Silliman Aquatic Center Part II

Today we went to Silliman again, and had a great time yet again. Both girls were so excited to go. They couldn't wait to go swimming again.

Sam was so excited that she was ready to forget lunch just to go. We had explained to her that she had to eat, and that Mommy was hungry, Riley was hungry, and Auntie Liz was hungry, but to no avail. We got out of the car, and two steps away Sam stops and says, "all done" to imply that she was done with lunch. She followed it up with "wimming" and fussed all the way across the parking lot, and until we sat down. After we got our food, she took 3 bites and repeated the all done routine. Needless to say she was quite happy when we were actually ready to do.

Riley otoh, couldn't wait to get her shot on the blue slide again (even though she was too small to go down it, and they wouldn't let her the last time.) She raced up to the platform to slide (I thought she was going on the small red slide, but no, she headed right to the big blue tunnel slide.) At first I figured no big deal, they won't let her go on it. I was so wrong. Before I knew it, she was climbing into the opening, so I raced around to the end to catch her (the water would have been over her head here), but no Riley. The people at the top were waving at me and I was signaling back trying to tell them to take her out of the tunnel (I couldn't get up there without risking her suddenly coming down into deep water.) Finally Liz was able to corral Sam and get to the top and help Riley out of the tunnel. Apparently she was sitting in there somewhat paralyzed. After that she was content to go down the red slide. Woo!

Finally, at the end of the day when we were getting dressed I uttered the words that no Mom should have to say, "Do not stuff your sister into that locker." Nuff said.

New Phones...

...will be here tomorrow. Woo hoo!!

Over the Hedge & other things

Today we went to see "Over the Hedge" at the Saratoga AMC. The girls sat still much longer than the last movie, Riley only had a small meltdown which was quickly resolved, and I learned that harnesses are not totally evil (even if I did feel like a dogwalker with my own kids.)

The movie was very cute, and quite funny. I know most of you who had intentions to see it already have, so this is old news. If you haven't seen it yet, but you've thought about it, I highly recommend it.

On another note, we have finally decided to leave the evil Verizon. Yes, I shouldn't mention their name, why I don't know. They may have one of the best coverage areas around, but they have the worst data packages around to go with it. So, after mooching for a year and a half we finally bit the bullet, and bought T-Mobile SideKicks (actually from Danger, but the service is T-Mobile.) The bad part is that they've already transferred Bill's number. Why is that bad you ask? Because they haven't sent us the phones yet, so if you're trying to call Bill you can't for a few days. For some reason they haven't transferred my number yet. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Oh, and I got some new shoes today. Woo hoo!

Silliman Center

Today we went to the Silliman Center, and not only is the name fun, but the place is actually fun as well. It's an indoor water park that's geared towards kids and families. Teens would not have fun here, at least not much fun and not for very long. I would highly recommend this place to anyone in the bay area with kids. It has a very nice zero entry area that at it's deepest was up to Riley and Sams waists. It had a little water slide (remember to catch small kids at the bottom), and a lazy river. For bigger kids there is a slightly bigger water slide in the same area, and two larger water slides in the other pool. They also have a small lazy river which the girls enjoyed. It's very inexpensive ($6) and kids under 3 are free. Woo hoo! They also have a snack bar for those that are interested.

Ok, commercial over.

Oh, and we had so much fun we're going again. Next week. Cuz we can't go again this week. Can't wait.

Our 7th Anniversary

BK (before kids) we use to go to Jamaica, the wine country, cute little B&B's, etc. for our anniversary. This year we layed around with the kids in the morning, then finally got ready and headed down to Monterey to see the aquarium. Normally we would have stopped in Castroville at the Giant Artichoke for some tasty treats before completing our journey south. However, today we were too late to do that. We got to the aquarium just before 4:00 (which gave us plentay of time to see the exhibits with the girls). We wandered around, let the girls run a bit, and play in the touch pools. They seemed to enjoy the aquarium, but were not overly excited about the whole thing. I'm sure it's the age.

Afterwards we walked down cannery row where Bill scored a shrimp cocktail and I got a crab cocktail. The girls had a little clam chowder and some strawberries (one of their very favorite things in the world.) I tried on some toe rings, didn't find one I liked, scored some fudge, and then we all headed out.

On the way home we made that oh so special stop at the Giant Artichoke and had a light dinner since we had already snacked at the row.

Finally back in the car for the last time, on towards home with one stop to potty for the girls. Arrived home, girls into bed, opened the house to let some air in, then relaxed on the couch with some champagne.

It may have been one of the best anniversaries ever.

How to beat the heat when you're two

For those of you who don't know, we are having a bit of a heat wave in the bay area. Our high temps have been up to 105 degrees. We have had a couple of room ac units to help keep the house a little cooler, but when it came down to it we took the kids outside, inflated the pool, added water and 2 two year olds. It was quite entertaining for all, and helped everyone cool off. Bill and I even got in the pool for a bit.

Suicidal Waffle Iron

Yep, that's what I meant. This morning after making waffles I went into the dining room where we were all sitting down to enjoy the waffley goodness when suddenly we heard a loud crash. Knowing that noone else was in the house I cautiously peeked into the kitchen only to see the waffle iron lying upside down in the middle of the kitchen floor which meant he really leaped out there. He didn't just fall off the counter. Good thing we have two more waffle irons in this house.

Happy Weekend to Me!

Woo hoo! I actually have an entire weekend off with nothing planned. I'm so excited. Of course it means we'll be working on the house, but it desperately needs it and it will be nice to be able to work on it with Bill instead of in shifts whenever one of us has time (which is infrequently.) I've already mopped the kitchen floor. I know, I know, you're saying, "Get outta here", but it's true.

What was more fun was the fantabulous steak my hubby BBQ'd for dinner tonight. It was delicious, and properly accompanied by BBQ'd corn and potatoes. Yum yum.

Mephi is back!!

For those of you who don't know, my husband has had an iquana for the last 14 1/2 years. He raised him from a hatchling (about 5 inches long) to full size (about 3 1/2 feet long). He disappeared the day after Bill and the girls birthday BBQ and hadn't been seen since (or so we thought.) We scoured the trees all around us, but didn't seen a sign of him. Being that he's never lived on his own, and that there are a lot of raccoons, oppossums, rats, and ferrel cats in the neighborhood we thought that he might not survive.

2 days ago, our next door neighbor mentioned that she had talked to our back fence neighbor (his yard spans 3 of ours) and he said that there was a lizard that had taken to hanging out by his pool during the day. She thought of us and flagged Bill down to tell him. Bill immediately went over and talked to our neighbor who confirmed what he had been told. Bill left him his cell phone number for when he spotted him again. Well today was that day. I was at Safeway with the girls when I received a desperate call from Bill that Mephi was sunning himself by the pool again (Bill was in SF so couldn't get there.) I checked out quick, loaded the girls back in the car, cruised by the house to pick up a towel (he has sharp claws), a box to put him in, and Stacey to watch the girls while I tried to catch Mephi.

I thought that I was going to have to chase him, but actually he looked quite relieved to see me. I walked over and picked him up with the towel. I tried to put him in the box so I could get him home, but he would have none of that. At that point, I was glad I had the towel with me. Once I held him back up to my shoulder he calmed down, so I walked through the neighbors back yard to ours and brought him into the house while the neighbor went to tell Stacey to drive the car back around to our house. He is now happily situated in our bathroom with some water and a dish of blueberries. Welcome home Mephi.

Now I need to figure out an appropriate thank you gift for our neighbor (He's in his 90's). If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Long overdue hockey injury post

As some of you know I have been unable to play hockey for the last couple of months due to back to back injuries which found me first slammed against the boards (I think the majority of the injury came from this) and then flattened on the ice. The pain has gradually been decreasing while the strength and mobility is slowly returning. Why write all this now? Because I finally had an MRI and got the results back. My doc immediately said no more hockey for a while and has referred me to the spine clinic. Apparently 3 of my cervical discs are bulging, there is fluid/swelling (which is indicative of an injury) that is putting pressure on my nerves and causing some of my pain/mobility issues, and what may possibly be a cyst at C6 - C7. I also have a torn tendon, and a strained muscle, but nothing broken (go me.) The long and short of it is that I'm out for the season, possibly longer until these things are resolved. This so sucks!!

Very unpopular politcal opinion following - Democrats and Liberals stop reading now.

I am very frustrated and irritated from having to take responsibility for other peoples poor decisions. This ranges from people living off welfare (rather than trying to take control of their own lives) to the latest debacle in Lebanon. In a recent radio interview there is a San Rafael family that has other family members currently trapped in Lebanon. They are complaining about the lack of response from the US to rapidly evacuate US citizens from that region, and the cost involved. While I agree that the response has been slow, I do not agree that the US should pick up all the cost for this operation. The family is upset because they are being asked to sign a document saying they will pay $150 to have their son evacuated. To me this is a paltry sum for someone who went there voluntarily knowing it was in/near a war zone. I am all for the US paying to evacuate employees, etc. that were required to be there such as military, embassy employees (which they aren't even evacuating yet), etc., but tourists who would have had to pay their way home anyway? Come on people, take responsibility for your own choices, pay the measly fee (which will not even touch the true cost of evacuation), and quit whining about the fact that you're not getting a free hand out. The US has stated it will evacuate everyone who requests it, they just want the volunteer evacuees to help offset the cost of that major operation.

2 Year Check

Today the girls had their two year checks. Yes, I know, we're a bit late with them. Anyway, all went well. Sam has finally risen above the 5th percentile in weight, all the way to the 8th percentile. Woo hoo! The interesting thing is how little the difference is in size, and how big of a percentile difference it is. Look at my girls for example. Riley is 34" tall and weighs 24 lbs 6 oz, Sam is 33 1/2" tall and weighs 23 lbs 2 oz (the least amount of difference there has ever been between the two of them) yet Riley is in the 25th percentile for weight. They height percentile is much closer at 45th and 50th percentiles. Just found it interesting.

Oh, and just for my records, they got their 1st Hep A vaccinations today.

This is the reason for the bribe (see previous post)

I just swiped this from Liz' Flickr page so you could see why the bribe was necessary. The people actually suggested we take them home, let them nap and snack, and then bring them back in the afternoon. While these wonderful people are very good at getting pictures of kids, even under the most difficult of circumstances, they have no clue how 2 year olds function in the real world. I could have them nap right there so they would be immediately available upon awakening, and we'd still have melt down. Something oddly 'magical' about the camera. To date:

photo shoots 0
Girls = 10

Also, the girls seem to rotate who will have a good photo shoot each time. I'm hoping that one time they will forget whose turn it is, and both will be great. A girl can dream.

What I did on my summer vacation, installment II of ??

Today we finally went and had the girls 2 year old pictures done. Due to many things we hadn't had a chance to do it. Why is this noteworthy you ask? Because I resorted to something that I do not condone, nor did I think I would stoop to doing. What's that you ask? Bribery. When the girls started crying and refused to sit for their pictures, I actually went and got a HUGE thing of animal crackers from the shelf and promised them snacks if they would sit for their pictures. (Stop laughing Liz). That at least got them to sit and we got a couple of nice photos. Not perfect, but that's never going to happen for us anyway and besides, I like the personality that shines through in the non-perfect photos. (I said stop laughing Liz.)

I mentioned the incident to my quilt group tonight, and they tried to convince me that this is just positive reinforcement. Ha!

Date Night

Ok, last night Bill and I went out for the first time in a very long time. Nothing big, just a movie. We went to see Pirates of the Caribbean II. I started out with high hopes, and the movie seemed set to deliver, but alas it did not. There were many elaborate sets used, lots of computer imaging, and some very 'interesting' time lines. It seemed the director, writer, producer (whoever is responsible) got too caught up in the scenes and didn't tie them to each other well. The story could have been much better woven. In the end it really ended up being a 2 1/2 hour commercial for Pirates III.

Am I sorry we went? No, it was still nice to get out. Did the girls miss us as I feared? Nope, didn't even notice we were gone - they had the Aunties and baby Val to play with. Will we wait so long to do something again? No way! We're looking for volunteers so we can make this a once a month deal. I know, doesn't sound like much, but a drop of water to a thirsty person goes a long way.

MRI Oxymoron Directions

Well it happened last night. I finally had the MRI to try and figure out what is going on with my neck and shoulder. I arrived right on time for check-in, filled out my paperwork and prepared to wait for my appointment. I was utterly shocked when they promptly called me in - no waiting. Wow! I had to change into one of their gowns and then proceed to the very cold MRI room. The nice part was that they had oh so warm and toasty blankets waiting for me. The tech went through the normal questions then had me lay on the scanner, and in I went.

First scan was 1 minute, went fine. Next one was 4 minutes, and apparently I failed. I was told I was moving too much. Ok, I can relax. For previous MRI's I've just gone into a sort of awake sleep phase (that way my eyes are closed and I can trick myself into believing that I am not in a coffin type device.) Anyway, I failed it the second time too. He then asked me if I was sleeping, and I said yes. He claimed I couldn't do that, that I had to stay focused. He then told me to relax and tried again. Now how am I suppose to stay focused and relax all at the same time? Anyway, I failed again, so he pulled me out, put extra blocks around my head to imobilize it, and back in I went. I apparently passed and we continued with the rest of the scans for my neck and shoulder. It took about an hour total, and now I just have to wait for the results.

BTW, I was not moving. Just for the record. Apparently the neck scans are very sensitive and even deep breathing can screw them up.

First Movie Experience

Today we went to Diaper Days with Liz, Andrea, and Val. This is one movie a month that the theater sets up so that people with babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers can go and not worry about the noise their kids might make. Today we saw Cars.
While it was not a total disaster, I am sure that next month the Doughty-Tan trio may decide to go on their own. The girls sat in their seats for all of 5 minutes as the movie did not grab their attention as I thought it would. After that we spent time alternating throwing popcorn on the floor with walking laps back and forth between Liz and Andrea who bookended our portion of the row. For a short while they both climbed up on Auntie Mo's lap which was quite cute, then Riley wanted to sit with Auntie Liz who was already holding Val so that made that quite impossible. About half way through the movie, Sam climbed up on my lap and fell asleep but Riley stuck it out through the end.

As we were preparing to leave I tried to get the requisite pictures of the girls and their first movie experience, but neither the camera nor the girls would cooperate so I mostly succeeded in traumatizing everyone. I seriously need to upgrade my camera.

All in all, it was a good outting (at least for us), and one I might repeat in the future (I say while ROTFLMAO hysterically.)

The morning after.

Though I am too old to be proud of the "junk in my trunk" or to have you be jealous that "your girlfriend is not hot like me" I have to say that I think everyone had a good time. Ok, just for Andrea, "Everyone had a good time." There were a few who had a little too much of a good time, but everyone made it home safe. As promised, here are a couple of pics (none of me.)

The first is of the party bus before we took off. Everyone hopped on to take a peek.

This second picture is of the crew that went. Some I knew ahead of time, some I didn't. One of her friends was someone she actually knew since kindergarten. It was odd seeing him all grown up and on the party bus. He seemed like he was still the great guy he'd always been. That was nice.

This last one is of some of the dancing on the bus. This was after only one drink.

Stacey's 21st

Ok, its been an interesting night. There are 11 of us in total and I
appear to be the only sober one at this point in the evening. We've
been to 5 bars, 2 of which were closed, one was full (F'ing BS) and we
are currently in route to another. However, with all the booze on board
there is no shortage of drunk people.

Just so you all won't think I'm a wet rag, I have done my fair share of
dancin', shakin' my booty, and gettin' the cat calls from the drunken
mob as I gyrated (yes I said gyrated) to "Staceys Mom".

More updates and pics later (but not of me.)

My little convicts

Somehow and somewhere they got a dry erase marker today. We don't really know how, and rest assured it does not just erase off.
Neither one fessed up to the drawing - they both said the other one did the drawing. Sam claims "Rieee Roo" did it, and Riley claims "am" did it.

Happy Birthday Stacey.

Today my oldest baby turned 21. We celebrated with a quiet drink at midnight, just the two of us. It was kind of nice.

Tonight will be another matter. Her grandparents have rented her a party bus so that she can take a bunch of friends to the city for barhopping. The caveat? I had to go along, so if any of you see a crazy woman in the city, who obviously hasn't been out on the town in way too long, be kind, don't take photos. ;)

I'll update how the night went later. Maybe even send some posts in progress.

Late Entry

Thursday we went to the park with our playgroup. The girls had a great time once we got there, and tried out every piece of equipment possible. Most of them were old hat for the girls including the very tall slide, but this park had one of those "bouncey bridges" too. They had never seen one of these. Sam at first stood on the edge of it looking very worried and took a few hesitant steps while holding my hand, then a few more on her own. She finally made it across and headed down the big slide. Then it was up to the bridge for round two. This trip went a little smoother, but she still held on pretty tight and watched her feet the whole way. By the third trip she was an old pro, looking up at where she was going and even running a little bit. Riley took a different route and used the very big ladder on the other side of the stairs. Unfortunately I missed that.