happened. Baby Z has discovered Pepsi. Just like her brother, she loves it best when it's stolen form our fast food cups.

I finally couldn't take it any more and bought myself a super cheap tablet... with Christmas money. But Baby J LOVES it and uses it more than I do.

A single Parent...

well, for three and a half days.
   As a sort of belated birthday trip, J went down to St. George with some of his wheel'n buddies to explore and climb new places. This left me alone with the kids.
   We discussed having the entire family go, but the thought of taking care of and keeping track of two toddlers on a trail gave me a head ache. We also talked about leaving the kids and me in a hotel in St. George while he was out all day. That sounded horrible too. I figured if I was going to take care of the kids by myself, it would be easier at our own house where I could easily get help from family if needed.
   So, here I am. It is 3:02 Sunday morning. J should be getting home in about 12 hours or so.
   Are the kids sleeping?
   No.
   Am I close to loosing it on my third night in a row alone with two small children who miss their dad?
   You betcha.
   I don't know how single parents do it.
   It's comforting for me knowing that J always has my back. He's there when I need a time out so that I don't kill our kids.
   I'm exhausted and emotional.

 I miss my husband.

My 28th

      For my 28th birthday we had some pretty fun things planned. My in-laws were going to take the kids over night and J and I were going to go out to dinner and then go bowling. But the kids had a other plans for me.
      At about 5am Baby Z woke and threw up all over me and the bed. Then at 9am Baby J decided throw on me. So I lined the couch with towels and spent my entire birthday cleaning up throw up and doing laundry.

This is at the beginning of the day. I would sit in the middle and comfort them.

After they fell asleep I was able to get all the gross towels and clothes in the wash.

J was a sweetie and picked me up Joe Morley's on his way home from work.
It wasn't my ideal birthday but I've definitely had worse.

Valentin'es Day

      Before the kids woke up on I hung up valentine balloons and streamers. They loved it!

Then for breakfast I made them pink, heart shaped pancakes.

And before our dinner of heart shaped pizza(which I didn't get a picture of) I took the kids out for ice cream.

30!!

On January 29th J turned 30! In celebration I made him this Jeep cake. It's not my finest work, but it fun was non the less.

2013 Begins

 Baby J loves to do whatever his dad does. Vacuuming is one of his favorites. One day this is what I found.

 I've been trying to find new ways to use things that I don't or can't use any more. I have a few of these travel wipes cases and realized they were the perfect size to store jumbo crayons.

 I've also been wanting to get Baby J some dry erase crayons. So I drew some pictures, put clear tape on it and BOOM! There you have it. A dry erase coloring kit.

I also cut out some pages from some coloring books and put them in page protectors. Baby J likes the bigger pictures better.

My kids love to sit in boxes. One day I found them both inside this little square box.

My kids like their little kitchen best when it's in the big kitchen. J was able to catch Baby Z cooking.

I bought these small camping chairs at the end of summer when they went on sale and the kids LOVE them. They love to sit in them while they watch their shows and have a snack.

    See. Snacking. Hmmm... this could be lunch. Looks like dino nuggets and fries.

My little partners in crime. They love to pull out the movies. I guess it's even more fun when you have help.

Our cute little Baby Z has become quite the model, even when mischievous. This is Baby J's bed with stuff piled on it. Before I could clean it off, Baby Z had made her way up the mountain and when she saw the camera she gave me her best "cheese" face.

Christmas and New Year's Eve

      I just realized that I didn't blog about our Christmas. This year I decided to make my kids their very own kitchen because they love to play in mine. So that was their big Santa gift. Every year I have made my kids a blanket for Christmas. I made Baby Z a denim blanket made form my old jeans and work pants with owl accents. I made Baby J an I spy quilt and cards that match each square so he can spy the images on the blanket all by himself. The kids gave J a gigantic box of kit kats and they gave me a pink tool bag filled with pink tools! I've been wanting my own tools for a while. Sometimes I have to use J's and my stuff gets all greasy and gross.

      After seeing what Santa brought and unwrapping gifts we headed out to Grandma and Grandpa D's house. The kids made out like bandits. Lots of toys and lots of cloths. We then had my famous chicken enchiladas and watched... a movie... I think. I can't remember. But we watched something on the TV while the kids played with their new toys between bites of "chaladas."
     Then we headed to my side of the family for more presents and food. On my side we have started drawing names by family for Christmas. We had my baby sister H. She really, really wanted a guitar. Well J works at just the place for that! So I drove her to Guitar Center a few months earlier to take her pick. I told her to choose a few in different price ranges because I wasn't sure what our budget should be. but we were able to get her her favorite one. It is beautiful. It's a cherry color with a heart shaped sound hole. I played it a little and I love it. I am so jealous!

      Anyway... H had us for Christmas too and gave a gist Certificate to our favorite restaurant, Joe Morley's Barbecue. Mmm... and she included two fun board books for the kids, which they make us read all the time. All in all a good, and tiring day.

Baby Z woke up first and immediately knew where to go. She even knew which stocking was hers!

Baby J needed a little coaxing

Baby Z found Daddy's orange.

The flashlight Santa put in Baby J's stocking was pretty cool.

Santa gave us all a bottle of our favorite drinks. This is Baby J's bottle of Christmas Pepsi. 

Baby J opening and pouring his gold fish crackers.

The kids playing with their kitchen.

     New years eve  was chill, as usual. J made us some steaks and potatoes and we had a bat man marathon. Once again, we almost missed midnight. We couldn't find the remote to the TV (we like to count down with new years rock'n eve). But we made it with about 5 seconds to spare.