Ratatouille!!!

My mom is on vacation this week... yee haw...!!! My mom wanted to take us to the movies.. no objection from me... We took Dominic to go see Ratatouille...!!! He was very excited about this.. We went to the earliest show possible... I really liked the movie and thought it was cute! Alyssa was good for the first hour and the second hour.. well.... let's just say I watched it while doing laps up and down the stairs with Alyssa! Overall it was nice...

We then went on a mission to find a new car seat for mamas!!! She finally weighs in at 20lbs.. whats more shocking to me is that Dominic is only 30.5 lbs.. only a 10lbs difference... He feels like 20 lbs heavier... strange.. At the store the kids were having a great time sitting in and testing out the car seats.. aren't they goofy... I love them so much!

Our day ended with all the kids playing outside and fighting over who could wear Kyle's (neighbor) hat. Luckily we have more than one cool older kid on the block and all the kids got a hat... except Alyssa and she kept tapping her head asking for one..poor mamas!

Mother's Day in July!

As promised to my Mama... I took her to the Indian Casinos today! Back in May when I asked her what she wanted for Mother's Day.. she simple said a day at the casinos... So lucky Ben got to stay home with the kids after swim class... We decided to go to Morongos... To my surprise it was a lot of fun... I'm typically a sore loser when it comes to gambling but I had fun on the nickel machines... I was even up $100 dollars at one point...but the dreaded machines ate it back up ... I knew I should of walked away!!! So as my money was being eaten in front of me, my mama sat next to me and played Asian Princess in honor of Alyssa she claimed... And would you know it she would $1,000!!!!!!!! I was soooo jealous! Why didn't I play that machine! oh well..that's the way the cookie crumbles... Just remember mama your lil girls bday is in a couple of weeks..hint hint!

Last Day of Swim Class

Today marked the end of Dominic and Alyssa's swim lessons.. I'm really going to miss them... It was really cute today.. the instructors always make the last day a FUN day... They brought out a little boat and were taking the kids around in it.. then Dominic jumped into the deep end with his instructor... getting completely submerged and NOT crying... I'm so proud of my boy! Alyssa has also learned a lot through this course.. she is comfortable with the water, kicks her legs, and blows bubbles just like her big brother... It ended with both kids getting their certificate and lollipop!

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Jazzy has left the building!

Well I finally did it! I have officially moved Jazmin (our cat) out of the upstairs extra bathroom to the garage... I decided it was time for the kids to have their own bathroom and not have to share ours... Dominic was really excited and kept exclaiming "This is my Bathroom!!!" I had to remind him that he is going to share the bathroom with Alyssa...

As you can tell from Dominic's swim class experience... he doesn't exactly love water.. so when it comes to bath time he liked sitting in his little toddler tub instead of the tub itself.. But as hes pushing 3 now and with the new bathroom I hyped up the fact that hes a Big Boy and ready to just be in the tub... He agreed and now LOVES playing in the big bath tub.. He lays down and practices his kicking and blowing bubbles.. I put Alyssa in with him for bath time and they had a blast together.. They're still so young I don't see a problem with it.. they just play with the toys together.. so I'm bathing them together for now.. totally saves time!

Movie Day!

Today is Free Movie day at the local theatre.. so before we ran our errands, we decided to go see "Over the Hedge" This is one of Dom's top 5 movies! I thought I was pretty slick arriving about 15 minutes early... WRONG! The entire theater was packed.. We had to sit way ... way .. way up in the front! Dominic didn't mind... We had a good time eating popcorn, sharing a hot dog and juice.... I was pretty proud of Alyssa, since this was her first movie experience. We almost made it through the whole movie but about 20 minutes to the end...Alyssa started to crack... So I asked Dom if he wanted to go home.. surprisingly he said "yes!" I had totally forgot he had woken up at 5:55 this morning, so no that it was 1:30 he was also tired.. We came home to a nice nap before heading to the gym!

At the gym I was really bummed because I only got a 1/2 hour workout.. Dominic had fallen and being "Dommy Drama" he freaked the girls out and they in turn came and got me! By the time I put away my weights and went and got him.. he was fine! Rats..there went a good work out.. oh well... Off to Target!

We had to go to Target (one of my favorite stores) for some necessities and I was all excited about my coupon! $5 bucks off Diapers! WOW... I was siked because I had two coupons and planned on buying two packs of diapers.. but then... the cash register person from hell!

She gave me the hardest time for each coupon I used ( I only had 4 total 2 of them were for the diapers) She questioned if my Baby Johnson/Johnson Head to Toe wash counted as a shampoo for hair since the coupon said Shampoo! HUH! Come on! It's a Head to Toe wash so since you can wash your hair with it I think it should count.. she gave me major attitude about that one.. I bought Alyssa a detangler for her hair by Johnson's Buddies and used a coupon.. she read the whole coupon to see if it qualified and made the comment "I guess this qualifies" and then when I presented my coupons for diapers she went through my bags to make sure I bought the correct brand and then checked the number of wipes in the package(you had to buy both to use the coupon). She took one of the coupons and then refused my second one.. when I asked her why she said "Just use it next time!" No where on the coupon did it say only one could be used at a time.. I was fuming.. If Alyssa hadn't been flipping out in the shopping cart I would of fought.. but I just smirked and left! Like my sis-in-law has said before.. when these mean people have kids they'll see what it's like! I believe in Karma evil Target girl...

We Just Love Eachother!

I just think this is the cutest! Dominic and Alyssa like giving eachother hugs!
(this is Dom giving Alyssa a hug)

(This is Alyssa giving Dom a Hug!)

Splash, Splash, Splash

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To start the week off, I met up with Vanessa, Irene, and Gladys at a park where they have water play. They even give out free lunch and snacks to the kids... It was such a nice day and the kids had a blast playing in the water.. The only thing I didn't care for was the when the kids were nice and wet... where did they go??? Straight to the sandbox/slide area... water and sand don't mix! When it was time to leave, I went to change Alyssa and poor thing hand sand EVERYWHERE! Lucky for me Vanessa came prepared in a bathing suit and went into the water area to rinse her off! Thanks again!
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I love SALSA!

It amazes me how much Alyssa is like me at times... Today we discovered she likes salsa! I'm talking tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and JALAPENOS! I guess that's the Mexican in her.. ha ha

We also made some other new discoveries! When lil Alyssa wakes up.. she loves to tear apart her crib playing.. She throws the teething rails over the side.. I think she just loves seeing me have to pick them up and put them back!

And Dominic.. well he just sleeps...

Lance Is THREE!

PART 1:

I can't believe it... but Lance is 3! How does time pass so fast!?! That means in just a few months Dominic will follow in his footsteps and turn 3 also... My baby!

Since Lance loves Chuck E. Cheese's, Michelle decided to have his Bday there!... The only problem with this is that Dominic is deathly terrified of Chuck E. Cheese! He'll close his eyes sooo tight so he doesn't have to see him.. ha ha... He likes the games and playing, but the whole sitting in the party area by the dancing mouse.. he doesn't dig! Alyssa on the other hand loved it! She was clapping with Chuck E. Cheese and everything!

(here's a pic with Dom hiding)

Lance had an awesome time at his party... he was even dancing with Chuck E. Cheese.. GO LANCE!

Once Dom warmed up and we were out of the party area, he had a good time. He even climbed the jungle gym area making it all the way to the car hanging in the air... I couldn't believe it! Ben and I even had fun trying to earn tickets! Alyssa wanted to be on her own, so containing her was challenging... It was a great party... way to go Michelle.. I guess you can tell Lance liked the Monsters Inc DVD we bought him, don't worry we'll be over to watch it. Can't wait to play with all the new toys.. hee hee

PART 2:

Later that day all the kids were out playing! So as usual we went out to join them! Ben decided to come out as well.. Sometimes he'll come out with us, or go to the gym, or play XBOX... I'm not sure how it got started but Ben was reminiscing with Mike and the neighbor boy Kyle about how he use to do tricks on his bike! How he use to "bunny hop" over his friends, etc.

Next thing you know there's Mike and Kyle telling him to jump this box... and what does Ben do.. He tries to jump the box!!! Lucky for him the box didn't fall, but Ben totally ate it!

He didn't hit his head or break any bones (mike..??.) but he messed up his shoulder, arm, hands, wrist and legs! Here's a tribute to you to anyone who has fallen off a bike! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4127085932217194724&q=afv+bikes&total=60&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1. I love you Ben! And like I said earlier... even though you fell.. the box stood standing.. You ROCK!

Disneyland x's 3

I guess I felt very adventurous today.... I decided to take Dominic, Alyssa, and Lance to Disneyland! Lance's birthday is this Saturday and I thought it would be a nice pre-bday celebration! I think the hardest part was just getting ready! But after that, it really wasn't that bad... This proves that I can totally handle 3 kids one day.... ha ha

It was especially nice to have the help of Vanessa and then Veronica brought me her hip hammock.. That thing is so cool.. Alyssa totally loved being on my hip and it was nice to have both my hands.. Thanks Veronica! At one point Alyssa fell asleep in it!

We didn't go on a lot of rides but we did at least get on: Buzz Light Year, Small World, and Monsters Inc. We got even luckier and saw Buzz Lt. Year himself ! Dominic was totally scared, but Lance even offered Buzz a cheerio... it was really cute... The only bummer was when we went on Buzz Lt. Year the ride I didn't have a laser to shoot... oh well...

After we headed off to California Adventure and played in the water...poor mamas was beat and slept through the play time... Maybe next time she'll be able to take advantage of the water!

I have to admit...Disneyland is soooo much fun! I love that place~!

Free At Last....

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We started our day today with a LONG walk... we were gone for an 1 1/2... We went to the post office.. so YES the "thank you" cards have finally been mailed!!! and we then went to the 99 Ranch Market to pick up more Watermelon! Yum! but man oh man was the stroller heavy to push home! I was beat... thank goodness it was such a beautiful day...not too hot!

After the gym we decided to meet Mike and Michelle at the Farmers Market near our House... Dominic was like a wild animal!!! "Free at last, free at last, thank god almighty I am free at last..." I swear that's what was coming out of him.. my lil guy is usually timid and doesn't run around, but he was jamming everywhere! I had to chase him, Mike and Michelle even chased him down! So you could say Dominic had a great time... I was stressed out and embarrassed! Alyssa was happy walking around and eating strawberries... When Dom wasn't going like the energizer bunny we managed to get on a lil train ride

and he played in the bouncer..

He even went to dance to the live music and got a Jr Police Officer sticker from the cops...

As stressed as I was, I loved seeing the smile on his face running with his friend... I love being a MOM!

Sub Day from HELL!

Today I went to sub a PreSchool Special Ed Class... The kids were soooo cute and Tiny! I'm really use to my 4th-6th graders that I normally work with... Out of the 8 kids in class only 1 could write their name! Kinda sad! :( I also had 3 aides in the classroom.. 1 of the aides I worked with for a year in my own classroom and she is Way Cool! So I thought it was going to be a good day.... WRONG... The other 2 ladies (older...close to our parents age) thought they were too good to even talk to me... When I spoke to them, they pretended they didn't hear me.. HELLO.. you guys know my voice... I don't think I'm known for being quiet.. ha ha.. I am Becky's daughter after all.. sorry mom.. it's the truth.. we're LOUD...! Moving on...

The teacher left me NO plans and just said to ask the aides... you know the ones who don't speak.. and what they normally did every day was way tooooooo boring for me.. so I got some other ideas from a neighbor teacher.. I asked the aides if they wouldn't mind doing something different and the 2 responded"I GUESS" but in an ugly tone! At the end of the day, 1 asked if I was planning on passing out the papers the kids did, and I said yes (i had a pile on my table sorted and stacked already) She then grabbed the pile and yelled "Well I guess I'll sort them out and threw the stack of papers on her table... It was great to watch her face when she realized I had already sorted them..she got pissy for no reason! I did try to say bye when we were walking the kids to the bus but they both turned their heads the other direction!... Man I am sooo happy I have the aides I normally have during the year!

Wish it were Sunday... Cause that's my fun Day..

After a crazy day Saturday.. we needed a mellow day! Ben's parents came by and brought us lunch!!!Awesome.. I didn't have to cook.. hee hee.. how lazy is that!?! We then took off to the NewBalance Shoe Store... Ben's mom bought shoes for almost everyone! Alyssa got these CUTE new sneakers! THANKS Grandma Annie! After our shoe extravaganza we went to the Grand Opening of the 99Ranch Market in our area! Ben and I aren't a fan of the chain of markets but have to admit this one is by far the nicest one we've seen! They have plasmas hanging and a wanna-be Panda Express inside...

It was a nice way to end the weekend!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

We have officially made it through the Block Yard Sale! I must say it was a success! We had 6 houses come out and sell and we had a lot of traffic coming through! Mike (neighbor) kept saying how amazed he was that just a few signs could draw so much attention! He's right! I woke up at 5 am to go and put up signs.. What a mission that was! I ran out of tape and then had to go to Lowe's to buy more.. I felt like a Mervyn's commercial "open, open, open" I was their first customer right at 6am! That felt weird! Dominic kept me company through the yard sale eating his snack and lounging on his beach chair... He kept saying "Mommy, it's a Yard Sale!" how adorable!

By 10am we were DONE! Off to swim class... Ben gave me a break from having to get in the water with the kids.. he jumped in and had a blast with Alyssa! Dominic wasn't in the best of moods.. he fell asleep on the way to swim class..but he didn't cry.. so I was still proud of him..

Once swim class was over we ran home, dropped Ben off, and jammed to Devon's Birthday Party! It was at Wild Kingdom... I think I want to have Dom's Party there.... Dom totally loves the Jumpers/Bouncers but can totally do without the slides... he's still a bit hesitant about them... Alyssa had fun too.. she even went down the BIG SLIDE! Ben met up with us at the party and got in on the action...

After Devon's Party my parents came over to watch the kids so Ben and I could go to a movie to help celebrate our 5 years! We decided to go see "TRANSFORMERS" I have to admit.. It was GREAT!... I really liked it... I thought it was a well made action flick.. I recommend you go see it!

Needless to say.. it was fun day!

5 Years and Going Strong

Well today marks 5YEARS for Ben and I! I can't believe its been 5 years married.. it doesn't feel like it. I still remember our wedding day so vividly! What a great day it was! All of our friends and family with us! WOW.. 5 years later = a house, 2 kids, and 1 cat! July 6th is a GREAT DAY!

Funny thing is we're not really celebrating it today.. ha ha... We plan on taking a short trip to Las Vegas this summer, just the two of us, that should be nice!

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Today was also the First Friday at our local Childrens Museum.. they always have a free event to help bring in the new month... So I decided to skip Swim Class today. It's the first time we missed! The theme for this First Friday is "BBQ" We took the kids and they had fun running through the museum.. they then went to get free Hot Dogs, Chips, and a Balloon(from a balloon artist)! Dom wanted a Black dog Balloon... He loves playing with it! Alyssa got a little heart balloon.. we figured that would be the best balloon for her.. let's hope she doesn't pop it!

Disneyland Thursdays!

We've officially decided that Thursday's are going to be "Theme Park Thursdays" or "Disneyland Thursdays"! Today was soooo much fun... I had the chance to meet up with Vanessa and Veronica at the happiest place on Earth! The kids got along great and had fun playing! We got on several rides and the weather was perfect! I really wanted to go on Nemo.... BUT the wait was 150 minutes(2 1/2 hours)! Can you believe that! I even took a picture for proof! Although Vanessa reports that it was a better wait time today than last week when she went.. it was up to 180minutes (3 full hours).. Needless to say we didn't get on! Ha ha... Maybe one day! I do love how Disneyland puts the wait time in minutes.. why don't they just put 3hours... like we can't figure it out... strange.. I guess to them minutes sound better that hours..

Dom and I had a blast on the Buzz Lightyear Ride! That has to be one of my favorite rides now... Thank goodness they have two laser blasters in the car, otherwise Dom and I might be fighting over who gets to shoot... ha ha... I can't help it, that ride brings out the kid in me...

I don't know how many of you make it to Disneyland..but at the California Adventure they have a water play area.. the kids had a great time... Alyssa and Dominic was all smiles running through the water! It was sooo cute!

To top it all off, we came home, rested for an 1 1/2 and then it was off to swim class! I'm happy to report that Dom does awesome still! He is officially jumping off the side of the pool to the teacher( a little slow..but nether the less jumping) and he's starting to learn how to hold onto the sides and get dunked! It was truly a GREAT DAY!

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