The OC Fair!

Last night's sleeping issue and Ruby was worse, not better, than the night before. I am physically and mentally exhausted and to top it off, I have no answers and no clue for a solution.

On to better things: I brought the girls to the OC Fair yesterday and even though I was kind of not looking forward to taking 2 kids to the fair by myself, we had SOOO MUCH FUN!!! There ended up being extra hands because I met the Monteleone's and the Allen's. Kelly came, too, along with there cousins who are in town from back east.

This is not a great picture of us, but we are all together and the only thing that would have made it better is if daddy was there:)

Angie and Aubrey looking so much alike!

There is nothing better than watching your kids interact. Trevor, Brady and Ruby holding hands in line for a big maze:)

If you haven't seen Trevor and Brady together, you are missing out. There is something so pure and so sweet about their friendship. They are going to be best friends forever!

This is the kids going through the maze. Brady is officially the sweetest boy!!! I was worried that Ruby would get half way through and then call for me, and I was NOT getting in there. So Angie and I asked Brady to make sure Ruby gets through and to not leave her behind (she is not the quick, athletic type) Throughout the entire maze Brady was making sure she was coming. He would stop and wait for her and tell her to follow him. I love you Brady! Sorry for slowing you down:)

Every now and then Ruby will get a burst of courage. She insisted that she ride the big slide by herself. Brian and Aubrey went down at the same time.

My Bean! She actually was pretty good at the fair, considering she was couped up in the stroller most of the time. She is a runner. Once she is old enough, she will be destroying that maze and any other obstacle that comes her way. She loved the lights and noise! I can't wait until next year when she can go on all the kiddie rides.

The one ride we went on. It was a faux Dumbo ride and she was in awe the entire time:) I love her fun personality!

And I love the sweetness in her face:)

Now, I can't wait until next year. I am making this a family tradition! My folks took us every year and I have the fondest memories!!! I love you girlies!!!!

Creepy and Sad

As you know, Ruby is what I call "hyper-sensitive". This ranges from everything from noise to touch to her feelings. There is a girl at my Mom's that has started picking on her. She yells at her to scram and calls her stupid. The rest of the afternoon she is sad. I am in for a doozie once school starts. I am trying really hard to teach her to stand up for herself and she actually is, but then she is still crushed.

Then there was the "monster" episode. We have had a few since, but she still goes to bed. Now it is when she wakes up that she is horrified, screaming, and running out of her room. Not always, but about half of the time. She tells me every day that she is scared of her room. Not the closet, just her room. Then, last night happened. She was really tired and at 8:55 she I told her five minutes to bed time. She just got up, turned off the tv, and said she wanted to go to bed. We had our usual routine. When I was done with the last song she asked if I would lay with her because she was scared. I assured her that everything was ok, kissed her, and walked out. 15 seconds later she started screaming. I went in there and reassured her again, then closed the door. 10 Seconds later she is screaming and running out of her room. At this point I am a little upset. I try really hard not to baby her too much. She needs to get over her fear and go to bed. After 20 minutes of this she is white, shaking, and WILL NOT let go of my shirt. I try "The Nanny" approach for ten minutes. Now she has spiraled into a full-on panic attack. So, I ask her what she is afraid of, thinking it was going to be: the monsters, mommy. Nope, she tells me there is a boy in her room. He is tall and he stands at the foot of her bed and looks at her. His head is as high as the roof(the ceiling) and he has hair like Trevor's(I am assuming that means blonde) She said he is not always there. He doesn't talk. He just stairs at her and scares her. Sometimes he is there when she goes to bed and sometimes he is there when she wakes up. WTH!!!!!! I did not get her to sleep until after 10:00pm. My mom even called because she could hear her screaming. I don't know if I believe in ghosts, but last night I kinda did. Even stranger, I grew up in the house next door. We had the most bizarre neighbors that lived in the house we live in now. The room that Ruby is in was their sons room. We were in the same grade in high school. He was a social outcast and kind of a loner. He would tell his parents all kinds of bizarre lies about things he said he saw. For example, he told his parents that my mom and I laid out naked in the backyard together??? He was tall and had blond hair and I have no idea where he is today??? I swear I'm not crazy, but I am definitely FREAKED OUT!

We're Engaged!!!!

Our first picture after he proposed!

This is the view from the cliff where he proposed: SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

Looking at the hillside. The cluster of trees are is where he got on his knee:)

My perfect ring:)

We got our Wiki's Wacked at Luau Larry's.

So, 5 years and two children later, we are getting married! I cannot put into words how happy I am or how perfect our engagement was. On Saturday we went to Catalina. I LOVE Catalina. If I was rich, I would buy a house there and go once a month. It has always been a sanctuary for me. And has always been the place where I dreamed of getting engaged. It was a perfect sunny day. We rented a golf cart and drove around the island, stopping at all the view points. We got out above the Casino and walked down a bit to get a better look. He said the sweetest things and got on his knee and proposed. I cried and forgot to answer, so he asked again.:) Of coarse, I said yes. We hugged and kissed and I fell in love with him all over again. I will never forget the sincerity in his face and the love in his eyes. I will never forget that the Old Bell Tower chimed just before he asked. I will never forget the peaceful sound of the wind blowing through the eucalyptus trees. Last, I cannot wait to marry the man I fell in love with 5 years ago. Thank you for making my dreams come true! I love you Anthony!!!!

Cross Your Fingers!

As most of you know, there is a NASTY flu bug going around. Anthony was really sick for a couple of days. Abby was sick on Monday. And, of coarse, I just got the dreaded call from my Mom: Ruby puked all over the kitchen floor... come get her! So, our household is 3 out of 4, the Monteleone's were 4 for 4, the Young's and Sullivan's are 5 out of 6... I could go on. For now, me, Ang, and Bud are the sole survivors... let's keep our fingers crossed... TIGHTLY!!!

T.T.'s Birthday and More

Ruby thought she could see all kids of things through the binoculars.

She even found Daddy after his heat.

Bean Bean making a sand castle.

Boy, did we have an exhausting weekend. Friday night I attempted to make Hawaiian bread for Taylor's party. I hated it and my parents loved it. Go figure. It was a lot of work so I was p.o.ed that I didn't like it so I left it home. Saturday morning I took the girls down to Huntington to watch Anthony's surf contest. They had a ton of fun and Anthony's mom came to chase Ruby around and help her splash in the waves. It was overcast, but still nice. It will be a lot more fun when they are older and it is not sooo much work for me. Just getting them out of the car and down to the water is so draining.

You have no idea how much I love you T.T. Happy Birthday darling!!!!

Jackson crawling around the grass.

Sorry Kyla, I didn't realize the sun was in your face:)

Sweet Aubrey... you are one of the best smilers, if that is a word.

I love these pictures of kids when their hair looks like what I call a rascally-doo(b/c that's what my kids hair ALWAYS looks like). Thanks for the smile, Hannah!

The party was a blast. I got to catch up with a lot of my blogging friends en vivo! Kim and Don put on a great party, as usually, and the kids wore themselves out! Abby was a handful because she thought that all she needed was a 20 minute nap to get by: WRONG!!! Plus, she is still suffering from bottle with-drawls. Everyday is getting better. Luckily, she is the youngest in our bunch, so she doesn't have to watch anyone else with a bottle.

Sunday I took the girls to Ruby's for breakfast. I recommend it for kids becasue the food comes out really fast! After I took them to the park in Seal beach to burn some energy, then to the farmers market to get some fresh goodies. I needed some honey for a new bread recipe I found, and ended up with: honey, danapple plums - so yummy, onions, pita bread, cucumber dip, and a potted rosemary and flat-leaf parsley plants to start a new herb garden. Total spent: $22.00 - you can't beat that.

Looking for advise: By now you all know how sensitive Ruby is. We are taking a turn for the worst becasue she is convinced that their are monsters in her room. Yesterday for her nap she was screaming and shaking, scared to death that the "monsters" are going to get her. I put her down and 30 seconds later she is screaming running out of her room. I asked her where they were and she said on her roof(ceiling). Ruby: "There on the roof. Can't you see them, Mommy?" Me: "No honey, I don't see anything" Ruby: The are all over the roof and they are looking at me through the vent"(which is right above her bed). Me: "Do you want me to get daddy and he will get them out of here?" Ruby: "Yeah momma". I run to our room and tell Anthony to to think quick, he has to get the monsters off the roof and out of the vent. I go back to Ruby's room and Anthony comes in with a dustbuster and vacuums up all the monsters. Me: "Is that better? Are they all gone now?" Ruby: "Thanks Daddy, they are all gone". Anthony gives her a kiss and leaves the rooms. Me: "Ok, time to go to sleep". Ruby: "Mom, what about the dragons?" WTH!!! Me: "Daddy sucked them up with the monsters". Ruby: "But he only got the little ones. The big ones wouldn't fit". She eventually went to sleep, but if this becomes a new routine, shoot me:)

2 Days and counting

From one of your first bottles....

To one of your last...


Abby had her last bottle on Tuesday night. I felt so bad that I even let her go to sleep with it. Let's just say that Wednesday morning was NOT FUN! She literally cried and wined for an hour, maybe and hour and a half. She was so P.O.ed that she was throwing any sippy cup I tried to give her. One she threw so hard on the ground that the top came off and milk went everywhere. I am happy to say that we are riding out the storm quit nicely. She is definitely NOT happy about it, but she is adjusting and I am, too. Hopefully the trend will continue. For now, I am proud of her and a little sad to be one step closer to her no longer being a baby.

p.s. Don, we love you, are so glad you are ok, and are truely GRATEFUL to have a friend like you!!!!

Bread and Babies

Ruby's attempt at a silly smile.

Abby is at the stage that I can always get a smile out of her.

My first shot at making bread.

We had a really good weekend... nothing too exciting. Anthony and I actually went to dinner last night. Before we had Abby, we went out every Tuesday night. Now we go maybe once a month. We really do need to try to do more together to stay connected, but I'm sure just like everyone else with kids, time just flies by and days just roll into more days. Every night you fall into bed and wake up the next day and it all blends together.
Kim and I tried a new park on Sunday in Belmont shores. I still think nothing beats Del Valle. It was nice to be in a different environment, but taking the kids to the porta-potty was not fun.
On a final note... am I the only one that is fed up with the price of food these days??? I used to spend $100 and leave with an overflowing cart... now I spend $100 and leave with only the essentials: milk, eggs, bread, champagne, and o.j.:))))). Seriously though, I buy Orowheat whole grain bread and it used to be $2.79, now it is $4.69!!! WTH!!! So, now I am going to start making my own bread. Yesterday I made "Country White" and I must say that is pretty good. My house smelled like a bakery and Ruby thought it was the most exciting activity. Now I am trying to talk my parents (who live next door) into buying chickens so I don't have to pay for eggs. We had them growing up and so I told my dad I would buy him a couple of "girls" and he can keep them in his backyard. Anthony thinks the whole thing is funny and asked me last night if I was going to get a cow next. I just might: we go through 6 to 8 gallons a week at a rate of $6.29 for two gallons!!!!!

Recent Pictures

It's official: I am no longer a mean mom. Abby had her first Popsicle last week. She was in heaven with her bottle in one hand and her treat in the other... enjoy it while you can: July 15th you will be 16 months old and it will be your last bottle day!... I hope:)

4th of July... what is so interesting on the ground? Look up for crying out loud!

Abby getting a swim lesson from her Daddy.

Ruby's turn.

Ruby at the bay.


It was one of those afternoons when you look around at your family and your surroundings and wonder why you are so lucky.

Returning to me

After a week and a half of training, my sweet, well behaved Ruby is returning to me. She is back to listening, using her manners, and has not even touched the dvd cabinet. Yesterday when I told her it was nap time, she ran in her room, climbed in bed, and asked for a story! She was still sad this morning when I left to work. Abby was worse... she balled and banged on the screen as I walked to my car, got in, and drove away. That is such a terrible image to start my day... the guilt of being a working mom SUCKS! I am just glad that everything is back to "normal".

On a different note, my dear friend Kelly is leaving for a week:(. Who do you think you are? How dare you leave Kim and I to fend for ourselves... especially over a weekend? I will miss you!!! Have fun, but hurry home!

I'm still here

Hi everyone! Every time I think of posting I'm away from my computer or I don't have my camera. Like everyone else, we had a pretty good 4th of July. Ruby is terrified of fireworks, so that kind of puts a damper on the day. Ruby has been officially punishing me ever since we got back from the cruise. To start, she is already very sensitive, especially with me. Every morning it is the same sad battle cry: "Mommy, you're not even going to work today!" "Mommy, please don't go to work today" "Mommy, will you stay with me?" "Mommy, are you leaving on the cruise?". I think I confuse her by telling her that I don't want to go to work. I want nothing more that to stay with my girls everyday - ok almost every day:). I want to share all their experiences. I want hold them tight and never let go. I want them to be happy and safe and not cry at the door ever time I take out the trash becasue they think I am leaving them. To top it off, she doesn't want to listen to me. The first night we were back, it was dinner time and she told me she didn't have to eat at the dinner table. Really??? She didn't have to take a bath. She didn't have to go to bed. She told she didn't have to listen and that she was going to put herself in time out. She was/is bossing me around - TAKE THE CUSHIONS OFF THE COUCH - GET MY MILK - and even opening the dvd cabinet to grab whatever she wants. It has been a long week and I am slowly "training" her back into being a good girl with MANNERS!!! Abby has been pretty emotional, too. The day after we got back she was stomping at my feet to pick her up, I picked her up - apparently not fast enough becasue she proceeded to slap me in the face. My mom seemed to think she didn't slap me, but I know Abby and I KNOW that was a slap. Things are finally calming down, but now I feel like I can't ever go anywhere. Kim invited me to Happy hour last night at the Crab Pot on the water - I wanted to go so bad, but the guilt is going to be embedded in me for awhile. Kelly wants me to go to the Dodger game tonight: sorry Kel, I can't do that either. Things are getting better and tomorrow I am not working. I am taking the girls to the bay to meet up with the "Wednesday Beach Club". I am just not used to having a defiant child... any suggestion? Am I too hard on her? Do I expect to much? I hate to say anything negative about Ruby becasue she is truly such a sweet child, but this test is really pushing my buttons. HELP!

The Cruise...

9:30am Saturday morning.... hhmmm??? What are we drinking?
Kim and I at Papas and Beer.
The girls in our cheep mexican hats.
Anthony and Don at Papas.
Anthony and I at the Casino... hit me!!!

So, we all survived the craziness of a three day Mexican Cruise. I wouldn't even call it a Mexican cruise, it is more like an Ocean cruise. I would recant all the stories, but they aren't as funny off the ship or probably to anyone else. Kim's nickname became the Grinch(sorry Kim - she went and got herself a beer and no one else and that was enough ammunition for Don to last the entire cruise), the girls LOVED our new hats and the guys HATED them, I am proud to say - NO FIGHTS. A few banters back and forth, but over all our pact worked. We pretty much sat on the deck and played cards or catch phrase, drank, ate, gambled, and barely slept. The casino wasn't kind to anyone - shocking! The piano bar was a blast. And Papas and Beer... when you combine alcohol with whistle blowers, bachelorette/bachelor parties, COUGARS, and really large lovely ladies who strut around like they own the place: you get the best people watching EVER!