This and That

After I washed Bella's hair last night I walked out of the bathroom for just a second and when I can back in Finley had opened the toilet lid and was dipping a washcloth in and then wiping her face. GROSS! She was enjoying it though :)

This Easter candy has got to get out of my house! If it's not gone by Sunday, I'm throwing it away.

Only 28 more days of school! I'm so ready for summer. Our pool opens today, even though it's heated I think a high of 70 is still to cold to go swimming!

My heart goes out to all the people that were affected by the tornado's. Our old house in Fultondale was only a couple of miles from where the tornado touched down. All of my family is safe and they had little or no damage to their houses, but I have friends who had damage to their house and cars. That is one thing I don't miss about the south. Tornados can just pop out of no where and they are so unpredictable.

I finally got my car back yesterday afternoon. I HATE spending money on my car, but it's better than a car payment every month so I shouldn't complain. I still have one more thing to get fixed but they have to order the part. Hopefully that will be it for a while!

Is tomorrow really May 1st?? That doesn't even seem possible.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Lately

It's finally starting to feel like spring here. The highs this week have been in the upper 60's and it feels great. Our rose bushes are starting to bloom and all the trees are green again.  I really know nothing about plants, but when we finally settle down somewhere I want to have a nice garden so I need to learn.

 

                                                               The first rose to bloom

                             Whatever this is just opened this morning and it's really pretty.

Bella started soccer practice last week and she is the tallest kid on the team. When I look at her she doesn't seem that tall, but when I see her with kids her age she looks like a giant. Her Tuesdays are full, she has basketball from 3:00 to 4:00 and then soccer from 4:30 to 5:30.

Here is Finley yesterday at Bella's practice. She loves it because she can walk around outside and explore.

Here is what I'm driving for the next day or two. My car at the Nissan dealership for some repairs and they brought this little thing around for me to drive. Finley's stroller won't even fit in the trunk! I had to lay one of the seats down and slide the stroller through so we could get home. It is fun to drive though. It feels like a little go cart and it will stop on a dime. It'll just whip into parking spaces unlike the armada, I have to swing out to try and get into a space and then I usually end up having to back up and pull in again so I can be straight.

Bella went on a field trip to the Oakland zoo today. She had a blast and the weather was perfect.

Finley got her third tooth yesterday! It is on the right side on the bottom. She also slept a little better last night so I think the tooth was bothering her the last few nights. 

We now have less than 2 months until we come home for our visit! I can't wait to be back in the "Ham"!

Easter

Here are some pictures from yesterday. It's crazy to think that last Easter we were still living in Arizona and Finley was just a little one.

                     Looking at their baskets (don't you love Finley's mismatched pjs?)

                                                  Bella got her acoustic guitar, yay!

                                                 Finley reading one of her new books

                                                                    Rocking out ;)

                                                    Playing with Fin's new blocks

                  Tyler finally got out of bed to see what the Easter bunny brought him!

I made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing. They were not very pretty but they were delicious!

I took these yesterday afternoon while the girls were playing outside.

It's Friday :)

I hope everyone is having a good Good Friday! Easter is so late this year. Why can't it be like the 2nd Sunday of April or on a certain date every year like other holidays?

I'm excited to see Finley tear into her Easter basket. She was only a few months old last year so this year should be fun.

Finley's naps have been all over the place the last few days, and she has only had one nap everyday but Monday this week.  She has actually slept better the past two nights. I'm not sure if it's because her naps have been short and she is just so tired that she only wakes up 3 times instead of 6 or 8, but it has been nice.

                                                      Her nap yesterday in my car :)

My niece turned 13 yesterday. I can't believe that she and Tyler are now teenagers. I remember when they were 3 and loved to play in the toilet together!

My house is a mess and I have no desire to clean it. One day I'm going to have a maid. Hopefully I will get in the cleaning mood this weekend.

 I hope everyone has a great Easter! Here is a little video to make you smile (please excuse my dirty bathroom).

Decorating my house

Why is this so hard for me??

For the last 5 years I haven't really bought anything for our home because in the fall of 2006 we decided we were going to sell our house in Fultondale and either buy or build a new house. We bought a one acre lot in December of 2006, we put our house up for sale in February 2007 and it took a year to sell. We moved into a rental so we could build the new house, but then found out in July that we were moving to Arizona. I didn't want to buy anything for a house I didn't own because what if it didn't work at the next house. I'm glad I didn't make any big purchases because we lived in 3 different houses last year and anything that would have fit in our houses in Arizona and Nevada would probably not fit in our house in California.

I'm to the point now that I'm tired of looking at off-white walls. My plan is to buy stuff that I know will be alright in any house and then when we finally buy a house somewhere I can add items that actually go with the house.

I know that I would rather have pictures of my kids than art. I have some photos that I've been meaning to frame for years like my wedding pictures, so this will be a good time to buy some really pretty frames so the photos don't get ruined.

That is my big plan, but we will see how it turns out. I'm so indecisive (it drives Jason crazy!) when it comes to everything. I'm scared that I won't like things so I just don't buy anything. I still haven't bought a desk or a rug and we have been here 4 months! I'm the queen of buying something and then returning it. I'm also super cheap! I don't mind spending more on furniture because if you buy good furniture it will last forever, but other than that if it's not on sale or cheap, I'm not buying it.

I really wish I was one of those people that can throw things together and they look awesome. I always buy items that match that way at least they go together, but the prettiest rooms are always the ones that have all different colors and patterns. Take my bedroom for example, we bought a black bedroom suite from Haverty's and I love it (one of the few things I have ever been 100% sure about) and then I bought a black and white comforter so now everything has to be black and white. I know that red, blue, or yellow would look great in there, but I'm scared!!

Next time we move we are going to have to buy new couches. We have had them for almost 8 years and all the moving has really taken a toll on the leather. As long as I have kids I will have leather couches. If something gets spilled they don't stain and they are super easy to clean. I like the burgundy ones we have now, but I think I want brown next time. This has nothing to do with my house, but I will also never again buy a car without leather seats! What was I thinking?? Back to the house. We are also going to have to buy a bigger table. Our table now only seats four and it's not big enough to add two more chairs. I love shopping for furniture, but it may take me 6 months to actually decide on something and buy it.

 I'm going to start in the living room since that is where I spend most of my time. Any suggestions on stores that have cool decorations at great prices?

Maria, Maria...

you know, the song by Carlos Santana? Well we went to the restaurant named after that song last night. Tyler's school was  having a fundraiser there, all you had to do was tell your waiter that you were there to support CWMS and 15% of your total goes directly back to the school. The restaurant was inspired by Carlos Santana and he helped with all the art work and decor. I love how it's decorated. There are all kinds of neat sculptures and paintings. They also play great music! Their food is pretty good (I like Luna Loca better) and their salsa is awesome.
Bella took most of these pictures. She really loves taking pictures now. 

 She wanted me to take this picture of her, she is either supposed to be in deep thought or admiring the art work.

                                                    Closed her eyes for every shot!

                                                         The metal tree sculpture.

                                                Metal stars hanging in the entrance.

                                                            Santana painting

 

                                                         Bella taking a self portrait

Our weekend and a little more on sleep

Friday I took Finley to the doctor for her 15 month check-up. She weighed 22.14 pounds (40th percentile) and was 32.75 inches long (95th percentile). Her head is still huge; 48.5 cm which is in the 95th percentile. She had to get two shots, but she is healthy and doesn't have to go back until she is 18 months. I will be so glad when she turns 2 and we only have to go once a year unless she is sick.

                                                            Waiting on the doctor.

Friday night we stayed in and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. I just love Harry Potter. I've read all the books and I've seen all the movies multiple times. I can't wait to see part 2 when it comes out in July, but I'm also a little sad that there won't be anymore. We will be home so we will have a babysitter and Jason and I can actually go to the movies together!

Saturday we ate out for lunch and then hung around the house the rest of the day.  After I gave Finley her bath Saturday night, I was letting her have "naked time" and she pooped on the floor...and then stepped in it!! We are probably done with naked time since there is a brown stain on the carpet now. How do I get that out??

                                                 Playing outside Saturday afternoon.


Sunday we ate at Buffalo Wild Wings and then went to Best Buy to get Bella a new TV for her room. Now I just have to get the cable company out here! Bella also found a Taylor Swift acoustic guitar that she LOVED, but I'm not paying $300.00 for guitar for a 7 year old. We found a Hello Kitty acoustic guitar at Target for $40 so we are going to order it.

                                                                Playing the bongos!

 
I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about Finley's sleep patterns, so am I and here is a little more. She is getting worse again. About 2 months ago I started laying her down at night after I nursed her so she could go to sleep on her own. The first few nights she would cry for 2 or 3 minutes and then she would go to sleep. She was sleeping from 8:30 to 1:30 and then would wake again at 4:30 and then around 7:00 for the day.  Waking up on twice a night, I thought I was in heaven! She did that for about a week and then slowing worked her way back into waking up every hour or two. Now I can just lay her down and she goes right to sleep by herself, but she is waking up every hour or two and fussing a lot. So here is my question, why won't she just sleep??? She has got to be exhausted, right? I keep thinking that one day she is going to be so tired that she is going to fall asleep and sleep for like 8 straight hours. No, I'm not greedy, I would be perfectly happy with 8. Those of you with babies that sleep for 12+ hours every night are a little selfish don't you think? Getting all that sleep and waking up feeling refreshed every morning instead of feeling like you haven't had a full nights sleep in 15 months :) I know my only solution is to just let her cry it out, but I just can't do that yet. So until I am, please bear with me when I have these days that I need to just complain.
I was looking yesterday for tips to get your toddler to sleep and I came across a post where this women has a 16 month old and has never slept all night either. She said that she was PROUD and HONORED that she hasn't had any sleep in 16 months. That is total bs, she probably feels the need to tell everyone because she just can't believe that is has been that long. If this is Finley's way of honoring me I would rather her hate me and just sleep all night so she doesn't have to see me as much! (just kidding)

15 months!

Finley is 15 months today. I forgot how much fun toddlers are! She is learning and growing everyday and it is so much fun to watch. She is also getting to the stage where it's hard to take her places because she doesn't want to sit in her stroller or be held. She wants to be down exploring and touching and tasting everything. I remember when Tyler was about this age and we just quit going out because he did not want to sit in the high chair or his stroller. Hopefully we can get through this stage with Finley without becoming hermits, but she is pretty strong willed and if she wants to get out of that high chair, by God she is going to get out of that high chair!

What she loves:
-Climbing on everything! We have to make sure they chairs are pushed up to the table because she is bad about climbing up on the table and standing up. She also tried to jump of the armrest of the couch last night, but I caught her.
-Baby Goldfish
-Sneaking into Tyler's room because she knows he doesn't want her in there!
-Opening doors, she can open all the bedroom doors now!
-Playing outside
-Trying on our shoes
-Talking on the phone
-Music and dancing

I love to watch her walk. She doesn't walk like a baby anymore and she swings one of her arms. It is so cute! I also love when she gives hugs and she makes the sound. You know when you hug a baby and you go ohh ohh or something like that, anyway, she does that. I also love that she has brought so much happiness into our home. Not that we weren't happy before, but I'm always smiling when she is around and she does something every few minutes to make us laugh.

She still doesn't sleep all night. Some nights are better than others, but she usually wakes up four or five times a night. 

She goes to the doctor Friday for her 15 month check-up and I can't wait to see how much she has grown.

The last few days

Friday we did nothing. It was nice to not leave the house all day.

Saturday I was nursing Finley before her nap and she bit me... hard... I was bleeding! I was so shocked when she did it that I jerked back from her and then she looked up at me waved and said hey! She only has her two bottom teeth, but that would have hurt with just one tooth. The first thing that came to my mind was that it was time to wean her, but then I almost started crying thinking about it. I know she is getting older, but it's something we both still enjoy (minus the biting). I'm really hoping that she will just wean herself that way I will know that she is ready instead of me forcing her to quit. Right now I don't see that happening anytime soon. If you would have asked me a year ago if I would still be nursing her at almost 15 months I would have said no way! There were days when I didn't know if I could make it 6 months much less a year, but when she was around 4 months it just got really easy and has been great ever since then. Every other month I make a date when I'm going to start weaning, but then that date comes and goes and we are still going. Jason is really supportive and tells me to not stop until I'm ready. I was hoping to start trying for another baby really soon (like now), but I guess we will wait a little longer. I did some research and got some tips to keep her from biting again. We will see how it goes.

After the biting incident we went to the mall and then we had date night at Safeway.

                                                              Doing some shopping!

                                             Dancing in the bread/wine aisle to Inxs!!

Sunday we ate pizza and went to the park. Monday the kids went back to school. We had fun during spring break and it makes me excited about the summer. I love days when we can get up and stay in our pajamas all day and not have to worry about homework or soccer practice. Less than two months now!

I was also so wrong about Finley only needing one nap. We tried for a few days and it just wasn't time. I am back to getting her to sleep, because if I just lay her down she will not go to sleep. She doesn't cry but she will jump and talk and throw out her blanket and pappy out of her bed. She doesn't do that at night, only during the day.  It usually only takes her about 15 minutes to go to sleep so it's not too bad.

We spent this morning at the doctors office. I think Finley may have a UTI so they put a bag on her for an hour to try to and get a urine sample. Of course she didn't pee so they had to catheterize her to get a sample. She actually did better than I thought she would, but it broke my heart. We should have the results Thursday, but they gave her antibiotics to start today since she is doing the same as she did in December when she had a UTI. 
I always have a hard time deciding what to do when it comes to medicine and my kids. I didn't really want them to use a catheter because that could give her an infection that wasn't there to begin with, but since this might be her second UTI she could have kidney reflux they would want to do one anyway so I reluctantly agreed. I really don't like giving my kids medicine at all, but I'm going to start her on the antibiotics because I don't want her to hurt if she has an infection.

PB&J's visit part 2

Monday we went to San Francisco. We ate lunch and then toured Alcatraz.

 

                                                      Golden Gate Bridge

 San Francisco from Alcatraz. I'm still amazed how they squeeze all those buildings onto the hill.

                                                    Bella making her "locked up" face.

 

                                                   Finley with Bella's shades on :)

                                                              The showers in Alcatraz

                                                                Out...Finally!!

                                                          One of the cell blocks

                                                               The cells were tiny!

                                  I LOVE this picture, I just wish Fin would have smiled.

Tuesday we were all so tired that we just hung around the house and then went to the park after lunch.

                                                            Kicking her soccer ball

                                                Playing some serious basketball.

                                                Giving me a hug, she can be so sweet!

We had a great time and can't wait for them to come back!