A Sunday in O.C.

Last Sunday, Ashlyn and I went with my parents to the O.C. swapmeet, while Dylan stayed home with Daddy to watch football.  We like walking around the swapmeet, especially during summertime.  We usually don't go this late in the year, but it was great being out.  I love the vendors there, especially The Baby Guy (Space J240).  This guy makes the most adorable baby stuff. It's everything from bibs to bed/crib sets and it's all really unique.  Themes you won't find there are: duckies, teddy bears, trains, bunnies, and most other traditional baby prints. Themes you will find: skulls, star stuff, Ed Hardy look-a-likes, hawaiian style, vintage and artsy symmetrical prints, fleur de lis, and nautical stuff to name a few. During this last vist I learned that they will make and custom made-to-order anything.  Surely, if one has the time they could probably make the stuff on their own. As for myself-the sewing machine and I aren't best of friends yet.

After the swapmeet we walked down to Ruby's at the end of the Huntington Pier for lunch.  You gotta love their mushroom swiss burger and who can't resist endless garlic fries?   Ashlyn wanted to go down to the water after that so we did, and she ended up getting really soaked.  It was overcast but warm enough to play awhile in the ocean. (Knee-high only.)  Ashlyn annoyed all the birds and had a blast chasing them all over the beach.

The pit stop at the water was just enough to make me want summertime back already...When it was time to go she did not want to leave and neither did I. 

Ashlyn definitely loves the beach like Mommy.

Before leaving, Ashlyn had to play in the sand a bit. I also took a cool picture of the pier before we left because it looked awesome with the sun trying to peek out through the dark clouds.

Ashlyn's Rice Krispy Pumpkins

Little sweetie pie made more sweet treats.  With Halloween just around the corner, we decided to make rice krispy treats that resembled pumpkins.  I stirred the melting marshmallows as Ashlyn threw them in the pot.  We added a few drops of food coloring to get our true pumpkin color and then got to work on our pumpkin shape. Ashlyn was having a hard time shaping them, so I did that part.  The rest was up to her.  I explained to her that most pumpkins had stems and where the stems were usually located.  She placed her green gummies on the tops of all the pumpkin treats, along with M&M eyes and noses and jagged little Oreo teeth.  Yes, there are probably better types of candy to use to make the faces, but we used what we had.  Ashlyn poked the candies into the little pumpkin heads and enjoyed every minute of it.  This was another fun day in the kitchen for both of us!

I can't help but laugh.

It was a normal Thursday here at home.  The clock on the microwave (which for some odd reason is the only clock I ever look at) read 11:30am or so.  I was nearing my third cup of  hazelnut creamer with a swig of coffee (lol).  I think I heard Olivia in the background, which was not a person at my house.  Olivia is one of Ashlyn's favorite cartoon's that is about a little pig girl who wears striped pants and thinks her little brother is more of a little bother.  Anyway, Ashlyn, who thinks she is a rockstar, was pretending to play the drums on some wooden stacking blocks with some plastic drumsticks.  She tapped Dylan on the head with her drumstick and he cried a little. (The beginning of a loving sibling relationship?) While he cried a little, she was laughing-a lot.  I sent her to time out.  Time out here at the Gaines house is near the front door, specifically on a rug, we like to call "the naughty rug."  I was so serious in my efforts for her to stay there and think about how it is not kind to hit or tap little baby brothers on the head with drumsticks but...along came a comment from the peanut gallery.  Ashlyn proceeds to ask me why the so-called naughty rug is called a naughty rug. She said that she did not understand how a rug could be naughty.  I told her that the rug is called the naughty rug because she's been to time out so much for being naughty, that her naughtiness seaped down into the rug.  I'm like come on, why did I have to explain this...just do your time out for doing something naughty to your baby brother already.  I had to laugh.  Seriously though, was my nearly 3 year old really calling me out on personification...

Special Moments and Milestones

Grandma and Grandpa Welker

October 8th, 2009

 Last Thursday, I took the kids over to their great-grandparent's house to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary.  We made them a photo frame with some pictures in it of them over the last few years, leaving the largest slot open for a picture we planned to take of them while we were there.  The photo frame turned out really cute. Ashlyn helped me use some of my scrapbooking decorative accents to make the frame have a little character.  We put some little quotes about love behind areas of the glass and we also stuck some really pretty gold leaves with it.  They really appreciated the gift and it was fun to look at the pictures we put in it and talk about where they had been taken.  My parent's catered in some Famous Dave's BBQ and we all had homemade carrot cake too.  We all felt bad for Craig though, because at the time he was working out of town in Fresno (carrot cake is his absolute favorite, especially Grandma's homemade carrot cake). I think celebrating 65 years of marriage is amazing and I can only hope that years from now I will be doing the same with my husband. Nowadays, it seems as though some people devalueize marriage and what it's meant to be.  Love is supposed to last a lifetime and they have shown such a great example of that.

Ashlyn has really been enjoying her role as a "big sister" and has been asking to hold the baby (well, he's not much of a "baby" anymore; he's growing so fast!).  Dylan is always on the move and Ashlyn always asks to hold him when he is awake. I try to explain to her that he won't stay still long enough for her to get positioned on the couch for me to place him in her lap.  Finally, one night last week, Dylan fell asleep in his pack and play and as I was carrying him back to the bedroom Ashlyn asked again, to hold him.  "Okay," I said.  So, he sat in the glider that is in his room and a carefully placed Dylan in her arms.  She finally got to hold him for a good five minutes.  She was so proud!

Dylan will be exactly 10 months on Saturday the 17th.  Boy how time flies. It's hard to believe that he will be one year old already.  I suspect he will be walking by his 1st birthday for sure.  Right now he is walking along furniture and bravely holds on with only one hand.  He goes pretty much everywhere in the house but loves going under the kitchen table which scares me. I'm always afraid he'll bonk his head.  I also get worried when he tries to walk with one hand up on the wall onto the tiled areas of our house.  We have this contraption we got for Ashlyn at Babies R Us called Walking Wings which we put on him sometimes to help him learn the skill and get a feel for it without holding onto stuff.  The walking wings are also misused as a ride for Ashlyn.  She straps the band around her waist and then Craig or I have to swing her around by the straps.  Here are a couple of pictures of Dylan maneuvering around the house like a big boy.

A new week...

This morning was so refreshing. Waking up to the brisk morning air really let us know that Summer is gone and the Fall weather has arrived. I just realized that we need a couple more Fall/Halloween decorations for the house. I am definitely feeling crafty this morning and we just might bust out our arts and crafts box and get to work. The husband has put in a dinner request for this evening, so lemon-herb chicken is on the menu. Ashlyn's pretty cake is gone, so I guess we will have to bake another dessert as well. I'm feeling like it may be a peach cobbler. Well, were off to fold clothes until Isaac arrives (Isaac is my friend's son, that I babysit for a couple of hours during the week). Ashlyn loves having a friend come over a few times a week, although the concept of sharing still needs a little adjustment. I think we will play in the backyard this afternoon, so I can get some watering taken care of and so that I can plant some Daffodil's too!

My little Martha Stewart!

Yesterday was a busy day at home for us. We got a great deal of things done by mid-afternoon. Ashlyn loves being in the kitchen and always wants to help whenever possible. So, I let her try and bake a cake all by herself. I helped with all the unsafe parts like turning on the oven, plugging in the blender, etc. (duh). The rest was up to her. She cracked the eggs, mixed the batter, and poured the batter. When the timer went off and it was done, I took it out of the oven and we waited for it to cool. She waited very patiently to frost the cake. And when she did...Well, let's just say she had fun. I let her put whatever she wanted on the cake and she chose sprinkles and M&M's. Her cake turned out really cute and we all had some after dinner last night.

Errands

Today I must have taken the kids out of their car seats about a hundred times. At least it felt that way. We started our day out and about early this morning, specifically because Dylan was in need of more diapers. Our first stop was the obvious...WALMART. My Dad joined the kids and I and treated us to brunch afterwards. Our next destination was EVWD to pay a bill, then the gas station, then finally Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Welker's house. Their vacuum went out and we went and found the belt it needed to be repaired. After it was fixed, I vacuumed my Grandma's entire house. She kindly showed her gratitude with a basket full of freshly picked lemons and avocados and a loaf of her zucchini bread! I will be having a slice of her zucchini bread tonight for sure!